(By Tim - iStockAnalyst Writer) After the record setting daily swings in the stock markets over the last few weeks I was curious about how many stock still have excellent gains for the year. Scanning through the stock tables shows the vast majority of stocks are in negative territory year-to-date (YTD). This is not a surprise with the major market averages down about 35% YTD. But today I want to point out that some stocks and their shareholders have actually made significant gains in their holdings.

I discovered 44 stocks that are up 50% (through 10/16/08) or more, YTD. 13 are listed on the NYSE, 5 on the AMEX and 26 are from the NASDAQ. With only these 1% of all of the listed stocks on these exchanges showing superior gains you would have to be a pretty lucky investor to have one of these in your portfolio, or possibly work for one of them. Of the 44 stocks with 50% or greater gains 14 of those are currently up more than 100%. I am sure you are now curious to know which companies have provided these kind of gains so here is the top 10 list:

1. Star Scientific, Inc. (STSI) +264%*. "development, implementation, and licensing of tobacco curing technology that prevents the formation of carcinogenic toxins present in tobacco and tobacco smoke"**
2. Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. (EBS) +229% "a biopharmaceutical company,... develops, manufactures, and commercializes immunobiotics"
3. Crawford & Co. Cl B (CRDB) +224% "provides claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities worldwide."
4. Finish Line Inc. (FINL) +217% "operates as a mall-based specialty retailer"
5. New Concept Energy, Inc. (GBR) +182% "engages in the acquisition and exploration of oil and gas properties"
6. Mexco Energy Corporation (MXC) +172%*** "engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and gas properties"
7. Broadpoint Securities Group, Inc. (BPSG) +150% "provides investment banking and securities brokerage services"
8. Micromet, Inc. (MITI) +132% "a biopharmaceutical company, develops antibodies for the treatment of cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases"
9. IDM Pharma, Inc. (IDMI) +125% "engages in the development of products to treat and control cancer"
10. Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. (FSYS) +121% "engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of alternative fuel components and systems for use in the transportation, industrial, and power generation industries."

*YTD returns are culled from the WSJ.com stock listings.
**Company descriptions are taken from Yahoo Finance profile pages
***MXC takes the prize for price swings. Although it is up 172% year to date, it is down 80% from June 2008 highs. At one point MXC was up 1100% from where is started 2008!

A couple of observations: Most of the top gaining stocks started the year at less than $10. This is good because many of my current holdings are now below $10. Lack of earning are no barrier to superior stock gains. I would guess (from my quick scan of the stock listings) that the majority of the top stock price gainers have negative earnings. Top performing stock come from diverse sectors and have something that sets them apart from their peers. I hope you found this data entertaining and provided some spark for further research.