Equities.com's Small-Cap Stars, our proprietary list of small caps that share the most important fundamental traits with the most successful companies in their industry, returned 45.32% over 2013. Among this year’s list are a number of promising small-cap companies that have the potential to make big gains.
Small-cap tech companies have long been a source of innovation and, when a product really takes off, huge gains for shareholders. The tech companies on the Small-Cap Stars represent the sort of well-researched speculative plays that can fill out any portfolio.
Here are today's top-performing Small-Cap Stars:
Amtech Systems Inc. (ASYS)
Amtech Systems Inc. gained 14.41% to $10.24. The gains came on a volume of 130,444 shares against an average daily volume of 32,482 shares. Amtech Systems Inc. has had a trading range from $13.74 to $5.44 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $10.58, and a 200-day SMA of $9.62.
Amtech Systems, Inc., is a supplier of horizontal diffusion furnace systems used for solar (photovoltaic) cell and semiconductor manufacturing. It operates in two business segments namely solar and semiconductor equipment, and polishing supplies.
Lrad Corporation (LRAD)
Lrad Corporation gained 8.16% to $2.65. The gains came on a volume of 823,132 shares against an average daily volume of 104,505 shares. Lrad Corporation has had a trading range from $2.48 to $1.26 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 14.8, it has a 50-day SMA of $2.02, and a 200-day SMA of $1.95.
LRAD Corp is engaged in the design, development and commercialization of directed sound technologies and products.
Pfsweb Inc. (PFSW)
Pfsweb Inc. gained 6.67% to $8.48. The gains came on a volume of 31,799 shares against an average daily volume of 19,234 shares. Pfsweb Inc. has had a trading range from $10.43 to $4.01 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $8.14, and a 200-day SMA of $8.31.
PFSweb Inc is a provider of integrated ecommerce and business process outsourcing solutions to companies in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Dot Hill Systems Corporation (HILL)
Dot Hill Systems Corporation gained 4.34% to $3.61. The gains came on a volume of 331,833 shares against an average daily volume of 355,295 shares. Dot Hill Systems Corporation has had a trading range from $6.06 to $2.04 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 60.2, it has a 50-day SMA of $4.31, and a 200-day SMA of $3.95.
Dot Hill Systems Corp designs, manufactures and markets a range of software and hardware storage systems for the entry and mid-range storage markets.
Arc Group Worldwide Inc (ARCW)
Arc Group Worldwide Inc gained 4.28% to $17.04. The gains came on a volume of 31,148 shares against an average daily volume of 62,750 shares. Arc Group Worldwide Inc has had a trading range from $18.91 to $1.92 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 34.2, it has a 50-day SMA of $15.22, and a 200-day SMA of $12.34.
ARC Group Worldwide, Inc., is a diversified manufacturing company. The Company's manufacturing businesses include precision components, flanges, fittings and wireless technology.
Small-Cap Stars Tech Companies – New Ideas Driving Major Gains
Any small-cap company probably represents an effort to take greater risks in exchange for the potential for greater returns, and nowhere is that more true than in the tech sector. However, with the Small-Cap Stars, we’ve screened out the available stocks to find those that are most likely to create those big gains.
Our list was built by looking at previous small-cap tech companies and running a complex statistical regression to determine which of dozens of different fundamental factors ended up being the most predictive of future success. Then, we looked at which companies today were the most similar to those companies that made big gains in the past.
Among the other factors, our system highlighted companies with low debt, low cash reserves as a percentage of total assets (because, after all, a small-cap tech company should be reinvesting its profits), and low rate of depreciation.
All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30 pm ET.