36 S&P 500 Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Tuesday
A mix of financial giants and technology sprinters are hitting new highs, raising questions about valuation and business quality.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), with a market value of about $1115.7 billion, is the largest name making a new high. On Tuesday, August 4, it was one of 36 S&P 500 stocks trading at its strongest price of the last year.
The list shows clusters in Diversified Banks and Transaction & Payment Processing Services, but the core question is what the valuations of these leaders suggest about their underlying businesses. Below are the names.
The Biggest Names On The List
- Procore Technologies Stock Rides A 8-Day Winning Streak To A 36% Gain
- PTC Stock Rides A 8-Day Winning Streak To A 25% Gain
- The 52-Week-High List: 91 Small Cap Names On Tuesday
- The 52-Week-Low List: 3 S&P 500 Names On Tuesday
- 38 Mid Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: PLTR, ZBRA, IT | Losers: APTV, NRG, CMG
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 36 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK-B | $1,115.7 Bil | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2.1% | 9.4% |
| JPM | $971.1 Bil | 1.4% | 0.1% | 5.9% | 25.9% |
| V | $668.2 Bil | 1.1% | 0.8% | 3.5% | 9.8% |
| BAC | $456.4 Bil | 0.7% | 0.4% | 5.0% | 40.8% |
| DELL | $303.3 Bil | 8.9% | 19.2% | 13.7% | 271.7% |
| PANW | $293.4 Bil | 5.5% | 14.8% | 2.5% | 111.9% |
| ANET | $239.6 Bil | 3.0% | 12.3% | 9.9% | 62.0% |
| ETN | $172.7 Bil | 1.5% | 15.1% | 7.6% | 18.0% |
| BMY | $134.3 Bil | 0.6% | 3.6% | 16.2% | 56.1% |
| FTNT | $124.3 Bil | 3.1% | 12.2% | 3.7% | 72.9% |
Is a 30.8 times multiple earned by a 65.6% margin?
Visa (V) stands out. The stock trades at 30.8 times trailing earnings, a steep figure. Yet its revenue grew 14.4% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin is 65.6%. This combination of high growth and profitability is notable.
For contrast, Dell Technologies (DELL) also trades at a high multiple, 36.1 times trailing earnings, supported by revenue growth of 38.6%. Its operating margin, however, is 8.1%.
A new high is a starting point for new questions.
A 52-week high is a sign of strength, and strong stocks often continue to perform. But a price is not a business verdict. The disciplined next step is to look past the chart and into the fundamentals. A stock at its peak requires a business that can support the altitude, either through current earnings or a clear path to future growth.
A new high tells you what the market already believes. The harder question is which of these runs management itself is underwriting. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks exactly that: stocks where the company raised its own forward numbers.
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 the three 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.