The Biggest Stock Climbs of 2020

A year ago, no one could have predicted how tumultuous 2020 would be for the stock market after years of steady gains. The panic selloff in March, due largely to the coronavirus pandemic, decimated many stocks. But by late summer, the broad market had set new highs yet again, while many individual stocks more than doubled from their lows. Now heading into the new year, many of those same stocks are still posting impressive gains while other sleepers have emerged as late-year winners.

Find Out: If You Invested $5,000 in These Stocks During the Crash in March, You’d Be Rich

Curious to know which stocks have changed the most regardless of whether they gained or lost? Here's a look at S&P companies that have seen the biggest changes in their stock price since the start of 2020.

Rollins Inc.

• Ticker: ROL
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $33.34
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $57.54
• Price change: $24.20
• Percentage change: 72.59%

Rollins is a global company primarily on pest control. Its subsidiaries include Orkin, HomeTeam Pest Defense, and Clark Pest Control.

Align Technology

• Ticker: ALGN
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $283.68
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $500.10
• Price change: $216.42
• Percentage change: 76.29%

Align Technology is a global medical device company. It's best-known for Invisalign.

IDEXX Laboratories

• Ticker: IDXX
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $265.02
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $467.86
• Price change: $202.84
• Percentage change: 76.54%

Idexx Labs is a multinational veterinary health company.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

• Ticker: FCX
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $13.20
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $23.64
• Price change: $10.44
• Percentage change: 79.09%

Freeport-McMoRan is a top international mining company. 

West Pharmaceutical Services

• Ticker: WST
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $151.74
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $272.01
• Price change: $120.27
• Percentage change: 79.26%

West Pharmaceutical Services creates containment and delivery products for injectable medication.

ServiceNow Inc.

• Ticker: NOW
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $291.24
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $539.59
• Price change: $248.35
• Percentage change: 85.27%

ServiceNow is a software company that provides support tools for businesses.

Thriving: 25 Companies Making the Most Money From Coronavirus

FedEx Corp.

• Ticker: FDX
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $155.10
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $287.76
• Price change: $132.66
• Percentage change: 85.53%

FedEx is a global shipping and delivery service.

Albemarle Corp.

• Ticker: ALB
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $72.61
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $135.88
• Price change: $63.27
• Percentage change: 87.14%

Albemarle is a chemical manufacturing company.

Advanced Micro Devices

• Ticker: AMD
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $49.10
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $92.63
• Price change: $43.53
• Percentage change: 88.66% 

AMD is a multinational technology company focused on the manufacturing of semiconductor devices for use in computers.

Paypal Holdings

• Ticker: PYPL
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $110.75
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $216.54
• Price change: $105.79
• Percentage change: 95.52%

Paypal is one of the world's leading payment processing companies.

L Brands Inc.

• Ticker: LB
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $17.49
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $38.90
• Price change: $21.41
• Percentage change: 122.41% 

L Brands is an American fashion retailer. Its brands include Victoria's Secret and Bath & Bady Works.

Nvidia Corp.

• Ticker: NVDA
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $239.91
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $535.60
• Price change: $295.69
• Percentage change: 123.25%

Nvidia is a technology company that designs graphics processing units for computers.

Etsy Inc.

• Ticker: ETSY
• Price on Jan. 2, 2020: $45.19
• Price on Dec. 1, 2020: $154.67
• Price change: $109.48
• Percentage change: 242.27%

Etsy is an online marketplace for unique and handmade products.

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John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article. 

Methodology: To find the biggest stock climbs of 2020, GOBankingRates analyzed all of the components of the S&P 500 index, sourced from Barchart. Using Google Finance market data, GOBankingRates found the January 2, 2020 closing price and December 1, 2020 closing price for each component. The change in closing prices and that change represented as a percentage of the January 2 closing price were then calculated and the 50 companies with the most dramatic positive percent changes in closing price over the period were ranked. All data was collected on and up to date as of December 2, 2020.

Photo disclaimer: Photos are for illustrative purposes only. As a result, some might be representational and not reflect the specific companies listed in this article.

About the Author

Andrew Lisa

Andrew Lisa has been writing professionally since 2001. An award-winning writer, Andrew was formerly one of the youngest nationally distributed columnists for the largest newspaper syndicate in the country, the Gannett News Service. He worked as the business section editor for amNewYork, the most widely distributed newspaper in Manhattan, and worked as a copy editor for TheStreet.com, a financial publication in the heart of Wall Street's investment community in New York City.

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