Investing

9 Stocks Under $10 Up Over 100% So Far in 2017, Some Exponentially

Jon C. Ogg

Published: April 12, 2017 7:35 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 1:04 pm

This bull market is now over eight years old, and the markets have become less than certain in 2017 after a post-election rally took the major stock indexes to new all-time highs. While investors have reason to have at least some pause, the reality is that equity investors have managed to find a reason to buy every one of the market pullbacks for over five years now. Those same investors are also still looking for new trading and investing ideas.

24/7 Wall St. has featured many gainers and losers over time, but it was hard to ignore a certain group of stocks under $10 per share. It turns out that there were over 30 stocks with market caps above $50 million that were up over 100% already in 2017 — and some were up over 200% and 300%.

In reviewing the top gainers in this group, preference was given to U.S.-based companies, but not exclusively. We then narrowed the group to stocks with a market cap of more than $100 million in all but one case. Additional color has been provided in news and developments that may be behind the drive, and if possible recent analyst coverage commentary has been included as well.

These are nine stocks trading under $10 a share have gains of 100% or more so far in 2017.

1. Rexahn Pharmaceuticals: Up 370%

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSEMKT: RNN) has been a screamer in 2017, up well over 300% year to date. At $0.67 a share, its market cap is close to $155 million. While the stock was at $0.62 at the time, the analyst at Rodman & Renshaw assigned a new Buy rating and $2 price target on April 6. Rexahn has clinical stage drug candidates targeting pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer and other tumors.

Rexahn’s 52-week trading range is $0.13 to $0.71, but it has a long history of price volatility, as well as a price under $5 back to 2006.

2. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals: Up 233%

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH) was last seen at $7.20 a share, for a gain of more than 230% so far in 2017. The market cap is $500 million or so, and the surge here was on moving its lupus drug study ahead to Phase 3 trial. Some investors might consider that despite being up so much this stock actually peaked above $10 briefly during the first half of March. The analyst team at Cantor Fitzgerald started Aurinia with an Overweight rating and assigned a $14 price target on April 10.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week range of $1.74 to $10.54. This was the highest surge since its debut in 2014.

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3. Southcross Energy Partners Up 225%

Southcross Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: SXE) is a small cap ($340 million value) natural gas player in a master limited partnership (MLP) structure. It is based in Dallas, and its units have screamed from about $1.50 at the start of 2017 to about $4.25. Very few analysts have made comments worth noting here.

Southcross Energy Partners has a 52-week range of $1.10 to $4.48. Note that its units were north of $20 back in 2014.

4. Galectin Therapeutics: Up 210%

Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: GALT) has almost $100 million in market cap ($89 million) but at $3.00 apiece its shares have risen over 200% so far in 2017. Back on March 30, 2017, H.C. Wainwright raised its rating to Buy from Neutral, and it assigned a $3.50 price target to the shares. In early March of 2017, Galectin’s GR-MD-02 demonstrated efficacy in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Galectin Therapeutics shares have traded between $0.49 and $3.68 in the past year. This company has been public for almost 15 years now, and in 2003 this was briefly a $30 stock.

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5. Everi Holdings: Up 170%

Everi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: EVRI) was last seen trading at $5.65, and that is up about 170% so far in 2017. This company has somehow never been heard of by most investors, but it is a Las Vegas–based outfit that provides video and mechanical reel gaming content and technology solutions and integrated gaming payment solutions. Back on March 15, 2017, Everi was raised to Outperform from Market Perform by Telsey Advisory Group, which also raised the price target to $6.00 from $2.50.

Everi has a trading range of $1.13 to $5.96 in the past 52 weeks. Despite being unknown, this company has been public since 2005, and it was worth more than $15 at its peak.

6. Rocket Fuel: Up 160%

Rocket Fuel Inc. (NASDAQ: FUEL) is a $226 million market cap company with a share price of $4.51, but that is down from a peak of almost $5.50 during late March. And this is still down handily from its peak in the past five years. Rocket Fuel is a digital advertising solutions provider that uses an artificial intelligence driven demand side platform targeting real-time optimization for ads.

Rocket Fuel’s 52-week range is $1.70 to $5.61. It was a $50 and $60 stock back in 2013 and 2014, shortly after coming public — and shortly before sliding massively lower.

7. ViewRay: Up 143%

ViewRay Inc. (NASDAQ: VRAY) was last seen at $7.40 per share, with a $407 million market cap. ViewRay has only been around since 2004, and its primary product is MRIdian, a radiation therapy solution that enables treatment and real-time imaging of a patient’s anatomy simultaneously. It was barely a $3 stock at the start of 2017, and the company has raised $26 million in capital and received FDA approval for its MRIdian Linac system so far this year.

ViewRay has trading in a 52-week range of $2.64 to $10.39. Revenue is just now launching up, with expected sales of almost $50 million in 2017 and almost $100 million in 2018.

8. Internap: Up 117%

Internap Corp. (NASDAQ: INAP) was recently traded at $3.36, with a $265 million market value, and was up 117% so far in 2017. That being said, Internap’s first big move started in December of 2016, when shares rose from under $1 to $1.75 in the same month. On March 10, 2017, Stifel raised its rating to Buy from Hold, and the price target was raised to $5.50 from $2.00. This provider of internet infrastructure services has two units: Data Center and Network Services; and Cloud and Hosting Services.

Internap has a 52-week range of $0.80 to $3.86 a share. Internap has been a small public company dating back to before 2000, and its stock used to be exponentially higher during the tech bubble heading into 2000.

9. Plug Power: Up 104%

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) has been in the fuel cell for the material handling and stationary power markets. Its shares have surged in 2017, after striking a pact with Amazon.com brought the potentiality of an equity investment, but Plug Power had a deal with Wal-Mart years ago too. Its stock has continued to rise on strong volume after the news, and at $2.60 it has risen 100% since just April 4. This was a $1.20 stock at the end of 2016. Two analysts reiterated calls on April 6 after the news drove shares up: Rodman & Renshaw (Buy) raised its target to $4 from $3. FBR (Outperform) raised its target to $3 from $2.50.

Plug Lower’s 52-week trading range is $0.83 to $2.70. Its market cap is $536 million, and this fuel cell stock has been exponentially higher in the past and has been public since right before the tech bubble of 2000.