Now the envelopes for the five best- and five worst-performing stocks during the year ended March 29:
• Taking the top spot was Cryoport Inc. (Nasdaq: CYRX), which climbed 264% to $8.60 and a $235 million market cap.
The Irvine-based company reported a 56% jump in 2017 revenue to $12 million and predicted “significant revenue growth” in the coming quarters. It improved systems, hired more people and entered into long-term logistics agreements. Cryoport also cut its annual loss 40% to $7.9 million.
“2017 was an inflection point for our company,” Chief Executive Jerrell Shelton said in its annual statement.
It sees itself as “the logistical backbone of the regenerative medicine industry.” It uses cryogenic technology to ship a range of life sciences products domestically and internationally, including immunotherapies and stem, CAR-T and reproductive cells.
• In second place is Irvine-based Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX), which more than doubled its share price to $34.19 and now has a $2.1 billion market cap. After an initial public offering in March 2017 at $14 a share, it briefly fell as low as $14.80 before beginning a steady climb (see photo, page 1).
Alteryx reported 2017 revenue climbed 53% to $132 million. The company predicts sales will increase this year by as much as 36%.
It calls itself a “leader in self service data analytics” that can prep, blend and analyze data in hours instead of weeks. The company offers an end-to-end analytics platform for 3,400 customers in the enterprise sector, including blue-chippers like Best Buy, The Home Depot Inc. and McDonald’s.
• In third place is the 79% jump of Boot Barn Inc. (NYSE: BOOT), a retailer that’s bucking the industry trend by increasing store count (see story, page 1).
• Barely behind in fourth place is Kush Bottles Inc. (OTCQB: KSHB), up 79% to $5 and a $318 million market cap.
Its stock was a drag for much of the year until November, when someone on Wall Street got a whiff that Kush was a key supplier of paraphernalia to the industry around cannabis, which California legalized in January when voters passed Proposition 64. The stock reached as high as $8.51 in early January before the buzz wore off.
The Santa Ana-based company reported first-quarter revenue soared 258% to $8.85 million for the period ended Nov. 30. It’s scheduled to report second-quarter results this week.
• ICU Medical Inc. (Nasdaq: ICUI), takes fifth place with a 65% increase to $252.40 and a $5.1 billion market cap. The medical devices provider acquired the Hospira Infusion System business of Pfizer Inc. a year ago, permitting the San Clemente-based company to almost quadruple sales last year.
Shares climbed steadily throughout the year, aided by a 9.2% bump last month after it boosted its 2018 profit forecast.
Special note: The best performing penny stock on our list was Propel Media Inc. (OTC: PROM), an online advertising company with 54 employees that became public through a reverse merger in 2015. Shares of the Irvine-based company climbed from 2.69 cents to 30 cents, a 1,015% gain, in the 12 months ended March 29. Its market cap jumped to $75 million, good for No. 62 on the list.
Revenue in 2017 climbed 45% to $88.7 million with a net loss of $363,000 for the year due to expenses such as $12.2 million for interest payment and $18.1 million for income tax, Propel Media said in its annual report. The company has a $58.3 million term loan with a 10.2% annual interest rate due next January.
The Shouldn’t Haves
Now for the five worst performers:
• No. 5, Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS), reached its all-time high last April, $52.39, then fell 40% to $30.83 and a $1.07 billion market cap. The San Clemente-based maker of products to treat glaucoma suffered its biggest drop, 18%, on Sept. 14 after cutting its 2017 revenue forecast.
•(Nasdaq: ELGX), which declined 42% to $4.23 and a $354 million market cap. Shares of the maker of endovascular stent grafts plummeted 37% on May 18 after the Irvine-based company said potential Food and Drug Administration approval of its next-generation Nellix System will be delayed two years longer than investors anticipated.
• The Street didn’t like the taste of third place The Habit Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: HABT), which fell 50% to $8.80 and a $229 million market cap. Shares dropped 25% on Nov. 2 after the Irvine-based fast-casual burger chain reported third-quarter same-store sales decreased 0.2% year-over-year. Shares had soared above $40 in 2014.
• AutoWeb Inc. (Nasdaq: AUTO) suffered a flat tire as shares plummeted 76% to $2.98 and a $39 million market cap. The automobile sales leads provider reported two big blows during the year. Shares dropped 24% on Aug. 4 after the Irvine-based company cut its 2017 revenue and profit forecasts. They fell another 42% on March 9 after it reported fourth-quarter revenue declined and that longtime Chief Executive Jeff Coats and Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Boren were leaving the company.
• Bringing up the rear is Netlist Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST), an Irvine-based maker of modular memory subsystems. It fell 77% to 23 cents a share and a $16 million market cap. Stock plummeted in August after the company said it would issue new shares, which were eventually priced at 60 cents each, about half the price it traded at a week earlier.
The stock further plunged in November after it lost an infringement case against SK Hynix. It traded above $10 at its historic high in 2006.
