Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs: Tuesday’s Full List
A narrow list of market leaders prompts a closer look at the businesses behind the prices.
UnitedHealth (UNH), a company with a market value of about $396.2 billion, is at its strongest price in a year. It is one of just 9 Large Cap stocks on Tuesday’s 52-week-high list, on a day where the S&P 500 has returned +0.2% over the last month.
The list is tightly clustered, with three names from Oil & Gas and another four from Health Care. This concentration raises a key question for any investor scanning the names below.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
- 15 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
- 7 S&P 500 Stocks Just Touched 52-Week Lows
- The 52-Week-Low List: 19 Names On Tuesday
- Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 54 Small Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: SNDK, WDC, MU | Losers: DHR, MSCI, TYL
- Market Movers | Winners: CPHI, UTZ, VIVK | Losers: BURU, LSTA, QMLS
Here are all 9 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNH | $396.2 Bil | 3.5% | 2.6% | 8.8% | 58.5% |
| WELL | $172.4 Bil | 0.6% | 4.4% | 19.2% | 57.3% |
| CVS | $140.8 Bil | 2.8% | 4.2% | 12.5% | 85.0% |
| MPC | $94.3 Bil | 1.4% | 5.4% | 31.6% | 87.1% |
| VLO | $93.8 Bil | 0.5% | 4.4% | 33.2% | 120.9% |
| PSX | $85.3 Bil | 1.7% | 5.4% | 27.8% | 74.4% |
| TRV | $79.5 Bil | 0.3% | 9.7% | 20.1% | 41.2% |
| VTR | $46.5 Bil | 1.4% | 5.6% | 20.3% | 52.2% |
| ADM | $41.7 Bil | 0.6% | 4.8% | 14.8% | 63.5% |
Is every new high built on recent growth?
Consider the contrast between two of the day’s strongest performers. Welltower (WELL) has gained 19.2% over the last month, supported by revenue that grew 37.7% over the last twelve months. The stock now trades at 122.5 times trailing earnings.
Meanwhile, Valero Energy (VLO) had the list’s most powerful one-month run, up 33.2%. Yet its revenue declined 2.8% over the last twelve months. Its peer Marathon Petroleum (MPC) also hit a high while its revenue declined 1.7%.
A high price is a fact, not a verdict.
A list of stocks at their yearly highs is a useful map of what the market is rewarding. Strength often persists. But a price is simply what someone was willing to pay, and the disciplined next step is always the same.
The work is to check whether the underlying business fundamentals, revenue growth, margins, and earnings, can support the new valuation. A high is a signal to begin diligence, not end it.
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.
Chasing Highs Is A Reflex. Owning Strength Is A System
A 52-week-high list is seductive: everything on it has been going right. But buying a stock because it is at its high is buying a price, and prices revert; what persists is the quality underneath the run.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is built to own that quality before and after it makes headlines: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with 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. Admire the list; own the system.