2020 was a big year for big tech on Wall Street.
Despite parts of the economy shuttering due to COVID-19, many stocks soared. The technology sector led the way, with Nasdaq showing its best year since 2009.
In fact, GeekWire’s analysis of 28 publicly-traded tech stocks with headquarters or major operations in Washington state showed only one that posted a decline. That was pop culture figurine maker Funko, whose shares slipped 34% in 2020.
See the full listing of stocks below. Here are some highlights that stood out:
- Apple and Amazon led the way among tech giants, with each showing stock gains of 75% or more. Apple now boasts a market value of $2.3 trillion, and Amazon’s market value stands at $1.63 trillion.
- The four Washington companies that priced shares in traditional initial public offerings saw their shares increase by 98% or more.
- Biotechnology companies had a good year. Adaptive Biotechnologies, CTI Biopharma, Aptevo Therapeutics and Silverback Therapeutics posted gains of 99% or more.
- Seattle’s real estate titans also posted big gains. Zillow Group ended the year up 184%, while its cross-town rival Redfin soared 220%.
- The top stock —MicroVision — is not a household name. The 28-year-old Redmond, Wash.-based maker of miniature display technologies saw shares gain 702% on the year.
As part of GeekWire’s analysis, we eliminated those public companies with a market value below $100 million. And we did not include the SPAC for Seattle-based Porch, which debuted on the Nasdaq on Christmas Eve.
We looked at stock performance starting with opening prices on Jan. 3, 2020 and ending with the closing price on Dec. 31, 2020. We used Yahoo Finance for data, with each company linked to their respective pages on the financial website.
Here’s a look at the stocks. Who do you think is poised for a breakout 2021?
Adaptive Biotechnologies
- Open: $29.10
- Close: $59.13
- Change: 99% increase
- Market Cap: $8 billion
Accolade (IPO)
- Open: Priced at $22 per share on July 2, 2020
- Close: $43.50
- Change: 98% increase
- Market Cap: $2.4 billion
Alphabet
- Open: $1,347.86
- Close: $1,751.88
- Change: 23% increase
- Market Cap: $1.1 trillion
Amazon
- Open: $1,864.50
- Close: $3,256.93
- Change: 75% increase
- Market Cap: $1.63 trillion
Apple
- Open: $74.29
- Close: $132.69
- Change: 78% increase
- Market Cap: $2.3 trillion
Aptevo Therapeutics
- Open: $8.99
- Close: $36.65
- Change: 285% increase
- Market Cap: $160 million
Athira Pharma (IPO)
- Open: Priced at $17 on Sept. 17, 2020
- Close: $34.25
- Change: 101% increase
- Market Cap: $1.1 billion
Avalara
- Open: $77.33
- Close: $164.89
- Change: 100% increase
- Market Cap: $14 billion
CTI BioPharma
- Open: $1.51
- Close: $3.22
- Change: 130% increase
- Market Cap: $243 million
DocuSign
- Open: $74.87
- Close: $222.30
- Change: 195% increase
- Market Cap: $41 billion
Expedia Group
- Open: $109.59
- Close: $132.40
- Change: 20% increase
- Market Cap: $18 billion
- Open: $207.21
- Close: $273.16
- Change: 28% increase
- Market Cap: $778 billion
F5
- Open: $139.81
- Close: $175.94
- Change: 28% increase
- Market Cap: $10.8 billion
Funko
- Open: $17.17
- Close: $10.38
- Change: -34% decrease
- Market Cap: $515 million
- Open: $26.23
- Close: $41.87
- Change: 58% increase
- Market Cap: $966 million
Microsoft
- Open: $158.32
- Close: $222.42
- Change: 40% increase
- Market Cap: $1.68 trillion
MicroVision
- Open: 78 cents
- Close: $5.38
- Change: 702% increase
- Market Cap: $814 million
NanoString Technologies
- Open: $27.13
- Close: $66.88
- Change: 140% increase
- Market Cap: $2.9 billion
nLight
- Open: $19.90
- Close: $32.65
- Change: 60% increase
- Market Cap: $1.3 billion
Redfin
- Open: $21.37
- Close: $68.63
- Change: 220% increase
- Market Cap: $7 billion
Salesforce
- Open: $165.06
- Close: $222.58
- Change: 26% increase
- Market Cap: $204 billion
Seagen (Formerly Seattle Genetics)
- Open: $110.74
- Close: $175.14
- Change: 57% increase
- Market Cap: $31.3 billion
Silverback Therapeutics (IPO)
- Open: Priced at $21 per share on Dec. 3, 2020
- Close: $46.36
- Change: 120% increase
- Market Cap: $1.6 billion
- Open: $45
- Close: $69.29
- Change: 53% increase
- Market Cap: $8.4 billion
Starbucks
- Open: $88.66
- Close: $106.98
- Change: 22% increase
- Market Cap: $125 billion
T-Mobile
- Open: $78.06
- Close: $134.85
- Change: 71% increase
- Market Cap: $167 billion
Zillow Group
- Open: $44.72
- Close: $129.80
- Change: 184% increase
- Market Cap: $31 billion
ZoomInfo (IPO)
- Open: Priced at $21 per share on June 4, 2020
- Close: $48.23
- Change: 130% increase
- Market Cap: $18.8 billion
