The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) posted a moderate 16.57% year-to-date return in the first half of 2025; a slower pace compared to the 33.81% rally recorded during the same period last year.
Despite this, several individual stocks significantly outperformed the broader market, delivering triple-digit returns and signaling investor appetite for turnaround stories, growth plays, and speculative opportunities.
What drove the outperformance?
- Strong earnings surprises: Many top performers delivered breakout Q1 results that caught the market’s attention.
- Valuation re-ratings: Investors responded to stocks with low historical P/Es and recovering fundamentals.
- Speculative flows: Some penny and illiquid stocks gained sharply on sentiment, not just fundamentals.
- Sector rotation: Agriculture, healthcare, and industrials saw increased traction as investors diversified beyond banking and oil.
From Beta Glass’s fundamentals-backed rally to Smart Products’ speculative surge, the first half of 2025 produced a wide mix of winners; some still reasonably valued, others priced for perfection.
Here’s a closer look at the top 10 NGX stocks by share price performance.
Vitafoam surged 222% year-to-date, climbing from N23.30 to N74.00, making it the 4th best performer on the NGX in the first half of 2025.
The stock has shown consistent momentum, closing 5 of 6 months in the green, with a strong push in Q2 after reporting N4.4 billion pre-tax profit in Q1.
Despite the rally, its P/E of 7.04x, P/S of 0.93, and beta of 0.41 indicate it’s still reasonably valued with moderate risk and strong fundamentals.
