28 S&P 500 Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Monday
A narrow list of market leaders shows strength concentrated in specific industries, raising questions about valuation.
As of Monday, July 13, 28 S&P 500 stocks are trading at their 52-week highs. The list is led by Apple (AAPL), with a market value of about $4656.0 billion, and its stock has gained 8.8% over the last month while the S&P 500 returned +3.3%.
This is not a broad-based surge. The names cluster in specific industries, including Life & Health Insurance with 4 names and Rail Transportation with 3 names. The central question is whether the valuations of these leaders have kept pace with their business performance. The data below shows a wide divergence.
Every Name On The List
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 28 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $4,656.0 Bil | 0.6% | 1.5% | 8.8% | 50.0% |
| KO | $362.4 Bil | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 24.2% |
| UNP | $171.5 Bil | 0.8% | 2.3% | 8.3% | 24.8% |
| CVS | $134.8 Bil | 1.7% | 3.7% | 8.0% | 67.3% |
| SBUX | $122.3 Bil | 1.3% | 5.1% | 8.7% | 15.8% |
| ELV | $93.5 Bil | 2.1% | 4.2% | 5.1% | 25.5% |
| CSX | $92.3 Bil | 0.5% | 1.7% | 7.0% | 50.1% |
| VLO | $88.1 Bil | 5.4% | 9.4% | 14.7% | 96.0% |
| MPC | $87.6 Bil | 4.6% | 10.4% | 12.8% | 66.1% |
| PSX | $79.7 Bil | 5.3% | 11.8% | 9.1% | 52.6% |
A high price can mask very different fundamentals.
Consider two of the largest companies making new highs. Apple (AAPL) trades at 38.0 times trailing earnings, supported by revenue growth of 12.8% over the last twelve months and an operating margin of 32.6%.
Union Pacific (UNP) presents a different picture. It trades at a lower multiple of 23.8 times trailing earnings, but its revenue grew just 1.9% over the last twelve months. The company’s operating margin is a formidable 40.2%, yet its top-line expansion is minimal compared to others on the list.
Strength is a signal, not a conclusion.
A list of stocks at their yearly highs is a map of what the market is rewarding. These are, by definition, the market’s strongest-performing names. Often, that strength continues.
But a high price is an effect, not a cause. It is a statement about past performance, not a guarantee of future results. The disciplined step is to treat this list as a starting point for research, asking whether the underlying business growth and profitability can support the stock’s new level.
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.
New Highs Feel Great. Concentration Decides How They End
If a stock you own is on this list, the gain is real – and so is the way winners quietly grow into most of a portfolio right before their worst stretch. Trimming a big winner the usual way means handing a chunk of those gains to the IRS. There is a way to lock in the gains and diversify without the tax hit.