Big Winners In 2020! Could These Stocks Outperform Again In 2021?

(RTTNews) - As we approach the end of a tumultuous 2020, it's time to list our stock picks that have made triple-digit gains in less than a year. Most of 2020's top stocks have benefited from a prolonged stay-at-home necessitated by the novel coronavirus. Looking forward, many of the best stocks for 2021 are set to benefit from the potential return to normalcy.

We published about 202 stocks between January 2020 and December 2020 in our premium services section. Of which, 183 stocks were featured in our 'Short-Term Investor' and 19 stocks in our 'Small Stocks - Big Potential' section.

While most of the companies around the world were fretting about the COVID-19's impact, Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM), a provider of video-first communications platform, fortified its presence as millions of people worldwide were asked to work-from-home due to the pandemic.

Zoom serves education, entertainment/media, enterprise infrastructure, finance, government, healthcare, manufacturing, non-profit/not for profit and social impact, retail/consumer products, and software/Internet industries, as well as individuals. The stock price doubled in about three months from the time of our publication, and further gained 380.5%.

Eight other stocks that logged triple-digit gains amid this unprecedented year of challenges and changes were NIO Ltd. (NIO), DocuSign Inc. (DOCU), Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR), Roku Inc. (ROKU), Stamps.com Inc. (STMP), Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KALA), Chegg Inc. (CHGG), and Medigus Ltd. (MDGS).

Apart from these, twenty-one stocks gained over 50%. These encompass National Beverage Corp. (FIZZ), Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc. (AXNX), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN), FireEye Inc. (FEYE), Clearfield Inc. (CLFD), Fiverr International Ltd. (FVRR), Electromed Inc. (ELMD), and Caleres Inc. (CAL).

Here's how some of our winners have fared 2020:

1. Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM)

Video conferencing platform Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM) featured on our 'Short-Term Investor' on March 5, 2020 at an opening price of $110.25. The stock touched an intra-day high of $529.74 on September 23, representing a gain of 380.5%. ZM further reached a new 52-week high of $588.84 on October 19 and that represents a gain of 434% from our published price.

The San Jose, California-based company's product portfolio includes Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone, and Zoom Chat. It also offers Zoom Rooms, Zoom Conference Room Connector, and Zoom Video Webinars. In addition, the company provides Zoom for Developers and Zoom App Marketplace.

In The Cards For Future...

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue in a range of $806 million - $811 million, adjusted earnings between $243 million and $248 million and earnings per share in a range of $0.77 - $0.79. Wall Street analysts now estimate earnings of $0.80 per share on revenue of $814.43 million for the quarter.

For the fiscal 2021, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $2.57 billion - $2.58 billion, and non-GAAP earnings between $2.85 and $2.87 per share. Analysts expect earnings of $2.91 per share and revenue of $2.58 billion for fiscal 2021.

2. NIO Ltd. (NIO)

We profiled NIO on February 25, 2020 at an opening price of $5.18. The stock touched $20.97 in intraday on August 26, representing a gain of 304.8%. The stock further traded to a new 52-week high of $57.20 on November 24, and that represents an impressive gain of over 1004% from our published price.

The Shanghai, China-based electric vehicles maker offers five, six, and seven-seater electric SUVs. The company also offers charging solutions, including Power Home, Power Swap, Power Mobile, Public Charger, and Power Express.

3. DocuSign Inc. (DOCU)

Cloud based software provider DocuSign was trading around $75.02 when we alerted our premium subscribers on March 13, 2020. The stock touched a 52-week high of $290.23 on September 2, returning a gain of 286.9%.

Q4, FY21 Guidance

DocuSign sees fourth-quarter total revenue in the range of $404 million - $408 million, with subscription revenue of $384 million - $388 million, and billings in the range between $512 million and $522 million. Fourteen Wall Street analysts now have a consensus revenue estimate of $407.58 million for the quarter.

For fiscal 2021, the company sees revenue to range between $1.426 billion and $1.430 billion, with Subscription revenue of $1.355 billion - $1.359 billion and billings of $1.700 billion - $1.710 billion. Analysts currently look for revenue of $1.43 billion for fiscal 2021.

4. Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR)

Another stock pick worth mentioning is DAR. We alerted this stock to our readers on May 7, 2020 at an opening price of $21.91. The stock touched a high of $57.55 on December 18, reflecting a gain of 162.7% from our published price.

This Irving, Texas-based company develops, produces, and sells natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients. The company operates through three segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients.

5. Roku Inc. (ROKU)

Video streaming device maker Roku featured on our 'Short-Term Investor' on April 7, 2020 at an opening price of $92.85. The stock touched $239.14 on October 13, representing a gain of 157.6%. ROKU further rose to a 52-week high of $363.44 on December 24, which equates to a gain of about 291% from our published price.

6. Stamps.com Inc. (STMP)

STMP was trading around $131.79 when we alerted our premium subscribers on February 2, 2020. The stock reached a 52-week high of $325.13 on August 7, representing a gain of 146.7% from our published price.

What's In Store?

For fiscal 2020, the company now expects non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share to be in a range of about $10.35 - $11.35 compared to the previous guidance of $6.25 - $9.25 per share.

The company projects annual GAAP net income to be in a range of about $140 million - $157 million, versus its prior outlook range of $79 million - $122 million. The company expects GAAP earnings in a range of about $7.30 - $8.27 per share compared to the previously communicated range of $3.93 - $6.70 per share.

The company currently expects total revenue for 2020 to be in a range of about $705 million - $735 million, versus its prior outlook range of $650 million - $725 million. Four Wall Street analysts currently have a consensus earnings estimate of $10.03 per share on revenue of $726.94 million for fiscal 2020.

7. Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KALA)

Biopharmaceutical company Kala Pharma featured on our 'Short-Term Investor' on March 9, 2020 at an opening price of $6.31. KALA touched a 52-week high of $14.68 in intraday on June 3, representing a gain of 132.6% from our published price.

As recently as on December 19, the company said it granted stock options to purchase up to an aggregate of 233,500 shares of Kala Pharmaceuticals common stock to forty-six new employees.

8. Chegg Inc. (CHGG)

February 11, 2020, we identified Chegg, when the education technology company raised its fiscal 2020 guidance, while reporting upbeat Q4 profit.

The stock price was $43.05 on February 11, 2020 - the time of publication. CHGG rose to $89.82 on August 7, 2020, marking a gain of 108.6%. By December 22, 2020, the stock had risen to a 52-week high of $95.20, up more than 120% from our published price.

9. Medigus Ltd. (MDGS)

Our alert on MDGS was published on April 27, 2020 when it was trading around $2.47. The stock touched a 52-week high of $5.15 on May 1, 2020, representing a gain of about 108.5% in just 4 trading days.

The Omer, Israel-based medical device company offers Medigus Ultrasonic Surgical Endostapler, an endoscopy system, which is used for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease.