5 Surprising Stocks That Have More Than Doubled in 2015

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The market seems to be going nowhere this year. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GSPC) is trading 3 percent lower than where it was when the year began. That doesn't mean that all stocks have been merely marching in place.

Let's go over a few of the stocks that have more than doubled in 2015 as of Tuesday's market close.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals (ANAC) -- Up 233 percent

There are only a handful of companies that have more than doubled this year, and Anacor is one of the few in that already elite lot to more than triple. Anacor took off after Crisaborole -- a promising skin cream for the treatment of atopic dermatitis -- delivered positive late-stage clinical trial results.

Crisaborole won't hit the market until 2017 at the earliest, and that's if it clears regulatory approval. However, at least one market projection has the treatment generating nearly $2 billion in annual revenue in five years.

Coca-Cola Bottling (COKE) -- Up 144 percent

%VIRTUAL-WSSCourseInline-1023%Carbonated beverages in general and Coca-Cola (KO) in particular may not be doing so hot, but the same can't be said about the soda giant's largest independent bottler. Shares of Coca-Cola Bottling have been fizzing all year, but it got even more effervescent last month when it announced it that would be purchasing Coca-Cola's manufacturing plants in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Maryland. The move dramatically expands the reach of the bottler.

Consolidation helps the players left standing, even if Coca-Cola itself isn't telegraphing a very upbeat portrait of the bottling industry by diversifying into new product categories.

Netflix (NFLX) -- Up 125 percent

Just one of the 500 stocks making up the S&P 500 has doubled this year and it just happens to be the same stock that was the biggest gainer of the popular index two years ago. Netflix has been on fire this year, armed with 65.55 million global subscribers as of the end of the second quarter.

It's running away with the premium video streaming market, and with most of its growth these days stemming from international growth, it's fair to say that the rest of the world is just as smitten with Netflix and binge viewing as the U.S. is.

LGI Homes (LGIH) -- Up 111 percent

Homebuilders have been thriving in this climate with low mortgage rates and an improving economy. LGI Homes went public two years ago, and the stock has gone on to nearly triple in that time.

LGI Homes is posting double-digit sales growth, and earnings have been growing even faster. It has sold 2,458 homes so far this year, 44 percent ahead of where it was after the first nine months of 2014.

Builders FirstSource (BLDR) -- Up 101 percent

Most of this year's gains at Builders FirstSource came after a single acquisitive event. Shares of the building materials supplier took off after it announced that it would snap up ProBuild. Acquiring a rival in a $1.63 billion deal would create a company that would combine for $6.1 billion in trailing revenue last year. The news sent the shares 90 percent higher in a single week.

The market doesn't typically bid up an acquirer, but this move made perfect sense. It also only helped that Builders FirstSource revealed that it was targeting as much as $200 million in annual cost savings for the combined building materials giant.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2016 $37 calls on Coca-Cola, short January 2016 $43 calls on Coca-Cola and short January 2016 $37 puts on Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool recommends Coca-Cola. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Check out our free report on one great stock to buy for 2015 and beyond.

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