Where The Selling Ran Deepest: 3 S&P 500 Stocks At 52-Week Lows
A technology giant’s sharp decline anchors a very short list of market laggards.
Tesla (TSLA), with a market value of about $964.8 billion, is the largest company to hit a 52-week low on Wednesday. It is one of just 3 S&P 500 stocks at its weakest price of the last year. The stock’s 27.6% decline over the last month stands out against the S&P 500, which has returned -1.6% over the same period.
When a company of this scale sees its price weaken so quickly, the question becomes whether the underlying business has changed, or if the market is simply repricing its value. The full list of names follows.
The Complete 52-Week-Low List
The table below lists every stock at its 52-week low, largest first, with one-day, one-week, one-month, and one-year returns:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | $964.8 Bil | -3.0% | -20.2% | -27.6% | -8.4% |
| LII | $15.0 Bil | -21.0% | -19.3% | -24.2% | -33.6% |
| PSKY | $8.8 Bil | -1.5% | -9.5% | -19.0% | n/a |
What does the data show about the businesses behind the prices?
The two largest names on the list present a study in contrasts. Tesla (TSLA) still shows revenue growth of 11.8% over the last twelve months, yet it trades at 253.9 times trailing earnings. Its free cash flow yield is 0.6%.
In contrast, Lennox International (LII) saw its revenue decline 2.0% over the same period. The company trades at 18.6 times trailing earnings and has a free cash flow yield of 4.4%. One stock is at a low with its top line still expanding; the other is at a low while its top line has contracted.
So is a 52-week low a warning sign or a shopping list?
A list of stocks at their yearly lows is simply a screen, not a signal. A new low can mark a business facing genuine deterioration, or it can mark a solid business whose value has been repriced by the market. The price is the last thing to check.
The disciplined work begins after reading the list: investigating the health of the underlying company, its balance sheet, and its growth prospects. A low price on a broken business is no bargain.
A 52-week-low list tells you where the pain is; it does not tell you which of these declines are worth buying. That second question is what our Buy the Dip screen answers, every day: beaten-down names where the fundamentals still hold up.
A 52 Week Low Is A Stress Test For Concentrated Portfolios
Every stock on this list just showed its holders what a bad year feels like. 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.