* ACT I: The Home Run Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TSX:ASV) $31 Up 72.2 per cent (year to date)

The big plays in the stock market are often investments in companies that few people have even heard of and Aspreva is a classic example. Aspreva isn't exactly a household name - unless your household was in on the initial public offering at $11 about a year ago. Victoria-based Aspreva is an emerging player in the pharmaceutical industry that develops drugs for rare and neglected diseases and has a collaboration agreement with pharmaceutical giant Roche. The company recently announced preliminary and unaudited revenue of $45 million US for the fourth quarter of 2005 and $76 million US for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005.

* ACT II: The Bomb Occulogic Inc. (TSX:RHE) $4.72 Down 67.6 per cent (one-day drop on news)

There's been some newfound giddiness in the high-stakes biotech market, but the devastating collapse of Occulogic shares was a rude awakening for the sector. The Toronto company lost an eye-popping two-thirds of its market cap in one day on volume of 575,000 shares as speculators jumped ship on the news that the company's pivotal Phase 3 trial for its RHEO system to treat age-related blindness failed to meet goals. The stock had doubled to a 52-week high of $14.99 in January as hopeful speculators anticipated positive results. Trevor Li, a Clarus Securities analyst who had a speculative buy recommendation and 12-month target of $20 on the stock, has now put the stock under review.

* ACT III: The Oil Gusher PetroBank Energy and Resources (TSX:PBG) $16.53 Up 600.4 per cent (one-year return)

A year ago, PetroBank wasn't even on the radar screens of most investors, but it's now one of the darlings of the booming oilpatch based on its diversified portfolio of projects, particularly its oilsands exposure. The company has an interest in the Whitesands oil-sands project and also boasts an oilsands recovery technology. PetroBank also has production and exploration projects in coalbed methane in Western Canada and oil and gas in Colombia. PetroBank stock has spiked 85.7 per cent year to date on escalating volume.

* ACT IV: The Zinc Bull Breakwater Resources (TSX:BWR) $1.12 Up 124 per cent (three months)

While oil, gold and copper hog the spotlight in the commodities boom, zinc has been the Rodney Dangerfield of the metals - at least until recently. Breakwater, which was floundering in the 50-cent range in November, is starting to gain respect with investors looking to capitalize on surging zinc prices. The stock busted out over the $1 barrier on the Toronto-based company's '06 production forecast of 240.1 million pounds of zinc. It also produces copper, lead, silver and gold and has projects in B.C., Quebec, Honduras, Chile and Tunisia.

* ACT V: The Silver Bull Pan American Silver (TSX:PAA) $27.46 Up 449.2 per cent (five years)

They call silver the poor man's gold, which may explain why this raging silver bull market has gotten so little attention. Pan American, Canada's largest silver producer, has had a magnificent run that has been capped with a two-week surge of 24.8 per cent on the back of a soaring silver price. Vancouver-based Pan American produces more than 13 million ounces of silver per year from operations in Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia. Pan American also markets silver coins and bars, and recently announced 500,000 ounces of its coins and bars were sold by Northwest Territorial Mint since last April 26. Silver recently traded up to $9.71 US.

* ACT VI: The Falling Star Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) $381.55 US Down 19.9 per cent (three weeks)

Google, meet gravity, the market's surefire equalizer. The giant Internet search engine is finally sputtering, mainly a victim of the gravitational forces of the stock market that are associated with mind-boggling spikes into the stratosphere. Google shares have shifted downward since peaking at an all-time high on Jan. 11, but the stock was mercilessly punished for a three-day hit of 12.5 per cent when its fourth-quarter earnings missed analyst estimates. Quarterly earnings were $372.2 million US or $1.22 per share, a far cry from average analyst estimates of $1.76.

Google, much to the chagrin of Wall Street, does not provide its own guidance on numbers. Most analysts remain raging bulls on Google, including CIBC World Markets, which maintained its "sector outperformer" rating while trimming its 12-month target by $10 to $520 US.

* ACT VII: The Chart Breakdown Asset Acceptance Capital (Nasdaq:AACC) $18.22 US Down 21.3 per cent (one-day drop)

The stock broke down, but the bigger question may be whether U.S. consumers are also breaking down. Asset Acceptance collects bad consumer debt from credit card issuers and other companies and, judging by its preliminary fourth-quarter numbers, that appears to have become a daunting challenge. The company reported preliminary earnings of $5.7 million to $6.3 million US for the fourth quarter, which is about half of what it earned in the year-ago period. Asset Acceptance also reported a fourth-quarter writedown of more than $15 million US. The stock was one of the big winners on Nasdaq last year, but has plunged 42.7 per cent from its 52-week high of $32.05 four months ago.

* ACT VIII: The Penny Jackpot Playfair Mining (TSXV:PLY) $1.25 Up 681.2 per cent (year to date) You've heard of gold fever. Well, how about tungsten fever? Not much of a ring to it, you say? Well, who's to complain when the cash registers are ringing for speculators who have been riding this Vancouver-based tungsten play in recent weeks. Playfair shares vaulted the $1 mark recently as the company announced acquisitions of tungsten properties in the Yukon that were described by company president Neil Briggs as "a world-class tungsten area.”

Playfair also has tungsten properties in Newfoundland. Oh, and if somebody happens to ask you what tungsten is, tell them it's used for electrical purposes such as lightbulbs and the hardening of alloys. Surely, they'll be impressed.

(Stock prices are based on results through Feb. 3.)

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)