The average stock in the Russell 3,000 gained just under 6% in the first half of 2014, and below is a list of the 50 best performing stocks in the index over the first two quarters. As shown, Idenix Pharma (IDIX) posted the best returns of any Russell 3,000 stock with a gain of just over 300%. Three more Pharma/Biotech stocks round out the top four (RDNT, PTX, ICPT), all with gains of 240%+. The first non-Health Care stock on the list is Plug Power (PLUG) in fifth place with a first-half gain of 201.94%, then Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) ranks sixth at +200.39%. The most well-known stock on the list of 50 is probably Zillow (Z), which was the 48th best performing stock in the R3K in the first half. Zillow is up just under 75% as we enter the third quarter.
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