Stop Sleeping on These 3 Stocks (Seriously)

The stock market continues to be in the green for 2025. Many popular growth and meme stocks have made headlines, generating even stronger returns year to date. However, there have also been some stocks that are quietly delivering big gains.

Whether or not you were aware of these bull runs before reading this, you may want to move off the sidelines with each of these names: Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH), Loews (NYSE: L), and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK). Each is up big for the year, has recently hit new 52-week highs, and most importantly, could command even loftier prices from here.

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Cardinal Health's growth transformation could continue

Year to date, share prices in healthcare distributor Cardinal Health have surged by nearly 74%. A good chunk of this extended rally occurred over the past month, following the company's latest quarterly earnings release, which delivered "beat and raise" results. Fiscal first-quarter 2026 revenue came in at $64 billion, up 22% from the prior year's quarter, and well above sell-side analyst estimates.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.55 handily beat Wall Street's expectations as well. Cardinal Health is crushing it with its growth strategy, focused mainly on specialty pharmaceuticals and managed services. Recent acquisitions, like the just-completed purchase of Solaris Health, could keep this trend in motion. In turn, further earnings growth could lead to additional gains. Current estimates call for EPS to rise 19% and 12.6%, respectively, during this fiscal year and the next.

Loews is quietly growing shareholder value

Loews, controlled by the Tisch family, is a sort of mini-Berkshire Hathaway. The conglomerate's shares delivered weak returns during the 2010s, but it's been a different story since the start of this decade, especially over the past year.

Year to date, shares in Loews, which owns 90% of CNA Financial as well as privately held interests in energy pipelines, hotels, and packaging, are up 24%. Those may sound like modest gains compared to the other stocks featured here. But if you're a conservative investor seeking steady returns, this may be an interesting opportunity.

Current CEO Ben Tisch has made "grow intrinsic value per share" his top priority. Loews is both working to increase the value of its holdings and, at the same time, aggressively repurchasing shares. Over a long time frame, this could produce tremendous value for investors.

Sandisk could keep climbing, as the memory-chip maker profits from a NAND shortage

Sandisk split off from Western Digital in February, but in that short span of time, shares in the memory-chip maker have surged more than sixfold; they are up 70% in the past month alone. As robust demand for memory chips persists, fueled by needs for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, companies like SanDisk are aggressively raising prices to capitalize on tight supplies.

Yes, it's possible that this trend won't last for long. That's why the market currently prices shares at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 19, relatively low for a company experiencing rapid growth. However, with Sandisk once again raising NAND flash contract prices by 50% earlier this month, and with the shortage likely to persist through next year, this hot AI hardware play could keep hitting new highs.

Thomas Niel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends CNA Financial and Loews. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.