In this piece, we discuss the 11 Best Performing Stocks in the Last 12 Months.
The year 2025 was not just another year but a period marked by sharp shifts in technology, geopolitics, and trade policy, often driving markets in surprising ways, according to Reuters’ year-end report.
Equity performance was largely tied to these headwinds rather than the usual fundamentals. Following President Donald Trump’s import tariff announcement in April, U.S. trade policy uncertainty skyrocketed to an all-time high. Consequently, the effective U.S. tariff rate shot up to nearly 17%, which is the highest since 1935. Amid these challenges, U.S. GDP still grew 4.3% on an annualized basis in the third quarter, reflecting resilience despite disruption.
In this macro-environment, some stocks still managed to do well.
In 2025, the precious metals sector recorded gains as underlying prices surged, with gold and silver closing the year with 72% and 178% gains, respectively. On December 29, the white metal hit the $80-per-ounce mark for the first time amid strong industrial demand, supply shortfalls, and a drastically weaker dollar. Meanwhile, European defense stocks surged on the back of Germany’s pledge to pour up to a trillion euros into defense and infrastructure. As a result, the sector climbed over 50% in 2025.
Moving on to the technology sector, the year proved to be quite volatile. While Oracle, an American multinational technology company, surged 36% in a single session in September, driven by upbeat revenue projections, its shares fell 15% in just two days in early December. The example of Oracle shares demonstrates how the sector featured not only some of the strongest rallies but also the sharpest reversals over the past year.
With this backdrop in mind, let’s jump to our list of the best-performing stocks in the last 12 months.
Source:Pixabay
Our Methodology
To curate our list of the 11 best performing stocks, we relied on online screeners to extract a list of stocks that performed the strongest in the past one year. We ensured these stocks had strong analyst coverage and hedge fund sentiment. We assessed hedge fund sentiment using Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, which tracks 978 stocks as of Q3 2025. Finally, we ranked these stocks in ascending order by one-year share price performance.
Note: One-year share price performance is as of January 27 market close.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
11. Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE:UUUU)
1-Year Share Performance: 323.12%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38
On January 28, 2026, Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE:UUUU) saw Roth Capital upgrade the stock from ‘Sell’ to ‘Neutral’, while raising its price target from $13.00 to $15.00. The firm’s increased confidence reflects improving short-term growth drivers and bolstered investor sentiment. While the firm admits the stock appears stretched, it points to a favorable uranium price environment and constructive market psychology. According to the firm, these positives could outweigh the risk of a short-term correction. In the current phase of the cycle, Roth Capital framed the stock as sentiment-driven.
Meanwhile, the improving sentiment was reinforced earlier by a strategically material move. On January 21, 2026, it was reported that Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE:UUUU) had agreed to acquire Australian Strategic Materials (ASM). The deal, valuing ASM’s equity at $300.9 million, represents a 121% premium to ASM’s January 20 close. Under the agreement, ASM shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.053 Energy Fuels shares per ASM share, plus a special dividend of up to A$0.13, implying A$1.6 per share.
With this move, Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE:UUUU) significantly expanded its rare earth footprint, integrating ASM’s Korean metallization plant and planned U.S. facility with its White Mesa Mill in Utah. At the same time, the company adds a pipeline of global development projects that aim to secure non-Chinese critical mineral supply chains.
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE:UUUU), a U.S.-based mining company, focuses on uranium, vanadium, and rare earth production. The company’s operating assets include the White Mesa Mill and expanding exposure to critical minerals.
10. New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD)
1-Year Share Performance: 332.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
On January 27, 2026, New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD) received shareholders’ approval of the previously announced plan of arrangement, whereby a wholly owned subsidiary of Coeur Mining will purchase all outstanding NGD shares. The arrangement also received the approval of Coeur’s shareholders.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending court and regulatory approvals. Following the close, New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD) shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.4959 Coeur shares per New Gold share. Offering approximately 38% ownership of the combined company, the deal provides investors with exposure to a larger all-North American precious metals platform.
Meanwhile, an optimistic analyst update preceded the acquisition update. On January 26, 2026, Scotiabank raised its price target on New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD) from $10.50 to $12.75, while reiterating an ‘Outperform’ rating. The increase in target, coming as part of a broader update to the Gold & Precious Minerals sector, reflects the firm’s higher gold and silver price forecasts amid heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty, alongside central bank buying.
New Gold Inc. (NYSE:NGD), a Canada-based gold mining company, operates and develops assets including Rainy River and New Afton.
9. Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT)
1-Year Share Performance: 338.99%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31
As of January 28, 2026, Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) is enjoying solid investor confidence and accelerating momentum. On January 28, 2026, the company’s shares surged to a 52-week high of $46.49, marking a 338.99% total return over the past twelve months, including a 214.60% gain over the last six months.
Amid this share price surge, Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) received a notably more constructive analyst update. On January 16, 2026, Morgan Stanley increased its price target on the stock from $12 to $51, while reiterating an ‘Equal Weight’ rating. The raised target reflects the updated 2026 modeling, featuring a shift to a sum-of-the-parts valuation. Amid the ongoing debate in the space technology services segment regarding how Direct-to-Device will evolve through 2026, the firm believes structural industry shifts are fully reflected in valuation frameworks.
Meanwhile, Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) demonstrated its strength on the operational front. In the previous month, the company launched its unified global Ka-band satellite network for government and military customers. With this launch, the company aims to enhance resilience, coverage, and performance for users, reinforcing its longer-term confidence in its communications services platform.
Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT), a global satellite communications company, delivers broadband, mobility, and secure government solutions across commercial and defense markets. The company leverages advanced satellite networks, encryption technologies, and multi-orbit connectivity.
8. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
1-Year Share Performance: 342.47%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 28
On January 27, 2026, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) announced a key milestone in national defense, academic, and enterprise adoption.
Alongside its partners, Anduril Industries and Davidson Technologies, D-Wave Quantum, the only dual-platform quantum computing company, tested its Stride hybrid solver on complex U.S. air and missile defense scenarios. The company’s quantum-classical approach delivered at least 10x faster time-to-solution, improving threat mitigation by 9-12% and enabling interception of an additional 45-60 missiles in a 500-missile simulation. Leveraging this partnership, the companies aim to expand into logistics, cyber defense, and distributed manufacturing.
Meanwhile, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) announced its $20 million agreement with Florida Atlantic University (FAU). The agreement relates to the installation of an Advantage2 annealing quantum system, which will position FAU as a leader in quantum research, education, and workforce development in Florida.
Furthermore, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) announced the same day that it has secured a $10 million, two-year Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) contract. Signed with a Fortune 100 enterprise, the deal reflects growing commercial adoption of its quantum annealing technology.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) focuses on developing quantum computing systems, software, and services. These offerings provide cloud-based access and professional support for enterprise and government applications.
7. Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT)
1-Year Share Performance: 354.66%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 44
On January 26, 2026, Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT) announced a major milestone, receiving a Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The designation came for bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST) previously treated with imatinib. This win reflects the combination’s potential to significantly improve outcomes in this patient population.
The designation follows the PEAK trial that featured a 50% reduction in risk of disease progression or death compared to sunitinib monotherapy (hazard ratio 0.50, 95% CI: 0.39-0.65). Meanwhile, median progression-free survival stood at 16.5 months compared to 9.2 months for sunitinib alone, while reporting no new safety signals.
Earlier in January, under its Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR), the FDA agreed to accept Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT)’s New Drug Application (NDA). This acceptance will accelerate the review, increasing the likelihood of a quicker FDA decision. Looking ahead, management expects to present full PEAK results in early 2026 and begin a Phase 2 trial in mid-2026 for first-line GIST patients with exon 9 mutations.
Cogent Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT) focuses on developing precision therapies that target genetically defined diseases, including selective tyrosine kinase inhibitors for KIT mutations in GIST and related conditions.
6. Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)
1-Year Share Performance: 358.24%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
On January 21, 2026, Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) launched its latest diagnostics tool, the FaultFinder Electronic Troubleshooting System (ETS). FaultFinder ETS, a compact, automated circuit card testing solution, is part of the PinPoint product family that identifies and evaluates system faults with high accuracy. Furthermore, it features reverse-engineering capabilities that generate schematics for undocumented boards. As a result, the solution reduces diagnostic time and manual effort, while supporting long-term system maintenance. Workflow efficiency across mission-critical operations will also be enhanced, as the tool integrates seamlessly with Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)’s APMARS automated probe system.
Meanwhile, on January 9, 2026, Truist raised its price target on Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) from $58 to $75, while reiterating a ‘Buy’ rating. The firm’s bullish stance reflects a strong outlook for the Original Equipment (OE) and Aftermarket (AM) segments amid sustained aerospace production, strong aftermarket demand, and defense recapitalization needs. However, the firm believes valuations across the sector are already high despite fewer immediate defense catalysts. Thus, Truist cautions investors to be selective, particularly among SMID defense technology names.
Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO) is focused on designing and manufacturing aerospace and defense systems, including power, avionics, lighting, safety, and automated test solutions for global commercial and military applications.
5. Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS)
1-Year Share Performance: 444.04%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24
This week, Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) received strong analyst support amid progress in its RAS inhibitor portfolio.
On January 27, 2026, Mizuho initiated coverage of Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $16 price target. The firm’s bullish stance reflects its confidence in the company’s potential to establish proof-of-concept for its RAS-targeted therapies in 2026. Specifically, the firm highlighted ERAS-0015 due to its ability to work well at tolerable doses, alongside its competitive clinical profile.
On the same day, Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) received attention from Guggenheim, which raised its price target on the stock from $5 to $12 while keeping its ‘Buy’ rating. The increase in confidence reflects updates on ERAS-0015, ERAS-4001, and the recently announced financing. Predicting a 30% chance of success for ERAS-0015 in second-line and later NSCLC and PDAC, the firm projects a 2030 commercial launch. On January 23, the company had announced an upsized public offering of 25,875,000 shares of its common stock, raising $258.8 million in gross proceeds.
Additionally, on January 26, 2026, Morgan Stanley increased its price target on Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) from $4 to $10, while reiterating an ‘Equal Weight’ rating.
Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERAS) focuses on developing precision oncology therapies that target RAS/MAPK-driven cancers. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in San Diego.
4. IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN)
1-Year Share Performance: 494.55%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 52
On January 27, 2026, IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) recorded a 14.57% share price surge, closing at $59.99. The jump was driven by investor optimism surrounding AI expansion, ahead of the company’s fiscal earnings release scheduled for February 5, 2026. The company expects $3.4 billion in annualized revenue as it fulfills its target of scaling 140,000 GPUs.
Meanwhile, broader AI developments are reinforcing the investor momentum. A robust demand for AI infrastructure is signaled by Nvidia’s $2 billion investment in CoreWeave and Anthropic’s $15 billion fundraising round. Amid this backdrop, data center and high-performance computing operators, including IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN), remain key beneficiaries of these trends.
At the same time, analyst sentiment holds strong. On January 13, 2026, H.C. Wainwright double upgraded IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) from ‘Sell’ to ‘Buy’ and raised its price target to $80. The firm’s bullish outlook stems from the company’s robust 2026 outlook, featuring a large AI contract with Microsoft and a 2 GW incremental development pipeline expected to be fully operational by 2027.
IREN Limited (NASDAQ:IREN), a renewable-powered, vertically integrated data center operator, advances Bitcoin, AI, and next-gen computing across the U.S. and Canada.
3. Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS)
1-Year Share Performance: 531.96%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
On January 28, 2026, Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) reported that its Optimus drone, via its subsidiary American Robotics, won Blue List status from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The drone is now part of the Department of Defense’s authoritative directory of secure, NDAA-compliant unmanned aircraft systems, after meeting rigorous standards for cybersecurity, supply chain integrity, and operational reliability. With this designation, the drone will see faster defense and government procurement, a reduction in acquisition friction, and rapid deployment for national-security and critical-infrastructure missions.
Featuring an automated drone-in-a-box dock with 11 onboard batteries and up to nine mission payloads, the Optimus system enables continuous operations, real-time mission switching, and persistent aerial coverage. This reflects Ondas Inc.’s (NASDAQ:ONDS) dual-use autonomous strategy.
At the same time, Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) continues to draw analyst attention, with Stifel revisiting the stock on January 21, 2026. The investment firm raised its price target on the stock from $17 to $18, while reiterating a ‘Buy’ rating. The company’s differentiated approach in military drones, alongside its targets that exceeded analyst expectations, drives the firm’s bullish stance.
Ondas Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) focuses on delivering scalable, compliant autonomous aerial and ground systems. It also offers private wireless solutions that support U.S. defense, government, and critical infrastructure applications.
2. Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN)
1-Year Share Performance: 674.61%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29
On January 16, 2026, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN) announced that it has made a strategic amendment to its Exclusive Option and License Agreement with Hansoh (Shanghai) Healthtech Co., Ltd. Through this move, the company converted its prior non-exclusive, royalty-free license to certain patents into an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-bearing, perpetual worldwide license, though not including the Hansoh Territory. The license pertains to therapeutic products containing TERN-701 as the sole active ingredient. The development helps the company strengthen its commercialization rights outside China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Under the amendment, Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN) will be liable to pay Hansoh a one-time upfront license fee of $1.0 million and tiered royalties of 0.75%-1.25% on annual net sales of 701 Products. However, these liabilities will be subject to reductions where applicable.
Meanwhile, in the previous month, Citizens revisited Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN), raising its price target from $35 to $57, while reiterating an ‘Outperform’ rating. The bullish tone reflected the interim Phase 1 CARDINAL ASH update that featured TERN-701’s best-in-class profile, high deep molecular response rate in 1L, and strong activity post-asciminib and ponatinib in 2L.
Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:TERN) focuses on developing small-molecule and combination therapies for NASH, oncology, and chronic liver disease. Its clinical-stage programs span FXR, VAP-1, THR-β, and GLP-1 targets.
1. ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX)
1-Year Share Performance: 1,849.02%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
For the past couple of months, speculation has arisen that Eli Lilly, an American multinational pharmaceutical company, is pursuing a potential acquisition of ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX). However, on January 20, 2026, ABIVAX’s CEO Marc De Garidel dismissed those reports as “noise.” He clarified that no formal discussions with the French government or the company have taken place.
Amid these rumors, ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) shares surged, climbing more than 2,000% from July through December 2025. The shares peaked at $145 on December 24 before settling at $118 after the French government dismissed the rumors.
Furthermore, ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) CEO clarified that a public deal announcement would be made before foreign investment oversight would engage. Moreover, he said that informal conversations, if any, do not align with regulatory requirements. De Garidel further added that this noise is a distraction from the company’s obefazimod progress as it strengthens its shareholder base. While the program is well funded through Q4 2027, he reiterated the company’s financing needs after meeting with several potential investors at the JPMorgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco.
ABIVAX Société Anonyme (NASDAQ:ABVX) develops antiviral and vaccine products, including therapies for chronic hepatitis B, Ebola, dengue, and ulcerative colitis, as well as commercial vaccines for typhoid, meningococcal, and leptospirosis.
While we acknowledge the potential of ABVX to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ABVX and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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