Top Basic Materials Small-Cap Star for February 12 is Gevo Inc. (GEVO)

Investing in small-cap materials stocks can be tricky. The direction of the broader economy often plays a big role in their success, and notoriously unpredictable factors like mining output or commodity prices can often be key to maintaining margins. But equities.com's Small-Cap Stars, our proprietary list of those small-cap companies with metrics that are typically the most indicative of future success, gives investors a way to identify those companies that are best-positioned to ride out the tough times and make major gains in the good times.

Here's a look at the five top-performing basic materials Small-Cap Stars:

Gevo Inc. (GEVO)

Gevo Inc. gained 23.51% to $0.20. The gains came on a volume of 24,425,100 shares against an average daily volume of 2,351,537 shares. Gevo Inc. has had a trading range from $1.55 to $0.12 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $0.29, and a 200-day SMA of $0.53.

Gevo Inc is a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company focused on the development and commercialization of alternatives to petroleum-based products based on isobutanol produced from renewable feedstocks.

Lapolla Industries Inc (LPAD)

Lapolla Industries Inc gained 9.65% to $0.34. The gains came on a volume of 15,800 shares against an average daily volume of 21,082 shares. Lapolla Industries Inc has had a trading range from $0.72 to $0.28 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $0.37, and a 200-day SMA of $0.45.

LaPolla Industries Inc is a manufacturer and distributor of foam, coatings, and equipment, focused on developing and commercializing foam and coatings targeted at commercial and industrial and residential applications.

Miller Energy Resources (MILL)

Miller Energy Resources gained 5.32% to $1.98. The gains came on a volume of 588,201 shares against an average daily volume of 805,445 shares. Miller Energy Resources has had a trading range from $7.43 to $0.94 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $1.29, and a 200-day SMA of $3.78.

Miller Energy Resources Inc operates as an exploration and production company that utilizes seismic data and other technologies for geophysical exploration and development of oil and gas wells.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. (GDP)

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. gained 4.78% to $3.29. The gains came on a volume of 3,074,590 shares against an average daily volume of 3,540,057 shares. Goodrich Petroleum Corp. has had a trading range from $30.52 to $2.35 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $3.61, and a 200-day SMA of $15.03.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp is an independent oil & natural gas company engaged in the exploration, development & production of oil & natural gas on properties in South Texas, Northwest Louisiana & East Texas & Southwest Mississippi & Southeast Louisiana.

Green Plains Inc. (GPRE)

Green Plains Inc. gained 3.66% to $26.06. The gains came on a volume of 1,132,840 shares against an average daily volume of 1,363,689 shares. Green Plains Inc. has had a trading range from $46.28 to $20.31 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 6.3, it has a 50-day SMA of $24.03, and a 200-day SMA of $32.08.

Green Plains Inc is a producer, marketer and distributor of ethanol. The Company has four separate operating segments: Ethanol Production; Corn Oil Production; Agribusiness and Marketing and Distribution.

Equities.com's Small-Cap Stars - Stocks Made From Sterner Stuff

Investing in small-cap materials stocks is a high-risk, high-reward proposition much of the time. Often, the best way to approach the sector is simply limiting the number of misses as much as possible. And that's what the equities.com Small-Cap Stars system does.

By looking at past success stories among basic materials small caps, the Small-Cap Stars system can identify what level several dozen metrics were at among those successful companies and determine which of those factors were the most predictive of future success. We then precisely construct a carefully balanced screen through advanced statistical regression that will identify those companies that currently have the most in common with those that succeeded in the past immediately before those stocks took off.

Among the traits our system found the most revealing of a strong materials company were a low ratio of enterprise value to sales, a low effective tax rate, and a high ROE-cost of equity.

All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30 pm ET.