There were some big winners in Stockhead’s top performing small caps of 2018. But just how many have maintained their momentum?

2018 was a peculiar year of two halves. Strong market gains made in the first eight months were abruptly wiped out in an October-December bloodbath, which ensured the ASX 300 Index would finish -3.1 per cent lower for the calendar year.

This correction was ostensibly driven by concerns over the US-China trade war and the impact Brexit would have on the global economy.

Ah, the simple pre-COVID-19 days.

Of 2018’s Top 50 small caps, 20 (40 per cent) continued to make gains, 27 (54 per cent) fell back, and three have been suspended or delisted.

Here’s the current performance of our Top 50 ASX small cap stocks for 2018>>>

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TICKER NAME PRICE JAN 01, 2018 PRICE DEC 31, 2018 2018 TOTAL RETURN % PRICE Jul 8, 2020
BID BIDENERGY 0.06 1.1 1733 0.74
CCX CITY CHIC COLLECTIVE 0.14 0.98 626 3.16
CAG CAPE RANGE 0.22 1.63 624 0.31
MWR MGM WIRELESS 0.06 0.39 508 0.12
PO3 PURIFLOH 0.81 4.35 440 3.09
IVX INVION 0.0039 0.018 356 0.01
GLL GALILEE ENERGY 0.14 0.63 346 0.6
BIT BIOTRON 0.03 0.12 337 0.1
GLV GLOBAL OIL & GAS 0.01 0.05 300 0.012
PDN PALADIN ENERGY 0.05 0.18 283 0.12
GLN GALAN LITHIUM 0.08 0.28 280 0.16
PAR PARADIGM BIOPHARMACEUTICALS 0.27 1.03 275 3.23
FOD FOOD REVOLUTION GROUP 0.04 0.14 272 0.053
JMS JUPITER MINES 0.08 0.25 255 0.28
QPR QUATTRO PLUS REAL ESTATE 0.3 1 233 0.94
CVN CARNARVON PETROLEUM 0.1 0.32 232 0.19
MDX MINDAX 0.005 0.013 225 suspended
ACF ACROW FORMWORK AND CONSTRUCT 0.16 0.51 222 0.3
BD1 BARD1 LIFE SCIENCES 0.01 0.02 221 0.029
VAN VANGO MINING 0.05 0.16 191 0.12
EXO ENNOX GROUP 0.0015 0.004 186 suspended
TER TERRACOM 0.24 0.67 179 0.16
MCA MURRAY COD AUSTRALIA 0.07 0.19 164 0.13
FTZ FERTOZ 0.08 0.2 163 0.073
AMI AURELIA METALS 0.26 0.68 157 0.57
IGE INTEGRATED GREEN ENERGY SOLUTIONS 0.13 0.32 156 suspended
PPK PPK GROUP 0.21 0.53 152 3.16
NEA NEARMAP 0.6 1.5 152 2.41
RHT RESONANCE HEALTH 0.02 0.06 150 0.16
GSS GENETIC SIGNATURES 0.32 0.8 146 2.45
VRX VRX SILICA 0.05 0.13 145 0.1
IOD IODM 0.01 0.02 138 0.17
TPW TEMPLE & WEBSTER GROUP 0.44 1 127 7.08
ESK ETHERSTACK 0.09 0.22 126 0.76
RMP RED EMPEROR RESOURCES 0.02 0.05 126 0.01
EGY ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES 0.34 0.76 125 0.09
SRH SAFEROADS HOLDINGS 0.14 0.32 124 0.21
TGN TUNGSTEN MINING NL 0.13 0.28 124 0.09
LBL LASERBOND 0.15 0.32 122 0.46
CUV CLINUVEL PHARMACEUTICALS 8.19 18.1 121 25.45
BVS BRAVURA SOLUTIONS 1.73 3.7 120 4.6
TSO TESORO RESOURCES 0.02 0.04 120 0.081
JIN JUMBO INTERACTIVE 3.5 7.2 117 11.62
RSH RESPIRI 0.04 0.09 116 0.099
GAS STATE GAS 0.36 0.77 114 0.36
GLB GLOBE INTERNATIONAL 1.17 2.3 110 1.1
CYP CYNATA THERAPEUTICS 0.62 1.3 110 0.62
IPB IPB PETROLEUM 0.01 0.02 109 0.012
APT AFTERPAY 5.97 12.4 108 66.54
KRR KING RIVER RESOURCES 0.01 0.03 107 0.033
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Who kept winning?

2018’s #2 winner was turnaround story City Chic Collective (ASX:CCX), which went from 14c to 98c per share for a 626 per cent gain.

Since then, the women’s fashion retailer has gained another 222 per cent to be worth $3.16 per share; just shy of all time highs.

In 2018, Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (ASX:PAR) was gaining traction with plans to repurpose a very old drug as an effective remedy for dodgy knees and joints.

The biotech stock went from 27c to $1.03 per share for a 275 per cent gain that year.

That momentum has continued, with the stock now trading at about $3.23 per share.

In 2018, mining services company PPK Group (ASX:PPK) announced a joint venture with Deakin Uni to commercialise a ‘super’ fibre currently worth +$900,000/kg.

The stock went from 21c to 53c per share for a gain of 152 per cent.

If the JV pulls this off, it will be the first time BNNT — a nanofibre 100 times stronger than steel, light as carbon fibre, super flexible and heat resistant – is produced at commercial levels.

The PPK share price, which has quietly exploded since then as development milestones are met, is currently at $3.16 per share in July 2020.

Perhaps the most notable long-term winner is buy now, pay later stock Afterpay Touch (ASX:APT), which hit the ASX in late July 2017 with a market cap of around $165m at its IPO issue price of $1 per share.

The fintech — which recorded a 108 per cent increase from $5.97 to $12.40 per share in 2018 — is now worth $66.54 a share.

That’s an overall gain of 6554 per cent on its listing price.

Other notable stayers include online retailer Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW), aerial imaging company Nearmap (ASX:NEA) and biotech Clinuvel Pharmaceutical (ASX:CUV) – these three stocks are up a respective ~608 per cent, ~60 per cent, and ~40 per cent since the end of 2018.

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