The Russell 2000 opened the second half of 2026 pinned near a record around 3,000, going almost nowhere since the first half closed.
Underneath that flat tape, seven small caps ripped 28% or more in just four trading sessions.
The index, as tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), is coming off a 22% first-half gain, its best opening six months since 1991.
Most of these seven names are still deep underwater for the year, which is the tell: this is not broad small-cap strength lifting everything.
It is a handful of stocks repricing on their own hard catalysts, from takeovers to court-cleared refinancings to a Medicare reversal.
