15 Large Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
Strength in today’s market shows up in very different forms, from industrial giants to technology leaders.
Rail Transportation leads today’s list with 3 names at their 52-week highs. In total, 15 Large Cap stocks are at their strongest price of the past year. The largest company on the list is Apple (AAPL), with a market value of about $4640.0 billion. The presence of both industrial and high-growth technology names raises a central question: does strength mean the same thing for every company? Below are the names making new highs.
Every Name On The List
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 15 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
- The 52-Week-Low List: 1 S&P 500 Name On Thursday
- 11 Stocks Hit 52-Week Lows On Thursday
- 17 S&P 500 Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Thursday
- Small Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs: Thursday’s Full List
- 19 Mid Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: LITE, HPE, FDXF | Losers: APA, PSKY, COST
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $4,640.0 Bil | 0.9% | 7.4% | 4.9% | 51.2% |
| UNH | $392.0 Bil | 1.4% | 1.2% | 6.8% | 44.0% |
| ANET | $232.3 Bil | 2.0% | 10.8% | 18.1% | 78.6% |
| UNP | $169.0 Bil | 1.5% | 2.6% | 6.1% | 23.2% |
| FTNT | $121.0 Bil | 4.5% | 3.0% | 14.5% | 52.3% |
| NET | $97.3 Bil | 0.9% | 12.0% | 11.3% | 43.0% |
| CSX | $91.8 Bil | 1.4% | 2.1% | 4.8% | 49.9% |
| MPC | $83.6 Bil | 0.9% | 7.0% | 6.4% | 60.5% |
| PSX | $76.3 Bil | 1.1% | 8.8% | 3.5% | 51.0% |
| CNI | $76.0 Bil | 1.4% | 3.8% | 3.5% | 21.5% |
Does Arista’s growth justify its price?
The strongest one-month run belongs to Arista Networks (ANET), up 18.1%, far outpacing the S&P 500 return of +1.7%. That performance has pushed its valuation to 62.4 times trailing earnings. The business behind that multiple shows revenue growth of 30.6% over the last twelve months and an operating margin of 42.8%. For comparison, a name like Union Pacific (UNP) from the list’s leading industry trades at 23.4 times earnings with revenue growth of 1.9% and a 40.2% operating margin.
A new high is a question, not an answer.
A list of stocks at their 52-week highs is a useful screen for strength. Often, strong price action continues. But a price is just a price, not a verdict on the business. The disciplined next step is to look at the fundamentals to determine if the company’s performance earns its current valuation. The work begins, it does not end, at the high.
Before chasing any name on this list, ask what the company itself expects next. Our Guidance Momentum screen surfaces the stocks whose managements just raised their own outlooks, which is the momentum that tends to have staying power.
Strength Is A Clue. It Is Not A Plan
A stock at its 52-week high has momentum on its side, and momentum is a real force. It is also the most crowded signal in the market, and the difference between a run that lasts and one that tops is always the business underneath.
Checking that business, across thousands of names, is how the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is assembled: roughly 30 companies that pass the quality screens, rebalanced on rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines all major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Let the highs point; let the discipline decide.