We recently published a list of the 11 Best Performing Stocks So Far In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:CNL) stands against the other best performing stocks so far in 2025.
On March 21, Jason Pride, Chief of Investment Strategy at Glenmede, and Stephen DeNichilo, Portfolio Manager at Federated Hermes, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss the current market dynamics. Pride cautioned against overemphasizing the MAG7 tech stocks and noted that this market is one of the most concentrated in history, which is similar to the levels seen in 1999–2000 and the Roaring Twenties. He argued that this extreme concentration suggests that future market performance is more likely to come from areas outside these dominant stocks. Pride emphasized the importance of diversification in this environment. He advised investors to focus on the remaining stocks in the S&P 500 index beyond the MAG7. He highlighted small-cap stocks, international equities, and bonds as better opportunities for future returns. According to him, moving away from over-concentrated segments of the market is essential for achieving better long-term performance.
DeNichilo added his perspective by explaining what drives stock prices over time. He noted that for a stock to rise in value, someone must be willing to buy it at a higher price. With the MAG7 being some of the most widely owned stocks in history, he questioned who else is left to buy them. He pointed out that markets dislike uncertainty, and today’s environment is filled with it, ranging from tariffs and inflation to interest rate policies and unpredictable forecasts from big companies. This lack of clarity has created a self-imposed economic slowdown. DeNichilo shifted focus to small-cap stocks, which he described as significantly undervalued based on historical metrics. He suggested that if interest rates decline and market confidence improves over the next 6 to 12 months, small-cap stocks are likely to perform well. He argued that smaller companies often drive innovation due to their agility and ability to grow earnings faster than massive corporations like those in the MAG7.
Our Methodology
We used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of all the best-performing stocks. We then picked the 11 stocks with the highest year-to-date gains, as of March 21. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their year-to-date performance. We have also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock which was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A drilling rig in action, operated by an oilfield services team.
Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:CNL)
Year-to-Date Performance as of March 21: 136.30%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3
Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:CNL) is an exploration and development company that focuses on gold projects in South America. Its primary asset is the Guayabales project in Colombia, where it explores for gold, silver, copper, and tungsten deposits.
The company’s primary focus is the Apollo system within its Guayabales Project, where it’s uncovering significant high-grade gold. The Ramp Zone, which is a recent discovery, is a major highlight. Its drill hole, under the name of APC105-D1, hit 75.80 meters at 8.01 g/t gold equivalent, which is the company’s best result yet. This zone spans at least 75 meters in strike, up to 480 meters in width, and 150 meters vertically, and it’s still expanding.
The company is also exploring high-grade sub-zones within Apollo, with drill hole APC104-D5 returning 106.35 meters at 9.05 g/t gold equivalent within a larger 497.35-meter interval at 3.01 g/t gold equivalent. This is Apollo’s best hole to date based on gold accumulation. Other holes also showed strong results and validated the company’s geological model. Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:CNL) is also conducting a 60,000-meter drill program in 2025. It currently has 7 drill rigs operating, with 2 more expected soon.
Overall, CNL ranks 3rd on our list of the best performing stocks so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the growth potential of CNL, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CNL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
