59 Small Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
A list of market leaders reveals a deep split between price strength and business performance.
One small cap stock, Pulse Biosciences (PLSE), has gained 55.7% in a single month, a period where the S&P 500 returned just 2.9%. As of Friday, 59 Small Cap names from the Russell 3000 hit a 52-week high, with a heavy concentration in Biotechnology, which accounts for 11 names on the list. The central question is what kind of business performance, if any, is driving these new price levels.
Here are the names at their strongest price of the past year.
The Ten Largest At New Highs
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 59 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIO | $9.5 Bil | 2.9% | 8.3% | 18.6% | 33.3% |
| APGE | $9.4 Bil | 0.3% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 271.3% |
| CRNX | $8.8 Bil | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 194.7% |
| FLR | $8.3 Bil | 16.9% | 13.6% | 13.5% | 29.8% |
| AXTA | $8.2 Bil | 1.7% | 6.6% | 17.3% | 34.1% |
| VSXY | $8.0 Bil | 5.4% | 11.1% | 29.3% | 381.2% |
| LQDA | $7.9 Bil | 0.9% | 7.3% | 10.8% | 344.2% |
| PACS | $7.6 Bil | 3.8% | 5.3% | 10.5% | 338.4% |
| CHE | $7.6 Bil | 0.6% | 3.8% | 12.7% | 29.6% |
| NAVN | $7.3 Bil | 4.4% | 9.2% | 13.5% | n/a |
A new high can mask a business burning cash.
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX) is a case in point. While its revenue grew an explosive 2928.4% over the last twelve months, its operating margin is -1302.5%. This stands in sharp contrast to the largest company on the list, Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO). Bio-Rad also sits at a high, but with revenue growth of 1.4% and a positive operating margin of 8.7%. Both stocks are at their peak price, but the underlying business stories are worlds apart.
A high price is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A 52-week-high list is a useful screen for strength, as stocks that are performing well often continue to do so. But a price is simply what the market is willing to pay today. The disciplined move is to treat the high as a signal to investigate further. The real work is determining whether the company’s fundamental results can earn the new valuation.
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.
One more pattern worth noticing: 28 of the 59 names are Health Care stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, a health care ETF like VHT is one way to own the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
Strength Is A Clue. It Is Not A Plan
A stock at its 52-week high has momentum on its side, and momentum is a real force. It is also the most crowded signal in the market, and the difference between a run that lasts and one that tops is always the business underneath.
Checking that business, across thousands of names, is how the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is assembled: roughly 30 companies that pass the quality screens, rebalanced on rules. 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. Let the highs point; let the discipline decide.