Since the stock market suffered a big collapse a year ago, it has come a long way to improve and a big reason for that are the stocks that are doing well and helping to bring up the rest of the market. The stocks listed here are the top performers of the past year, and the ones that have helped give hope to investors who worry about the strength of the American economy.

The stocks that have done the best in the last few months are the companies who have been able to recover and survive the economic collapse that hit in 2008-09. These are the stocks of companies that are doing things right in the new economic reality.

• Office Depot Inc. has seen its stock go up almost 900% percent from when they hit bottom on March 9, 2009. In October 2007, the stocks of the company were sitting at $20, but by March 2009 the stocks had fallen to as low as 18$. These days, the stock is back up at $7.41, which shows that the company has begun to recover and move its way back up.
• Fifth Third Bancorp is a regional bank that once traded at $40 before the market collapse but at the beginning of March the stock fell to a horrible $1.39. Since then, the stock has improved by 829.2 percent, rising up to $12.73. A long way from its $40 height, but at least it is moving in the right direction.
• Genworth Financial Inc. was trading at $30 in the spring of 2004 and it kept trading at that height for quite some time before it fell to 91 cents by the beginning of March. The company took $2 billion in losses and it looked like the end. However, the company has worked hard to improve and the stock of the company has risen by 1,701 percent to $16.39, making it the biggest performer of the last 12 months.
• When the economic crisis hit, people stopped traveling and when they did that, companies like Wyndham Worldwide suffered. While the company once traded much higher, the stock hit a low point of $3.10 in March of 2009. However, thanks to an improving economy and more travelling, the stock has improved by 695 percent to $24.01.

Throughout the past few months, all we have heard is the companies that are failing and the trouble at the stock market. However, there are some bright spots that many should remember and the companies listed here are the companies that have made the right choices to improve their stocks. Through cutting costs and changing business practices, these companies have seen their stocks go up by immense amounts and the investors who jumped on board the stocks when they were low, are now smiling because of the huge gains. Buying low and selling high has paid off with these stocks.

Further Reading:

Worst Performing Stocks in past 12 months

Companies That will Rise After Recession in 2010

Reality of New Economy

The past 12 months have been tough on a lot of companies, and a lot of investors have lost a great deal of money due to the fall of so many stocks. On the top of the list of bad stocks are the ones mentioned here. These are the stocks that have fallen the most since March of 2009, and the ones that show companies not weathering the economic storm well.

Over the past 12 months, these are the stocks that have fallen the most and cost their investors the most.

• GameStop Corporation was doing quite well in March of 2009, but disappointing game sales and the loss of the chief financial officer of the company have hurt the company. Since last year, the stock of GameStop has fallen 22.9 percent, down to $18.08. A big drop came in February, when on one day the stock of the company fell 7.2 percent alone.

• MetroPCS Communications was another stock doing well in 2008, but by 2009 the company was beginning to suffer trouble, including losing half their profits in the second quarter. The announcement of that loss caused the stock to fall 29 percent in one day. Currently, the stock has fallen by 54.9 percent from last year, down to only $6.38 currently.
• Apollo Group Inc. has not fallen as far as other stocks, and it still trades high, but the company has had some difficult financial reports issued, showing that the company is in trouble. The company’s stock currently trades at $62.39, which is 6.6 percent below what it was trading at one year ago.
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. was doing well when the stimulus package was announced, but with the decline in silicon prices, the company has taken a big hit going down 8.9 percent to $12.90. In one day in February, the stock took a big 15 percent hit alone due to poor earnings and losses for the fourth quarter of 2009.
• Dean Food Corporation has fallen 16.4 percent to $16, which does not bode well for the largest dairy company in the United States. The company fell 14 percent in February alone due to the company not reaching its profit expectations forecast by the company for the month.

There are several stocks that are doing well and have improved greatly in the past 12 months. However, not all stocks are doing well and the companies mentioned here are companies that may continue to see economical trouble. When the lists of the worst performing stocks of 2010 are announced, you may see these companies listed again. That is unless the companies begin to rebound and find ways to increase profits and therefore, increase their stock price. Only time will tell to see if these companies see improvements on their stock prices. For those who invest in these companies, they can only hope the stock starts going up, after going down for a year.

Further Reading:

After Effects of Recession on US Economy

Is the second dip coming?