25 Small Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Thursday
A small group of companies is trading at its strongest price of the past year, but the list reveals very different kinds of business strength.
As of Thursday, 25 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks with a market value above $2 billion are trading at their 52-week highs. This kind of narrow list often contains sharp individual moves, and today is no exception. The largest company on the list, Twist Bioscience (TWST), has gained 79.1% over the last month, a period where the S&P 500 returned +5.7%. The central question is what kind of business performance is earning these new highs.
Below are the 10 largest names on the list.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
- Where The Selling Ran Deepest: 9 S&P 500 Stocks At 52-Week Lows
- 18 Stocks Hit 52-Week Lows On Thursday
- Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 13 S&P 500 Stocks At 52-Week Highs
- Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 20 Mid Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
- Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs: Thursday’s Full List
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: CRM, CRWD, VEEV | Losers: HRL, CASY, TPR
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 25 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWST | $9.45 Bil | 2.0% | 12.3% | 79.1% | 452.3% |
| APGE | $9.4 Bil | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 256.4% |
| VCTR | $7.71 Bil | 0.4% | 7.1% | 24.3% | 74.1% |
| HNGE | $7.3 Bil | 2.6% | 8.4% | 25.4% | 68.4% |
| ZETA | $7.21 Bil | 7.0% | 8.5% | 36.9% | 53.2% |
| ACA | $7.13 Bil | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 47.4% |
| TVTX | $6.2 Bil | 0.6% | 4.7% | 21.5% | 287.2% |
| RNG | $5.76 Bil | 3.7% | 4.5% | 19.3% | 127.8% |
| SAIC | $5.64 Bil | 1.1% | 2.1% | 10.2% | 9.4% |
| CGAU | $4.84 Bil | 2.3% | 3.2% | 42.7% | 212.3% |
A high price does not always mean high profits.
Twist Bioscience (TWST) shows a stark contrast between its stock price and its recent business results. While its revenue grew 19.2% over the last twelve months, its operating margin is -32.0%. Another name at a new high, Victory Capital (VCTR), presents a different picture. Its revenue grew 51.5% over the last twelve months, its operating margin is 43.9%, and the stock trades at 16.3 times trailing earnings.
A 52-week high is a question, not an answer.
Strength often persists, and a list of stocks at their highest price of the year is a good place to hunt for ideas. But a price is not a verdict on a company. The disciplined move is to treat the high as the beginning of the work, not the end. The essential step is to check whether the business itself earns the level the market has awarded it.
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.