The 2023 S&P 500 market rally continued in April as investors anticipate an end to Federal Reserve rate hikes in coming months. However, the market is still concerned about the Fed’s ability to bring down inflation and navigate a soft landing for the U.S. economy.
Despite the uncertainty, there are still stocks that have rewarded investors with large gains this year. Top 2023 stock market performers include health care stocks with unique catalysts and stocks exposed to cryptocurrency technology.
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Here are the 10 best-performing stocks of 2023 among companies that trade on major U.S. exchanges and have market capitalizations of at least $1 billion:
| Stock | Year-to-date return through April 28 |
| Viking Therapeutics Inc. (ticker: VKTX) | 126.7% |
| NaaS Technology Inc. (NAAS) | 127% |
| MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) | 132% |
| Provention Bio Inc. (PRVB) | 136.3% (through final trading day on April 27) |
| Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RETA) | 160.2% |
| Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUPH) | 160.4% |
| Oscar Health Inc. (OSCR) | 173.6% |
| Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA) | 194.4% |
| Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT) | 252.8% |
| Top Financial Group Ltd. (TOP) | 2,117.4% |
10. Viking Therapeutics Inc. (VKTX)
Viking Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The stock has rallied in 2023 on investor optimism surrounding its drug candidates targeting midstage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, and weight loss. In the first quarter, Viking completed enrollment for a phase 2b trial in patients with NASH and fibrosis, and the company said it expects to report research data by the end of the second quarter. Investors see both NASH and obesity as massive addressable markets for Viking.
9. NaaS Technology Inc. (NAAS)
NaaS Technology is one of the largest electric vehicle charging service providers in China. In February 2022, China’s Dada Auto Inc. announced a merger with Nasdaq-listed Rise Education Cayman Ltd. The merger was completed on June 10, 2022, and NaaS Technology was born. NaaS has benefited from the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China, and the stock took off like a rocket after NaaS reported adjusted financial results for the six months ending on June 30, 2022 that included 592% revenue growth. NaaS also recently unveiled its first automatic charging robot for EV charging.
8. MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR)
MicroStrategy’s core business is a business intelligence software platform, but cryptocurrency enthusiasts know the company because it is also the largest corporate investor in Bitcoin (BTC). As of the end of 2022, the company held 132,500 BTC on its balance sheet, a stake worth about $3.9 billion as of April 28. With the price of Bitcoin up about 77% this year, it’s easy to see why MicroStrategy shares have soared. MicroStrategy’s business intelligence segment hasn’t performed particularly well, so investors should expect the stock to trade mostly in-line with Bitcoin moving forward.
7. Provention Bio Inc. (PRVB)
Provention Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing various novel therapeutics. On March 13, French pharma giant Sanofi (SNY) announced a planned acquisition of Provention at a price of $25 per share, a deal that values Provention at roughly $2.9 billion. The week the deal was announced, Provision shares rallied 259%. Provention’s Tzield was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022 to delay the onset of stage 3 Type 1 diabetes in adults and children ages eight and older who are in stage 2. Sanofi already has several diabetes treatment products.
6. Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RETA)
Reata Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company that specializes in rare disease treatments. Reata shares gained 199% in one trading day in early March when the FDA approved the company’s Friedreich’s ataxia treatment candidate Skyclarys for patients 16 and older. Skyclarys is now the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat Friedreich’s ataxia, which affects roughly 5,000 people in the U.S. While the potential market for Skyclarys may be small, Reata could potentially have tremendous pricing leverage.
5. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AUPH)
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops therapies to treat autoimmune diseases. In February, the company reported fourth-quarter numbers that impressed Wall Street. Full-year revenue was up 194%, and fourth-quarter revenue was up 21% over the previous year. The big quarter was driven by Lupkynis, the only oral therapy to treat autoimmune disorder lupus nephritis that is currently approved by the FDA. Aurinia also settled a key patent lawsuit with Sun Pharma in January.
4. Oscar Health Inc. (OSCR)
Oscar Health is a health insurer with 1.1 million members that is primarily focused on U.S. Affordable Care Act exchanges. Oscar shares rallied in February when the company reported 93% year-over-year membership growth in 2022 and guided for 2023 direct and assumed policy premiums of between $6.4 billion and $6.6 billion. The company said cost cutting is a top priority in 2023, and it plans to reduce its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization loss to between $75 million and $175 million this year, a major step toward profitability.
3. Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA)
Marathon Digital is one of the largest Bitcoin miners in North America. Marathon shares have gotten a big 2023 boost from the rebound in the crypto market. In March, Marathon reported a net loss of $686.7 million in 2022 but said Bitcoin production was up 30% last year. It also reported a 64% increase in its hash rate in the first quarter of 2023 and said Bitcoin production increased 21% month-over-month to 825 BTC in March. So far in 2023, Marathon’s rigs have been much more profitable than last year.
2. Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT)
Riot Platforms is a Bitcoin mining company. Cryptocurrency-related stocks tanked during 2022’s “crypto winter.” Rising interest rates triggered a broad market rotation out of cryptocurrency last year, sending Bitcoin prices tumbling and making mining far less profitable. Riot reported a 36% year-over-year increase in Bitcoin production in March and now holds more than 7,000 BTC on its balance sheet. Riot has a deployed fleet of more than 94,000 Bitcoin miners.
1. Top Financial Group Ltd. (TOP)
Top Financial is a Hong Kong based online brokerage. Attention focused on GameStop Corp. (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) has died down since 2021, but Top Financial seems to be a sign the meme stock trading phenomenon is alive and well. On the final trading day of April, Top Financial shares skyrocketed more than 1,180% in intraday trading before finishing the day up 441%. There was seemingly no news from the company, but Top was reportedly one of the most discussed stock tickers in Reddit’s WallStreetBets community.
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2023’s 10 Best-Performing Stocks originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/01/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
