Among High Flyers, I Like SanDisk, Micron and Marathon
Posted: November 03, 2026
November 2, 2026 — (Maple Hill Syndicate) – Despite a harsh technology-stock downturn in October, three of the five biggest gainers this year are tech stocks.
As of October 31, here are the biggest total returns year-to-date among all U.S. stocks with a market value of $500 million or more.
- Moderna Inc. (MRNA), 652%.
- SanDisk Corp. (SNDK), 385%.
- Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), 241%.
- Micron Technology Inc. (MU), 210%.
- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), 177%.
I usually like to buy stocks when they’re down, not when they’re up. But this year, I like three of the top five – SanDisk, Micron and Marathon.
Moderna
News about Moderna’s vaccine for melanoma (skin cancer) has propelled its shares from below $30 when this year began to more than $221 at the end of October.
In 2020, Moderna was one of the first companies to develop a Covid vaccine. I’ve been positive on the company since then, believing that its messenger-RNA technology would be applicable to other diseases.
But now the stock is on a high perch. It sells for 39 times revenue and 13 times book value (corporate net worth per share). The company hasn’t shown an annual profit except in 2021 and 2022, when Covid revenue was rolling in.
Sandisk
Companies’ desire for artificial intelligence (AI) has led to a data-center boom, pushing up profits at chip makers and data-storage companies. Data storage is SanDisk’s specialty.
The company’s revenue has quadrupled in about two years. Even though the stock has almost quintupled this year, it still sells for 16 times recent earnings and less than six times the earnings analysts predict for the next four quarters.
By other valuation measures, the stock is expensive. But a strong balance sheet tips the scales in its favor, for me. Debt is about 1% of stockholders’ equity.
Dell
You may know Dell for its personal computers; maybe you have one. But it also sells enterprise-scale servers, data storage solutions and networking equipment.
Most analysts like Dell. It has 21 “buy” recommendations from the 30 analysts who cover it.
I’m not enthusiastic, though. The company’s net worth is negative, and the stock sells for about 25 times the past four quarters’ earnings. Several money managers I respect, including Scott Black, Jermy Grantham, and Joel Greenblatt, have reduced their holdings recently.
Micron
Micron is the only U.S. stock to repeat as a top five performer this year. It enjoys a worldwide oligopoly in memory chips (active memory, as opposed to storage) with Samsung Group and SK Hynix Inc. of South Korea.
Investors are understandably worried about the artificial intelligence boom. Are capital expenditures too high? Is it dangerous that tech companies are investing in each other? Will today’s hot demand hold up?
That’s why Micron sells for only 12 times recent earnings and only five times the earnings that analysts forecast for the next four quarters. At these levels, I favor it.
Marathon
With 13 refineries, Marathon Petroleum is the largest refining company in the U.S. It was spun off from Marathon Oil, in 2011. (Marathon Oil was acquired by Conoco Phillips in 2024.)
I like the refiners, partly because nobody else does. It’s a severely cyclical business. Right now, it’s in the catbird seat, because prices are high for gasoline, home heating oil and jet fuel.
People figure that a reckoning is coming. Maybe. Probably. But I don’t think the reckoning will come as soon, or be as severe, as many people expect. One reason, unfortunately, is that I’m pessimistic about a settlement of the U.S.-Iran war.
Performance
My picks among the high-flying stocks a year ago worked out well. I recommended two. Western Digital Corp. (WDC) returned 166% in the ensuing 12 months, and Micron 295%.
That averages to a 230.5% return, versus 12.4% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index.
The three high flyers I said to avoid fell an average of 39.4%. QuantumScape Corp. (QS) fell 74%, Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) 38%, and Palantir Technologies Inc. 5%.
Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn’t be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict the future.
I’ve commented on the year’s high flyers for 13 years. My buy recommendations have averaged a 52.5% return, compared to a 15.6% average for the S&P 500. However, I was too negative on many of the high flyers. As a group, my “avoids” have averaged a 39.4% return (the exact inverse of the past year’s decline).
Disclosure: I own Western Digital personally and for most of my clients. I own Moderna for a couple of clients, but may sell it soon.
John Dorfman is chairman of Dorfman Value Investments LLC in Boston, Massachusetts, and a syndicated columnist. His firm or clients may own or trade securities discussed in this column. He can be reached at jdorfman@dorfmanvalue.com.