When a stock sells for $5 apiece, more often than not it is probably going to be a large cap.

But an analysis by Stockhead revealed that 16 stocks fetching this sort of price are actually still small caps – and they had a far better 2019 than their peers.

And if that isn’t impressive enough, while all other ASX small caps (below $5) are only up 9.41 per cent, these stocks have done 10.5 times better gaining 99.58 per cent.

Code Name Price (1pm 24-Dec) YTD % Return Market Cap
MAQ MACQUARIE TELECOM GROUP LTD 22.97 10 488.60M
AKP AUDIO PIXELS HOLDINGS LTD 15.83 -22 448.02M
SFC SCHAFFER CORP LTD 14.59 13 199.49M
SST STEAMSHIPS TRADING COMPANY 12.5 -31 387.60M
EMB EMBELTON LTD 11 -14 23.74M
MVP MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS INTERNA 7.46 71 489.43M
SSL SIETEL LTD 6.8 -6 54.45M
ONT 1300 SMILES LTD 6.3 1 149.17M
PAC PACIFIC CURRENT GROUP LTD 6.28 21 312.17M
ELO ELMO SOFTWARE LTD 6.08 12 455.58M
TBR TRIBUNE RESOURCES LTD 5.95 52 330.24M
ANO ADVANCE NANOTEK LTD 5.86 541 345.37M
ABA AUSWIDE BANK LTD 5.8 16 244.66M
FID FIDUCIAN GROUP LTD 5.6 50 176.08M
LYL LYCOPODIUM LTD 5.25 16 208.59M
PPK PPK GROUP LTD 5.02 862 427.21M
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The most expensive small cap is Macquarie Telecom (ASX:MAQ) at $22.97 per share. Yes it’s a telco, but not just any telco — it is the ATO’s secure internet gateway and cyber security provider.

The company also has the highest customer satisfaction rate of any telco with a Net Promoter Score of +72.

Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) has risen over 1,000 per cent in 10 years from 15c to $15.83. It is making semi-conductor based audio speakers but is yet to commercialise them.

Third was industrial company Schaffer Corp (ASX:SFC) which had a solid year, gaining 13 per cent.

Among familiar household names on the list is Bundaberg-based lender Auswide Bank (ASX:ABA) and dental practice 1300 Smiles (ASX:ONT) — the same one that sponsored the old North Queensland stadium.

Pic: 1300SMILES Stadium

While the majority of stocks on this list made modest gains in 2019, two had breakout years.

Advance Nanotek (ASX:ANO) costs $5.86 per share and is up 541 per cent. This company makes advanced materials for use by chemists.

Its chairman is a familiar name in ASX-land: Lev Mizikovsky.

One stock that only just made the list is PPK Group (ASX:PPK). It was just under 60c at the start of the year but now sits around 862 per cent higher.

It provides equipment, safety and automation services to the mining sector – a sector that has overall had a great year.