Top 10 best performing shares of 2021. Source: pexels.com

From cloud-based platforms to – here is a list of the stocks that have grown most during this turbulent year. The rating is based on the YTD growth data as provided by Marketwatch.

1. Upstart Holdings +265,57%

2. Synaptics Inc. +199%

3. Devon Energy Corp +181,47%

4. Asana Inc. +152,72%

5. Marathon Oil Corp. +147,08%

6. Fortinet Inc. +146,41%

7. Ford Motor Co. +136,18%

8. NVIDIA Corporation +132,26%

9. Moderna +131,11%

10. Bath & Body Works Inc. +128,44%

Upstart Holdings

Upstart is an innovative AI lending platform that partners with banks and credit unions to provide consumer loans including auto refinancing. It increases financial inclusion using non-traditional variables, such as education and employment, to predict creditworthiness. The company went public last December and had its shares grow over 1000% since that time. Although the stock crashed after reaching the all-time high of $401, investors may turn bullish again if Upstart outperforms the expectations in Q4. After all, the downward curve of UPST stock is mainly linked to the company’s conservative forward revenue guidance.

Synaptics Inc.

The second-fastest-growing company is a developer of human interface (HMI) hardware and software, involving IoT and AI technologies. It produces touchpads for laptops, display drivers, fingerprint biometrics technology for smartphones; as well as touch, video and far-field voice technology for smart-home devices and vehicles. Synaptics primarily sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and display manufacturers. The company’s SoCs (System-on-Chips) for audio input and output products, and high-definition video and vision products enjoy strong demand in the market.

Devon Energy Corp

Devon Energy Corporation is engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Devon’s operations are focused onshore in the United States with five core areas: the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Powder River Basin, Anadarko Basin and Williston Basin. The company tops Wall Street earnings estimates, as energy demand recovered from pandemic slump and prices hit multi-year highs.

Asana Inc.

The company created web and mobile applications designed to help teams organise, track, and manage their work. The reviews of Asana’s platform are very positive. As the work-from-home model is still prevalent, the company stands out among its competitors with flexibility and vast capabilities, along with higher security levels enabled by collaborations with multiple information security providers. Asana’s revenue soared 70% year-over-year last quarter, indicating that it’s growing rapidly and taking significant market share.

Marathon Oil Corp.

Marathon Oil is another energy company that deals with hydrocarbon exploration. It has a multi-basin portfolio, including the Eagle Ford in Texas, the Bakken in North Dakota, the STACK and SCOOP in Oklahoma and the Permian in New Mexico. Marathon’s International segment engages in oil and gas development and production across international locations primarily in Equatorial Guinea and the United Kingdom.

Fortinet Inc.

Fortinet specialises in cybersecurity solutions, such as firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion prevention systems and endpoint security components. As of today, the FortiGate line of firewalls remains the company’s main product which accounts for most of the gross revenue. The company has also recently released FortiAI, a threat-detection program that uses artificial intelligence, and multi-cloud SD-WAN using a virtualised version of the platform — which is available on all of the major public clouds — to create direct connections from one provider to another.

Ford Motor Co.

The car maker company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under Lincoln brand. Ford Mobility business segment develops autonomous vehicles. The Credit segment comprises vehicle-related financing and leasing activities. The car maker also developed a comprehensive charging solution Ford Pro Charging for commercial electric vehicle charging. The solution integrates management software, hardware and related services.

NVIDIA Corporation

NVIDIA designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market. Besides GPU manufacturing, Nvidia provides an application programming interface (API) called CUDA that allows the creation of massively parallel programs which utilise GPUs. The Graphics segment is Nvidia’s largest revenue generator. The company is also looking to expand its AI capacities, recently entering into an agreement to acquire CPU maker Arm from SoftBank Group for $40 billion

Moderna

One of the leading Covid-19 vaccine makers is pioneering a new class of medicines made of messenger RNA, or mRNA. Moderna’s mRNA platform allows the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto-immune diseases. The company has recently launched the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academy, an innovative initiative that will bring to life an immersive learning experience for Moderna employees, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The initiative is supposed to greatly enhance its employees’ professional skills.

Bath & Body Works Inc.

The retailer behind Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, White Barn, C.O. Bigelow, and PINK brands has recently separated its lingerie business as a separate company. Its retail store chain sells personal care and beauty products such as soaps, lotions, fragrances, and scented candles. In addition to its 1,700+ North American stores, Bath & Body Works has nearly 300 stores in countries around the globe operating under franchise, licence and wholesale arrangements.

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