2007 Top Ten: Stock Rockets

Why so glum over there? Is it because you've been reading the 2007 Top Ten: Share Shrinkers?

Then come on over to the sunny side of the street. Telecom is booming again. (See AT&T Parties Like It's 1999.) And we've got 10 companies whose stocks seem to prove it.

There were the stocks in the Light Reading or Unstrung universes that performed best from Jan. 1 to Dec. 20. Candidates had to have a substantial presence on the NYSE or Nasdaq. IPOs during calendar 2007 didn't count -- sorry, Starent Networks Corp. (Nasdaq: STAR).

Shares had to exceed $5 on Jan. 1 to be considered; we're sure Sandvine Inc. is proud to reach $5.25 after starting the year at $1.68, but we'll be more impressed if it can grow another 212 percent.

10. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)

Jan. 1, 2007 price: $460.48
Dec. 20, 2007 price: $689.69
Change: +50%

Scary: Google started above $400 a share and still managed to break into this list. We'd expound on all the zany things Google did this year, but that's in a separate list. (See 2007 Top Ten: Googly Moments.) Google Confirms 700MHz Bid
Google: Android's Not Evil
Sources: Google Taps 10GigE ODMs
Google's 10-GigE Assault
Fun With Google's Market Cap

9. Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE)

Jan. 1, 2007 price: $96.71
Dec. 20, 2007 price: $151.15
Change: +56%

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI; Frankfurt: SIE) faced a corruption scandal, lost its CEO and chairman, and now might be looking for a way out of Nokia Networks . Do we have them on the right list? NSN Improves, Confirms Extra Cuts
Siemens Mum on NSN Sale Talk
Siemens Fined, Unhappy With NSN
Nokia Siemens Suffers Merger Blues
Siemens Has New CEO
Siemens CEO Quits
Siemens Chairman Quits
Siemens Exec Arrested
Nokia Slashes, Siemens Still Scandalized

8. CommScope Inc.

Jan. 1, 2007 price: $30.48
Dec. 20, 2007 price: $49.63
Change: +63%

CommScope's year peaked around the time it sealed the Andrew Corp. deal during the summer. But it's still benefiting from the buzz around cable MSOs sending fiber to the home.

CommScope Sees BrightPath for Cable FTTP
CommScope Gets a Boost
CommScope Comes Back for Andrew

7. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR)

Jan. 1, 2007 price: $18.94
Dec. 20, 2007 price: $34.07
Change: +80%

Analysts are still asking questions: What about the enterprise strategy? Why do top executives keep leaving? But Juniper answered its critics with a Carrier Ethernet product line, and investors responded by sending the stock skyward.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), by the way, surged during the summer but gave it all back in a late-inning slump, finishing up 3.5 percent on the year.

Cisco, Juniper Ready Data Center Assault
Juniper Gains Ethernet Mojo
Will Juniper Be Burned by the Churn?

6. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK)

Jan. 1, 2007 price: $19.87
Dec. 20, 2007 price: $37.65
Change: +89%

Who's that in the rear-view mirror? Goodbye, Moto.

Nokia Shipments Climb
Nokia Snaps Up Avvenu
Nokia Pushes Tablet
Phone Sales Keep Climbing
Nokia Nabs Navteq for $8B

Continue to the Top Five...

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