7 Green Days In A Row: American Tower Stock Is Up 13%
American Tower (AMT) stock is on a 7-day winning streak, up 13.3% since the run began. That added about $10.0 billion to the company’s market value, which now stands at about $85.1 billion. The stock closed at $182.56 on Monday, October 12, 4.0% below its 52-week high of $190.23 and 13.8% above its low of $160.38.
AMT Versus The S&P 500
Returns for AMT and the S&P 500 over the streak and the periods around it, all ending Monday, October 12 and including dividends:
| Return Period | AMT | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Day | 0.2% | -0.1% |
| 7 Days (Current Streak) | 13.3% | 1.9% |
| 1 Month (21 Trading Days) | 3.8% | 2.0% |
| 3 Months (63 Trading Days) | 9.3% | 3.8% |
| Year To Date | 7.2% | 15.1% |
| 1 Year (252 Trading Days) | 2.5% | 17.3% |
How The Streak Compares With The Market
Over the same 7 trading days, the S&P 500 returned +1.9% including dividends, so the run is mostly American Tower’s own story rather than the market’s. 10 other S&P 500 stocks are currently on winning streaks of 7 days or longer. Over the past three months the stock is up 9.3%, a window that includes the streak; over the other 56 sessions of that window it was down 3.6%.
Do The Fundamentals Support The Run?
On the fundamentals, revenue grew 6.6% over the last twelve months, against a median of 5.4% for S&P 500 Real Estate stocks; its operating margin is 45.6%, versus a median of 27.6%; and the stock trades at 25.0 times trailing earnings against a median of 29.4. On these numbers the run has substance behind it: revenue growth above the median, margins above the median and a multiple below the median.
A climb like this is worth respecting, and worth testing. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks the stocks whose companies just raised their own forward numbers.
For anyone who would rather back the theme than one company, a real estate ETF like XLRE holds the whole group, not just this stock. It is still a concentrated bet on one theme, which is the gap the portfolio below is built to close.
One Hot Stock Is A Story. Thirty Sound Ones Are A Strategy
A streak like this earns a place on your watchlist, and it also earns a question: how much of your outcome do you want depending on one company keeping this up?
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio answers it with breadth: roughly 30 businesses picked for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and balance-sheet strength, sized and rebalanced by rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Follow the story; invest in the strategy.