7 S&P 500 Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Wednesday
A short list of stocks at new highs is dominated by a single part of the market.
Only 7 names in the S&P 500 reached their highest price of the past year on Wednesday, a stark figure when the S&P 500 (SPY) has returned -1.4% over the last month. The list is heavily concentrated, with 5 of the names from the Energy sector and 2 from Information Technology.
This narrowness raises a key question: are these new highs a reflection of business strength, or just price action in a specific corner of the market? The data below details the names.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
Here are all 7 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | $421.18 Bil | 1.9% | 1.3% | 10.7% | 44.3% |
| DELL | $347.38 Bil | 0.3% | 25.9% | 16.9% | 340.7% |
| MPC | $115.44 Bil | 0.4% | 4.3% | 25.0% | 124.1% |
| VLO | $114.35 Bil | 1.6% | 7.4% | 23.5% | 152.4% |
| PSX | $104.56 Bil | 0.6% | 3.5% | 21.6% | 106.2% |
| HPQ | $29.86 Bil | 4.9% | 4.4% | 9.7% | 17.1% |
| APA | $15.83 Bil | 3.0% | 1.2% | 9.3% | 108.5% |
Dell Technologies’ new high is backed by significant revenue growth.
While Marathon Petroleum (MPC) posted the strongest one-month run on the list, up 25.0%, its revenue grew 15.0% over the last twelve months. In contrast, Dell Technologies (DELL) has gained 16.9% over the last month, but its business has expanded far more rapidly. Over the last twelve months, Dell’s revenue grew 49.0%.
The company trades at 30.3 times trailing earnings with an operating margin of 9.6%. For Dell, the new high in its stock price follows a period of substantial top-line expansion.
A new high is a question, not an answer.
A 52-week-high list is a useful screen for strength. Stocks that are working often continue to work. But a price is not a business verdict, and a new high can mean a stock is either fairly valued or expensive.
The disciplined move is to treat the high as the beginning of a question. The work is to check whether the underlying business fundamentals, from revenue growth to margins, can earn the stock’s new level.
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: 5 of the 7 names are Energy stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, an oil and gas ETF like XOP, which holds 5 of these names, is one way to own part of the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
Chasing Highs Is A Reflex. Owning Strength Is A System
A 52-week-high list is seductive: everything on it has been going right. But buying a stock because it is at its high is buying a price, and prices revert; what persists is the quality underneath the run.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is built to own that quality before and after it makes headlines: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with 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. Admire the list; own the system.