Key takeaways:

• Biotech and AI-leveraged stocks headline the best performers in the US during the first half of 2023

At the half-way mark of the year, we're taking a look at some of the US stocks that have delivered shareholders the highest returns in 2023 so far.

It easy to see that significant gains have come from all corners of the market, and from a variety of sectors, but here we're focusing on stocks trading below US$100 per share, making them accessible to investors with even just a small portfolio.

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Without further ado, these names were at the heart of the first-half market rally.

Micro-cap (valued less than US$250 million)

Virios Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VIRI) - up 466.7% YTD

Biotech Virios Therapeutics is a leader in the micro cap segment of the market, with the company shares soaring this year in response to positive trial developments. In fact, at one stage the year-to-date gains for VIRI were in excess of 700% before profit taking set in.

The company recently advised the market that its proposed Phase 3 program for its lead drug candidate for fibromyalgia, IMC-1, has been considered acceptable based on initial feedback from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The treatment is considered a novel, fixed-dose combination of famciclovir and celecoxib designed to synergistically suppress herpes virus replication. With this candidate, Virios is hoping to reduce virally prompted fibromyalgia disease symptoms.

Other notable returns:

• Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ: NERV)

• Rockwell Medical (NASDAQ: RMTI)

• Sigilon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SGTX)

Small-cap (valued between US$250 million and US$2 billion)

Ambrx Biopharma (NASDAQ: AMAM) - up 668.6% YTD

Earlier this year, clinical stage biotech Ambrx moved from trading on the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq, with the news seeing its share price almost double in a single trading session. Ambrx has developed ARX788, which is being tested as an add-on therapy for the treatment of breast cancer. 

The company utilises antibody drug conjugates and other engineered therapies for immune system stimulation to fight cancer. ARX788 showed promising results during a Phase 2 trial on metastatic breast cancer patients previously treated by chemotherapies. A Phase 3 trial being conducted in China met the prespecified interim primary efficacy endpoint, with the drug significantly improving progression-free survival (PFS) in targeted cancer patients compared with an active control.

Amid the positive signs from its lead candidate drug, Ambrx is expanding the drug to testing against other forms of cancer like prostate cancer, with drug ARX517 showing promise in Phase 1, as well as the likes of gastric cancer, and solid tumour cancers. 

Other notable returns:

• Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT)

• Genelux Corp (NASDAQ: GNLX)

• Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR)

Mid-cap (valued between US$2 billion and US$10 billion)

Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) - up 457.2% YTD

Online-based used car dealer Carvana is one of the leading short squeezes in 2023, and that helped it chalk up a huge return in the opening six months of the year. Short sellers were quick to pile onto the stock amid worrying debt levels, but management has charted a turnaround in Carvana operations thanks to cost-cutting initiatives like inventory cuts and lower advertising expenditure.

The company recently beat market forecasts when it guided for second-quarter adjusted EBITDA above US$50 million, whereas consensus expectations were previously looking for a loss to the tune of US$6 million. Compared with a year ago, non-GAAP total gross profit per unit is expected to rise 63%, which would correspond with a record result for the business.

With profitability being prioritised ahead of sales growth, investors have grown more confident about Carvana outlook. Before the company provided its most recent quarterly guidance, estimates put the amount of shares sold short in the car business at 47 million, which meant the ensuing short squeeze nearly doubled the stock year-to-date gains.

Other notable returns:

• Moonlake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ: MLTX)

• Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA)

• ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN)

Large-cap (valued between US$10 billion and US$100 billion)

Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) - up 198.2% YTD

Reaching a fresh all-time high in 2023, Super Micro Computer is also in rare territory for its achievements throughout last year market downturn, when the stock nearly doubled throughout calendar year 2022. In 2023, however, it is the artificial intelligence (AI) boom underpinning even higher returns for shareholders.

Super Micro Computer designs, develops, manufactures and sells server solutions based on modular and open-standard architecture, including servers, motherboards, chassis, and accessories. Like some of the bigger peers in its industry, revenue forecasts are sharply higher on the back of the emerging tailwind that centres on the growing demand for generative AI.

In the most recent quarter the tech business reported US$1.28 billion in sales, but momentum is expected to pick up, with management estimating revenue for 2023 will range between US$6.6 billion to US$6.8 billion. Furthermore, the company recently announced several new design wins, while its next-gen AI product lines are driving record levels of engagement. Alongside easing supply issues, management now anticipates the company will grow market share and expand scale.

Other notable returns:

• Palantir (NYSE: PLTR)

• Carnival (NYSE: CCL)

• Draftkings (NASDAQ: DKNG)

Mega-cap (valued over US$100 billion)

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) - up 24.3% YTD

While it may not have enjoyed the same sort of attention as its peers sporting higher share prices and larger valuations, Intel first-half performance leads the cohort of US$100 billion-plus companies trading for under US$100 per share. Once again, the AI rush proved the catalyst as investors predict greater levels of computational horsepower to support the uptake of new AI models.

Although Nvidia is the market leader in this segment, Intel acquired deep-learning developer Habana Labs back in 2019 with a view the market for AI chips would be worth tens of billions of dollars by 2024. Habana launched the Gaudi2 AI chip last year, and although it is not on par with Nvidia for raw performance, it is pitched as a value offering. Furthermore, there are expectations that the next-gen Gaudi3 chip will be more comparable with Nvidia H100 chip. 

Meanwhile, Intel is selling data centre GPUs, as well as CPUs with built-in AI accelerators. Investors have also warmed to the company plans to build out its own foundry business and develop new manufacturing nodes as it throws down the gauntlet to semiconductor manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor. 

Other notable returns:

• Blackstone (NYSE: BX)

• Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)

• Medtronic (NYSE: MDT)