5 Hottest Stocks Of The First Half Of 2017

Stocks are off to a great start in 2017, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY up 8.6 percent so far this year. But some investors have had a better first half of the year than others.

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5 Best-Performing S&P 500 Stocks

Here’s a look at the five best-performing S&P 500 stocks so far this year.

5. CSX Corporation: +51.8 percent

Railroad stocks have been on fire in 2017 thanks to strong market fundamentals, increasing manufacturing activity and President Donald Trump’s pro-coal policies. CSX Corporation CSX has ridden those tailwinds to a more than 50-percent gain so far this year.

4. Wynn Resorts: +55.0 percent

Despite revenue growth in June falling short of Wall Street’s expectations, Wynn Resorts, Limited WYNN and other Macau casino operators are enjoying an 11-month winning streak in Macau. The largest global gaming hub has now reported 11 consecutive months of positive revenue growth after a streak of 26 consecutive months of revenue declines was broken last year.

3. Align Technology: +56.1 percent

One of the S&P 500’s newest members has also been one of its top performers in 2017. Align Technology, Inc. ALGN, maker of the Invisalign System, has delivered impressive growth numbers, and investors have certainly rewarded the stock so far in 2017.

2. Activision Blizzard: +59.4 percent

In addition to its popular “Call of Duty” game, Activision Blizzard, Inc. ATVI has reported an extremely strong performance from “Overwatch” in 2017 as well. Activision has been consistently reporting strong overall growth numbers, including a 19-percent jump in Q1 revenue.

1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals: +74.9 percent

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX shares jumped 21 percent in a single day back in March when the company revealed two of its phase 3 cystic fibrosis drug trials yielded positive results. The high hopes for its cystic fibrosis treatment were enough to make Vertex the top-performing stock in the entire S&P 500 in the first half of the year.