Small Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs: Thursday’s Full List
A concentrated list of new highs raises questions about the breadth of market strength.
On Thursday, 56 Small Cap stocks from the Russell 3000 reached a 52-week high, with some runs showing extreme velocity, like Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX), up 149.8% over the last month. The largest name on the list is Affiliated Managers (AMG), with a market value of about $9.8 billion.
The list is heavily concentrated, with Biotechnology accounting for 19 of the names. This raises a key question: is this strength isolated to specific industries, or is there a broader story in the numbers? Below is the full list of companies at their strongest price of the last year.
The Full List, Largest First
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 56 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMG | $9.8 Bil | 2.4% | 8.3% | 8.4% | 80.8% |
| NUVL | $9.7 Bil | 0.0% | 0.2% | 39.9% | 57.2% |
| PRI | $9.7 Bil | 2.2% | 5.0% | 16.4% | 14.2% |
| APGE | $9.3 Bil | 0.2% | 0.6% | 60.9% | 266.8% |
| MTCH | $9.2 Bil | 2.5% | 3.3% | 15.6% | 24.0% |
| GKOS | $9.0 Bil | 1.4% | 12.7% | 27.1% | 51.4% |
| VOYA | $9.0 Bil | 0.4% | 4.1% | 9.1% | 36.1% |
| CRNX | $8.7 Bil | 0.2% | 116.2% | 149.8% | 184.7% |
| FR | $8.6 Bil | 0.4% | 5.3% | 7.4% | 38.2% |
| TGTX | $8.5 Bil | 3.2% | 10.4% | 44.2% | 65.9% |
Which of these highs are backed by business growth?
A high price is one thing; the business earning it is another. Affiliated Managers (AMG) trades at 13.0 times trailing earnings while its revenue grew 4.2% over the last twelve months. Nearby on the list, Primerica (PRI) shows a similar valuation at 12.6 times trailing earnings, but its revenue grew 6.4% over the same period. Meanwhile, Match (MTCH) has an operating margin of 28.1% on revenue growth of 2.0%. The numbers show different profiles of strength even among companies hitting new highs.
How should a disciplined investor treat this list?
Strength often persists, and a list of new highs is a useful screen for what the market is rewarding. But a price is not a verdict on a company’s quality or future. The disciplined next step is to look past the stock chart. A 52-week high is an invitation to investigate whether the underlying business fundamentals justify the new valuation.
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.
One more pattern worth noticing: 27 of the 56 names are Health Care stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, a biotech ETF like XBI is one way to own the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
New Highs Fade. Discipline Compounds
Some of the names on this list will keep setting highs for years, and some are at the top of their run right now. Sorting one from the other, name by name, every day, is the work most investors never keep up with.
That sorting is what the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio does systematically: about 30 quality businesses screened for the fundamentals that sustain a run, held with rules instead of excitement. 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. Use the high list for ideas; use the portfolio for the compounding.