The Biggest Stock Climbs of 2021
Despite rising inflation, a global supply chain crisis, and intense political discord finding its way into just about every discussion, the pandemic only briefly succeeded in interrupting what appears to be an endless stock market bull run. The S&P 500 delivered plenty of winners in 2021, but with the year now almost in the books, it’s time to reflect on the biggest climbers of them all.
Some Stocks Gained Huge Dollar Amounts
Some stocks — particularly those with share prices that were high to begin with — experienced dramatic three- and even four-digit gains in 2021.
Here’s a look at the top 25.
You’ll notice that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, appears twice. The stock with the ticker symbol GOOGL is for A-shares, which come with voting rights. GOOG represents the company’s C-shares, which is basically the same stock that trades at almost the same price, but doesn’t give investors a say in how the company is run.
Gartner Inc. (IT)
- 2/19/2020 price: $158.07
- 2/19/2021 price: $321.22
- Dollar change: $163.15
- Percent change: 103.21%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX)
- 2/19/2020 price: $478.02
- 2/19/2021 price: $641.98
- Dollar change: $163.96
- Percent change: 34.30%
Costco Wholesale (COST)
- 2/19/2020 price: $380.15
- 2/19/2021 price: $546.13
- Dollar change: $165.98
- Percent change: 43.66%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO)
- 2/19/2020 price: $471.82
- 2/19/2021 price: $638.74
- Dollar change: $166.92
- Percent change: 35.38%
Monolithic Power Sys (MPWR)
- 2/19/2020 price: $364.82
- 2/19/2021 price: $535.02
- Dollar change: $170.20
- Percent change: 46.65%
Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO)
- 2/19/2020 price: $575.26
- 2/19/2021 price: $750.17
- Dollar change: $174.91
- Percent change: 30.41%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE)
- 2/19/2020 price: $485.34
- 2/19/2021 price: $662.10
- Dollar change: $176.76
- Percent change: 36.42%
O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY)
- 2/19/2020 price: $453.97
- 2/19/2021 price: $635.73
- Dollar change: $181.76
- Percent change: 40.04%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT)
- 2/19/2020 price: $145.56
- 2/19/2021 price: $327.39
- Dollar change: $181.83
- Percent change: 124.92%
MSCI Inc. (MSCI)
- 2/19/2020 price: $437.64
- 2/19/2021 price: $621.04
- Dollar change: $183.40
- Percent change: 41.91%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
- 2/19/2020 price: $131.14
- 2/19/2021 price: $315.03
- Dollar change: $183.89
- Percent change: 140.22%
Blackrock Inc. (BLK)
- 2/19/2020 price: $710.82
- 2/19/2021 price: $901.64
- Dollar change: $190.82
- Percent change: 26.85%
Pool Corp. (POOL)
- 2/19/2020 price: $356.89
- 2/19/2021 price: $559.19
- Dollar change: $202.30
- Percent change: 56.68%
Zebra Technologies (ZBRA)
- 2/19/2020 price: $378.13
- 2/19/2021 price: $590.72
- Dollar change: $212.59
- Percent change: 56.22%
Dexcom (DXCM)
- 2/19/2020 price: $357.74
- 2/19/2021 price: $591.96
- Dollar change: $234.22
- Percent change: 65.47%
Intuit Inc. (INTU)
- 2/19/2020 price: $371.70
- 2/19/2021 price: $666.91
- Dollar change: $295.21
- Percent change: 79.42%
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
- 2/19/2020 price: $3,186.63
- 2/19/2021 price: $3,504.56
- Dollar change: $317.93
- Percent change: 9.98%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB)
- 2/19/2020 price: $387.34
- 2/19/2021 price: $714.19
- Dollar change: $326.85
- Percent change: 84.38%
Mettler-Toledo International (MTD)
- 2/19/2020 price: $1,160.87
- 2/19/2021 price: $1,496.65
- Dollar change: $335.78
- Percent change: 28.92%
Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
- 2/19/2020 price: $729.77
- 2/19/2021 price: $1,081.92
- Dollar change: $352.15
- Percent change: 48.25%
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $1,319.12
- 2/19/2021 price: $1,686.88
- Dollar change: $367.76
- Percent change: 27.88%
Autozone (AZO)
- 2/19/2020 price: $1,180.40
- 2/19/2021 price: $1,814.18
- Dollar change: $633.78
- Percent change: 53.69%
Alphabet Cl A (GOOGL)
- 2/19/2020 price: $1,726.13
- 2/19/2021 price: $2,843.66
- Dollar change: $1,117.53
- Percent change: 64.74%
Alphabet Cl C (GOOG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $1,728.24
- 2/19/2021 price: $2,856.12
- Dollar change: $1,127.88
- Percent change: 65.26%
NVR Inc. (NVR)
- 2/19/2020 price: $4,040.65
- 2/19/2021 price: $5,291.10
- Dollar Change: $1,250.45
- Percent change: 30.95%
Other Stocks Had Mighty Runs in Terms of Percentage
If you buy securities in partial shares, you care only about a stock’s percent gain or loss, as the price of individual shares means nothing. Here’s a look at the biggest gainers of the year in terms of percentage.
Johnson Controls Intl (JCI)
- 2/19/2020 price: $46.18
- 2/19/2021 price: $77.42
- Dollar change: $31.24
- Percent change: 67.65%
Adv Micro Devices (AMD)
- 2/19/2020 price: $92.30
- 2/19/2021 price: $154.81
- Dollar change: $62.51
- Percent change: 67.72%
Etsy Inc. (ETSY)
- 2/19/2020 price: $172.08
- 2/19/2021 price: $291.38
- Dollar change: $119.30
- Percent change: 69.33%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
- 2/19/2020 price: $17.45
- 2/19/2021 price: $29.70
- Dollar change: $12.25
- Percent change: 70.20%
Quanta Services (PWR)
- 2/19/2020 price: $68.25
- 2/19/2021 price: $117.54
- Dollar change: $49.29
- Percent change: 72.22%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB)
- 2/19/2020 price: $152.63
- 2/19/2021 price: $266.85
- Dollar change: $114.22
- Percent change: 74.83%
Eog Resources (EOG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $49.86
- 2/19/2021 price: $87.42
- Dollar change: $37.56
- Percent change: 75.33%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET)
- 2/19/2020 price: $70.79
- 2/19/2021 price: $124.97
- Dollar change: $54.18
- Percent change: 76.54%
Apache Corp. (APA)
- 2/19/2020 price: $14.77
- 2/19/2021 price: $26.24
- Dollar change: $11.47
- Percent change: 77.66%
Intuit Inc. (INTU)
- 2/19/2020 price: $371.70
- 2/19/2021 price: $666.91
- Dollar change: $295.21
- Percent change: 79.42%
Extra Space Storage Inc. (EXR)
- 2/19/2020 price: $110.29
- 2/19/2021 price: $198.79
- Dollar change: $88.50
- Percent change: 80.24%
ConocoPhillips (COP)
- 2/19/2020 price: $39.57
- 2/19/2021 price: $71.48
- Dollar change: $31.91
- Percent change: 80.64%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $68.00
- 2/19/2021 price: $124.50
- Dollar change: $56.50
- Percent change: 83.09%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB)
- 2/19/2020 price: $387.34
- 2/19/2021 price: $714.19
- Dollar change: $326.85
- Percent change: 84.38%
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL)
- 2/19/2020 price: $190.69
- 2/19/2021 price: $352.06
- Dollar change: $161.37
- Percent change: 84.62%
Robert Half International Inc. (RHI)
- 2/19/2020 price: $61.15
- 2/19/2021 price: $114.57
- Dollar change: $53.42
- Percent change: 87.36%
Simon Property Group (SPG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $82.81
- 2/19/2021 price: $160.48
- Dollar change: $77.67
- Percent change: 93.79%
Gartner Inc. (IT)
- 2/19/2020 price: $158.07
- 2/19/2021 price: $321.22
- Dollar change: $163.15
- Percent change: 103.21%
Nucor Corp. (NUE)
- 2/19/2020 price: $52.51
- 2/19/2021 price: $113.98
- Dollar change: $61.47
- Percent change: 117.06%
Diamondback Energy (FANG)
- 2/19/2020 price: $48.94
- 2/19/2021 price: $107.48
- Dollar change: $58.54
- Percent change: 119.62%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT)
- 2/19/2020 price: $145.56
- 2/19/2021 price: $327.39
- Dollar change: $181.83
- Percent change: 124.92%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)
- 2/19/2020 price: $6.83
- 2/19/2021 price: $15.70
- Dollar change: $8.87
- Percent change: 129.87%
Ford Motor Company (F)
- 2/19/2020 price: $8.52
- 2/19/2021 price: $19.75
- Dollar change: $11.23
- Percent change: 131.81%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
- 2/19/2020 price: $131.14
- 2/19/2021 price: $315.03
- Dollar change: $183.89
- Percent change: 140.22%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN)
- 2/19/2020 price: $16.13
- 2/19/2021 price: $42.70
- Dollar change: $26.57
- Percent change: 164.72%
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Methodology: GOBankingRates used Google Finance data to analyze all components of the S&P500 index, downloaded from Barchart. For each component, GOBankingRates found (1) the January 4, 2021 closing price, (2) the Nov. 26, 2021 closing price, (3) the change in closing price over the period, and (4) the percent change in closing price. The top 25 stocks that have seen the largest percent change and the top 25 stocks that have seen the largest dollar change in closing price over the past year were identified as the stocks that have made the biggest jumps. All data were gathered on and up to date as of Nov. 30, 2021.
