By: Billy Fisher

Contributor, Stock Traders Daily -  Rule-Based Trading Strategies

(La Jolla, CA) The wild ride that the technology sector has been on over the course of the past year has made for ample trading opportunities in the space. As we approach the half-way point in 2009, I decided to take a look at the best of the best. Here are the top 5 performing tech stocks this year that have a market capitalization of at least $10 billion.

Smart Phone Battle Rages

The number one tech stock in 2009 has been Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S – Trading Report). The stock has risen an eye-popping 183.1% year-to-date. The company made a splash earlier this month with Palm (Nasdaq: PALM – Trading Report) launching its Pre smart phone. Sprint Nextel is presently the exclusive carrier of the Pre. It has been estimated that between 90,000 and 100,000 Pres were sold during the phone’s first week on the market.

The launch of the Pre has certainly turned up the heat on the number two performer in this group of stocks. Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM – Trading Report) is up 88.6% so far this year. The company recently checked in with Q1 earnings that were up 33% on a 53% pop in sales on a year-over-year basis. RIM is gearing up for the stretch run in 2009 as company co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, recently told analysts in a conference call that RIM is planning to launch some “spectacular” products in the months ahead. 

The third best performing large cap tech stock this year has been the display technology company Corning (Nasdaq: GLW – Trading Report) which has seen its shares surge 61.2% since the beginning of the year. In its Q1, the company saw EPS fall 77% on a 39% drop off in net sales. Corning is looking for business to pick up in its LCD glass business however. At the end of May, company management upped its Q2 guidance for LCD volume.

Apple’s Answer

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL – Trading Report) launched its new iPhone 3G S on Friday morning. The company has also cut the cost of its entry-level iPhone 3G to $99. Apple has been the number four performing tech stock with a market cap of more than $10 billion so far in 2009. Its shares are up 59.2% on the year. 

Apple is looking to its new product launch and the price cut of its 3G to lead in the next wave of growth for the company and AT&T (NYSE: T – Trading Report), the iPhone’s U.S. carrier.  

The success of this endeavor could depend to a high degree on how the economy fares from here. “I believe that the iPhone is more of a luxury, while the Blackberry is a necessity for business users,” said Thomas H. Kee Jr., president and CEO of Stock Traders Daily. “Therefore, I find the iPhone more vulnerable to weak economic times than the Blackberry. 

In time, Kee thinks that the Blackberry could catch up to the iPhone in terms of its features. “I find the phone features of the iPhone sub par, and a cheaper phone will not translate into a better phone call,” he said. “Unless they fix the phone itself, BlackBerry will eventually have all the features the iPhone does, and a better platform upon which to work at the same time.”

Vimpel Communications (Nasdaq: VIP – Trading Report) rounds out the top 5 here as the stock has returned investors 58.2% year-to-date. In Q1, the company reported a 31% year-over-year increase in revenue and subscriber volume was up 20%. VimpelCom finished the quarter in the red though as it experienced narrowing margins and foreign currency exchange losses.

Looking for the best tech stocks for the rest of 2009? Check out dynamic real-time trading reports published by Stock Traders Daily CEO, Tom Kee Jr., with a Free Trial.

In 2008, Kee’s Stock of the Week selections returned 60.8%.