Over the past 12 months, the S&P 500 rallied 25% and the NASDAQ climbed 33%. Those gains — which propelled both indexes to record highs — are impressive, but a few other stocks crushed even those returns with triple-digit gains.
Three such stocks — Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV), Paycom Software (NYSE: PAYC), and Proofpoint (NASDAQ: PFPT) — all develop cloud-based software. Let’s take a look at why these three cloud stocks surged, and whether investors should consider buying them this year.