Three Stocks in honor of Diana Nyad

She has quickly become a household name but if you’ve not heard the name, Diana Nyad, here’s the story. After four failed attempts spanning more than three decades, she became the first person to ever swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys non-stop without a shark cage. The 110-mile swim lasted 53 hours and ended Monday when she arrived in Key West.

Since then, she has appeared on the major networks where the common question has been, “how did you do it?” When she completed her swim, the first thing she said to the crowd was, “never, ever give up.”

In honor of Diana Nyad’s journey, we went looking for stocks that tried for years to break out but couldn’t do it until recently. Investors never gave up on these names and have since been rewarded handsomely for their patience.

Related: Microsoft Buying Nokia for $7.2 Billion- Here's Why

Microsoft MSFT- With the exception of a brief period at the end of 2007, this stock was unable to break above the $30 level until the beginning of 2012 where it reached a high of $32.60 on March 2, 2012.

Towards the end of the year, it sold off—again falling below $30 but 2013 has been a great year for Microsoft. Currently it trades at around $32 following an almost five percent selloff Tuesday related to its announcement that it would acquire Nokia NOK. Investors are looking for the stock to challenge the 2007 top of $367.06.

Intel INTC- Intel spent 2009 through mid-2012 stuck in a trading range that left it unable to convincingly break about the $22 level. As quickly as it would breach that level, sellers would push it back down. Finally, investors were rewarded when the stock rallied to $28. Today, the stock sits at $22.07. What was once resistance is now support.

Berkshire Hathaway BRK(BRK-B)- If any company deserves inclusion on this list it’s Warren Buffett’s company. Buffett has made a career (and billions of dollars) never giving up on what he believed had potential. Berkshire Hathaway spend two and a half years- from early 2010 to the middle of 2012, trying to break out of the $125,000 range. Once the breakout occurred, the stock has been on a tear. The stock is up 35 percent since the breakout.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Tim Parker had no position in the companies mentioned.