$ $EXCEL $CARA Interestingly, small caps continued to outperform their larger brethren even during this consolidation phase. Hopes for increased M&A activity now that the markets have political certainty are buoying this part of the biotech sector. I would not be chasing some of the huge winners we have highlighted on these pages like Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL) which has almost quadrupled from $4.50 a share when it was put in the Growth Stock Advisor portfolio earlier this year. Or Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CARA), another much-highlighted name that has doubled so far in November as four analyst firms have reiterated Buy ratings with price targets in the low $20s so far this month. However, there are some small caps that while they have seen nice rises recently, they still have significant upside in my opinion and have solid years in front of them during 2017. Here are a few that come to mind.