Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 13 Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
A short list of market leaders is led by a notable concentration in one part of the economy.
Merck (MRK), with a market value of about $336.1 billion, is the largest of just 13 Large Cap stocks hitting a 52-week high on Monday. The list is narrow, and its character is shaped by a specific industry cluster: Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing, an industry in the Energy sector, accounts for 3 of the names.
That concentration raises a critical question for investors looking at strength. Below is the full list of companies trading at their strongest price of the past year.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 13 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | $336.12 Bil | 0.1% | 3.9% | 6.6% | 69.8% |
| AMGN | $226.47 Bil | 1.0% | 0.5% | 14.5% | 48.8% |
| SBUX | $122.96 Bil | 0.2% | 3.7% | 2.9% | 19.7% |
| BNY | $113.54 Bil | 0.6% | 3.0% | 5.0% | 61.7% |
| MPC | $105.66 Bil | 0.8% | 11.8% | 14.6% | 125.0% |
| VLO | $103.46 Bil | 1.6% | 10.2% | 12.6% | 161.0% |
| PSX | $96.2 Bil | 2.4% | 11.0% | 15.7% | 101.6% |
| CP | $84.23 Bil | 0.4% | 3.8% | 0.2% | 28.2% |
| URI | $72.86 Bil | 1.0% | 2.6% | 11.6% | 27.4% |
| CVE | $60.24 Bil | 3.6% | 8.7% | 15.0% | 118.5% |
Is every new high built on the same foundation?
The list includes starkly different profiles. Merck (MRK) is trading at 105.8 times trailing earnings while its revenue grew 4.6% over the last twelve months. Its operating margin is 10.5%.
In contrast, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) from the Energy sector cluster also reached a new high, but it trades at 12.1 times trailing earnings. Its revenue grew 15.0% over the last twelve months, with an operating margin of 7.5%. The same price signal, a 52-week high, can point to very different underlying business performance.
A high price is a question, not an answer.
A list of stocks at their highs is a useful screen for strength. These are companies the market is rewarding. But a price is not a verdict on the business itself.
The disciplined next step is to investigate whether the fundamentals justify the price. A stock at its peak invites the investor to look closer at the revenue growth and margins that must support that level over time.
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 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.