Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 54 Small Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
While banks show broad strength, the list’s most aggressive gains are happening in very different kinds of companies.
Regional Banks lead the list of new highs, with 9 names reaching their strongest price of the past year. In total, 54 Small Cap stocks made the list on Wednesday, a day of notable strength that contrasts with the S&P 500’s return of -1.6% over the last month.
The most extreme gain, however, comes from outside the banking sector: ManpowerGroup (MAN) is up 55.5% over the last month. This raises a key question for today’s list: is the new strength concentrated in value, or is it rewarding pure growth? The names below show both.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
- CoreWeave Stock Extends A 5-Day Losing Streak To A 26% Loss
- 22 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
- Where The Selling Ran Deepest: 3 S&P 500 Stocks At 52-Week Lows
- Stocks At 52-Week Lows: Wednesday’s Full List
- 25 Mid Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Wednesday
- Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 14 Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 54 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKOS | $9.4 Bil | 6.8% | 5.8% | 13.7% | 70.3% |
| EAT | $8.9 Bil | 3.8% | 9.9% | 22.7% | 30.9% |
| CBSH | $8.8 Bil | 0.5% | 2.8% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| THG | $8.2 Bil | 3.7% | 9.1% | 8.3% | 43.6% |
| AN | $8.0 Bil | 4.4% | 11.7% | 21.8% | 17.2% |
| DBX | $7.8 Bil | 4.0% | 16.2% | 21.6% | 18.6% |
| CHE | $7.4 Bil | 4.2% | 7.1% | 17.3% | 16.3% |
| ACT | $6.8 Bil | 0.8% | 5.6% | 6.1% | 40.7% |
| MTG | $6.6 Bil | 0.0% | 5.3% | 8.3% | 22.4% |
| WEX | $6.5 Bil | 3.0% | 21.0% | 37.8% | 7.1% |
Which names have the numbers to back up their new highs?
Glaukos (GKOS), the largest company on the list, shows its revenue grew 36.3% over the last twelve months. That top-line expansion comes with an operating margin of -36.1%.
A different profile appears in Brinker International (EAT). The stock has gained 22.7% over the last month and trades at 19.2 times trailing earnings. Its revenue grew 11.8% over the last twelve months alongside an operating margin of 10.7%.
So how should an investor use this list?
A 52-week high is a sign of strength, and strong stocks often continue to perform. But a price is not a business verdict. A new high is the beginning of the work, not the end.
The disciplined approach is to treat this list as a starting point for research. The key question is whether the underlying business fundamentals, revenue, earnings, and margins, justify the new price level. Strength is a fact, but value is a judgment.
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 Grow Positions Faster Than Plans Do
A new high is real progress, and it is also how winners grow into outsized positions. How much damage any single position could do to your net worth is a question with a precise answer. The Trefis Wealth team computes it for investors professionally, with the same rules-based systematic discipline that runs our High Quality Portfolio. Request a free vulnerability audit of your biggest positions.