Kiplinger

2019's Most Surprisingly Hottest Stocks

The market is off to one of its strongest starts in decades. And although 2019 got rolling with an advantage - coming off the worst December performance in ages - the rally doesn't look terribly strained just yet.

Even more surprising are some of the names leading the charge. High-profile stocks, such as the FANG tech companies, have enjoyed solid gains. But some of the biggest winners are names that have fallen off many investors' radars, or were never on them to begin with.

What's more heartening is that many of these new uptrends seem built to last for all the right reasons - they're either regaining relevancy, growing the bottom line or both.

Here's a look at 10 of the markets most surprising large- and mid-cap stock winners so far in 2019. Their underlying stories are taking a turn for the better, at least in investors' eyes, and all of them merit a closer look, if only for a mental note to reference at a later date.

Roku

Courtesy Roku

Market value: $5.7 billion

2019 performance-to-date: 64%

Most stocks lost at least a little ground during the fourth quarter of 2018. Roku (ROKU, $50.20), however, took on far more than its fair share of water, falling from October's peak of more than $77 per share to December's low near $26. Investors clearly feared the streaming platform company's best days were in the rear-view mirror.

Big mistake.

Roku released its preliminary fourth-quarter numbers in early January, including a total of 27 million actively used devices. That was the fourth consecutive quarter the company saw at least 40% year-over-year growth in its active customer base. That

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