28 Small Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Tuesday
A new high for a stock can mean different things for the business underneath.
While the S&P 500 has returned -2.4% over the last month, CVR Energy (CVI) has gained 48.0% over the same period to reach a new high. As of Tuesday, September 15, there are 28 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs. The list is most concentrated in the Health Care sector with 9 names and the Energy sector with 8 names. But does a stock’s price strength always reflect the strength of its business?
The Ten Largest At New Highs
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 28 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM | $9.87 Bil | 5.8% | 9.3% | 23.1% | 60.9% |
| TXG | $9.67 Bil | 6.1% | 13.4% | 32.6% | 488.5% |
| CHRD | $8.79 Bil | 3.8% | 6.4% | 15.3% | 57.2% |
| DBX | $8.46 Bil | 0.9% | 11.3% | 9.3% | 21.7% |
| THG | $8.15 Bil | 0.7% | 4.2% | 3.8% | 31.7% |
| MATX | $7.18 Bil | 0.8% | 6.9% | 9.8% | 133.0% |
| SAIC | $5.84 Bil | 1.3% | 4.9% | 5.6% | 27.5% |
| INSW | $5.33 Bil | 1.8% | 9.0% | 16.6% | 166.6% |
| CVI | $5.24 Bil | 7.3% | 13.1% | 48.0% | 68.5% |
| CRGY | $5.08 Bil | 5.3% | 8.3% | 27.2% | 84.9% |
This screen covers US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe. Small Cap here means a market value between $2 billion and $10 billion, the upper figure excluded.
A new high does not always signal a growing business.
Consider 10x Genomics (TXG), the second-largest name on the list. Its stock has gained 32.6% over the last month. Yet its revenue declined 4.3% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was -14.9%.
Contrast this with SM Energy (SM), the largest company making a new high. It trades at 9.9 times trailing earnings (on trailing earnings that include at least one loss quarter, so the multiple is not comparable to a clean-year multiple). Its revenue grew 65.9% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 32.5%.
Strength can persist, but price must eventually answer to earnings.
A list of stocks at their highest price of the year is a useful screen for strength. These are often names with positive stories that attract investor attention. But a price is not a verdict.
The disciplined move is to treat the list as a starting point. The real work is checking whether the business fundamentals, like revenue growth and margins, can support the new, higher 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.
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 S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Admire the list; own the system.