These 5 High-Growth Small-Cap Stocks Surged More Than 100% In Q1: What’s Next?

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2023

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The S&P 500 index, which is tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY , posted a gain of 6.2% in the first quarter of 2023, while technology stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index, which is tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 QQQ , fared much better by posting a20% increasein the quarter, also marking the third-best quarterly performance since the dot-com boom in 2001.

Which U.S.stocks have performed the best so far in 2023? And what kind of upside potential do they still offer in the following quarters? Is the Wall Street analyst consensus in agreement with current market valuations?

Benzinga answered these questions by screeningstocks having a market valuation of at least $1 billion and ranked them by Q1 total returns. Here's what we discovered.

Read Also:Top 5 Best And Worst U.S. Industry ETFs In Q1 2023: AI and Bank Turmoil Shaped Stock Returns

The Five Top Performing U.S. Stocks in Q1 2023

5) Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. MARA

Marathon Digital Holdings is a digital asset miningtechnology company with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the development of digital assets. The company grew by 143% in the first quarter, owing to a 50% quarterly gain in the overall crypto market value, which increased to 1.15 trillion at the conclusion of the quarter. A short squeeze phenomenon was another factor that most likely led to the company's extraordinary rise. Marathon Digital Holdings was one of the most shorted companies in the marketat the start of the year, with a short interest of 43%. Once sellers were forced to liquidate positions and purchase back stock amid strongprice momentum, the unwinding of those short bets likely exacerbated the bullish surge. By the conclusion of the quarter, short interest in MARA had dropped to 27%. Marathon trades at a discount of 30% versus the average analysts price target. Analyst Gianni Di Poce recently said the company could rise 47% as the shares are undervalued.

4) Oscar HealthIncOSCR

Oscar Health, Inc., formerly known as Mulberry Health Inc., is a health insurance company in the U.S. that created +Oscar, a technology-driven platform meant to help providers and payors directly support their shift to value-based care. Oscar Health rose by 170% in the first quarter of2023. The company skyrocketed in the last days of the quarter on the heels of better-than-expected fourth quarterearnings and the appointment of former Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini. The newly hired CEO believes the firm can provide digital tools to assist doctors and health systems engage with patients and manage their treatment. Oscar Health is trading at a 22% price premium to the average analyst price target.

3) C3.aiIncAI

C3.ai, Inc., formerly known as C3 IoT, Inc., operates as an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company providing a wide range of AI applications. C3.ai delivered a 191% return in the first quarter of 2023. However, the stock still trades 65% lower from its IPO. In February, C3.ai saw an increase in the short interest by market participants to 22%, after the short-seller Spruce Point Capital questioned its profitability. C3.ai is trading at a 40% premium to the average analyst price target.

2) Riot PlatformsIncRIOT

Riot Platform is a bitcoin mining firm that operates in three segments: Bitcoin mining, data center hostingand engineering. The firm also offers co-location services to large-scale bitcoin mining enterprises.

Riot Platforms rose 195% in the first quarter of the year, but continues to be 85% lower than its all-time high reached in February of 2021. The rise in bitcoin prices (up nearly 70% in the first quarter) was one of the key bullish driver for the stock. The short interest is currently around 19% and the stock is broadly in line with the average analyst price target

See the latest analysis on Riot Platform: This Bitcoin-Mining Stock Surged Over 47% In 1 Month: But Options Market Has Something Else To Say

1)Biomea Fusions IncBMEA

Biomea Fusionis a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm specializing in the research and development of covalent small molecule medicines for the treatment of patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases.

BMF-219, an orally bioavailable, powerful, and specific covalent inhibitor, is its primary product candidate for treating patients with liquid and solid tumors, as well as type 2 diabetes.

Biomea Fusions increased 272% in the first quarter of the year. The vast bulk of the performance occurred on the last day ofthe quarter, when the company announced positive data from an ongoing phase II trial, indicating that 89% of patients achieved a HbA1c decrease.

Biomea is selling at a discount to Wall Street analysts' average price target, which is 53% higher than current stock prices.

Read Next:Labor Market Is Cooling: ADP Job Growth Misses Expectations. Here's How Fed Rate Bets And Markets Are Reacting

Photo: Shutterstock

UK

Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Published

35 mins ago

April 27, 2025

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

Business

Chair candidates battle to check in at Premier Inn-owner Whitbread

Published

1 hour ago

April 27, 2025

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Chair candidates battle to check in at Premier Inn-owner Whitbread

Two chairs of FTSE-100 companies are vying to succeed Adam Crozier at the top of Whitbread, the London-listed group behind the Premier Inn hotel chain.

Sky News has learnt that Christine Hodgson, who chairs water company Severn Trent, and Andrew Martin, chair of the testing and inspection group Intertek, are the leading contenders for the Whitbread job.

Mr Crozier, who has chaired the leisure group since 2018, is expected to step down later this year.

The search, which has been taking place for several months, is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, according to one City source.

Ms Hodgson has some experience of the leisure industry, having served on the board of Ladbrokes Coral Group until 2017, while Mr Martin was a senior executive at the contract caterer Compass Group and finance chief at the travel agent First Choice Holidays.

Under Mr Crozier’s stewardship, Whitbread has been radically reshaped, selling its Costa Coffee subsidiary to The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 for nearly £4bn.

The company has also seen off an activist campaign spearheaded by Elliott Advisers, while Mr Crozier orchestrated the appointment of Dominic Paul, its chief executive, following Alison Brittain’s retirement.

It said last year that it sees potential to grow the network from 86,000 UK bedrooms to 125,000 over the next decade or so.

Mr Crozier is one of Britain’s most seasoned boardroom figures, and now chairs BT Group and Kantar, the market research and data business backed by Bain Capital and WPP Group.

He previously ran the Football Association, ITV and – in between – Royal Mail Group.

On Friday, shares in Whitbread closed at £25.41, giving the company a market capitalisation of about £4.5bn.

Whitbread declined to comment this weekend.

Politics

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Published

2 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Bitcoin treasury firms driving 0T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back

Investment firms with Bitcoin-focused treasuries are front-running global Bitcoin adoption, which may see the world’s first cryptocurrency soar to a $200 trillion market capitalization in the coming decade.

Institutions and governments worldwide are starting to recognize the unique monetary properties of Bitcoin (BTC), according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream and the inventor of Hashcash.

“$MSTR and other treasury companies are an arbitrage of the dislocation between the bitcoin future and todays fiat world,” Back wrote in an April 26 X post.

“A sustainable and scalable $100-$200 trillion trade front-running hyperbitcoinization. scalable enough for most big listed companies to move to btc treasury,” he added.

Hyperbitcoinization refers to the theoretical future where Bitcoin soars to become the largest global currency, replacing fiat money due to its inflationary economics and growing distrust in the legacy financial system.

Bitcoin treasury firms driving $200T hyperbitcoinization — Adam Back — *Source:* *Adam Back*

Bitcoin’s price outpacing fiat money inflation remains the main driver of global hyperbitcoinization, Back said, adding:

“Some people think treasury strategy is a temporary glitch. i’m saying no it’s a logical and sustainable arbitrage. but not for ever, the driver is bitcoin price going up over 4 year periods faster than interest and inflation.”

Back’s comments come nearly two months after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a national Bitcoin reserve from BTC forfeited in government criminal cases.

Global firms continue Bitcoin accumulation

Continued Bitcoin investments from the likes of Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, may inspire more global firms to follow suit.

Strategy’s approach is proving to be lucrative, with the firm’s Bitcoin treasury generating over $5.1 billion worth of profit since the beginning of 2025, according to Strategy’s co-founder, Michael Saylor.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, also known as “Asia’s MicroStrategy,” adopted a similar strategy, since surpassing 5,000 BTC in total holdings on April 24, Cointelegraph reported.

As Asia’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Metaplanet plans to acquire 21,000 BTC by 2026.

US financial institutions may also have more confidence in adopting Bitcoin after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its 2022 guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency. “Banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” Saylor said in response to the guidance withdrawal.

“Banks will now be supervised through normal processes, signaling a more open regulatory environment for digital asset integration,” Nexo dispatch analyst Iliya Kalchev told Cointelegraph.