3 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
A short list of new highs raises questions about the quality of the underlying business growth.
The strongest one-month run on today’s list belongs to Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), up 23.0% over the last month. As of Thursday, September 10, just 3 S&P 500 stocks are trading at their 52-week highs, a narrow group in a market where the S&P 500 has returned -1.7% over the last month.
This raises a core question: does the business performance of these few names justify their new price levels? The data for each follows.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
Here are all 3 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADM | $42.15 Bil | 0.4% | 1.8% | 8.7% | 43.8% |
| HPQ | $30.18 Bil | 1.0% | 3.3% | 13.7% | 19.6% |
| SWKS | $12.64 Bil | 9.8% | 17.2% | 23.0% | 15.6% |
Does the business growth match the price?
The three names show very different fundamental pictures. HP (HPQ) stands out, as its revenue grew 8.1% over the last twelve months, with an operating margin of 6.6%. The stock trades at 12.3 times trailing earnings.
In contrast, Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) saw its revenue grow just 0.1% over the last twelve months and trades at 43.6 times trailing earnings. The list’s largest company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), saw its revenue decline 0.8% over the last twelve months.
A 52-week high is a starting point for research.
Strength in a stock’s price can persist. But a new high is simply a price, not a verdict on a company’s quality or future prospects. It marks a moment where the market is optimistic.
The disciplined investor treats this list not as a set of recommendations, but as a prompt to ask whether the underlying business truly earns its 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.
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 usually 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.