Telecom claims 3 of 2005's 10 best small-cap stocks

Three of the ten best-performing small-cap stocks of last year belonged to telecom companies, according to data compiled by FactSet Research Systems.

Orckit Communications was the second-best performing small-cap stock of 2005 ("small-cap" referring to companies valued between $300 million and $1 billion.) Shares of the Israeli broadband equipment vendor grew 189% last year and are trading today at more than $25 per share.

Shares of equipment vendor Redback Networks, which ranked fifth on the list, grew 162% last year.

Time Warner Telecom placed tenth, its stock price having climbed 126%.

Topping the list was Momenta Pharmaceuticals, whose stock price rose 212% last year. NetLogic Microsystems, TALX, Intellisync, Neoware Systems, Blue Coat Systems and Evergreen Solar also made the top ten.

Among the worst-performing small cap stocks of 2005 were InPhonic, which serves mobile virtual network operators, and equipment vendor UTStarcom, which announced hundreds of layoffs and sizable losses late last year amid a financial investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. InPhonic's stock price dropped 68% last year, making it the fourth worst small-cap stock of the year. UTStarcom, whose stock dropped 64%, was sixth.