17 Mid Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
A new list of stocks at their highest prices of the year is heavily concentrated in just two areas of the market.
Illumina (ILMN) is the largest company on the list, with a market value of about $37.0 billion, and its stock has gained 30.2% over the last month. As of Thursday, September 17, there are 17 Mid Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs. The names are concentrated. By sector, the list breaks down as Health Care (7 names) and Information Technology (6 names). With these two groups dominating the list, the question is whether business growth is keeping pace with stock prices.
The Ten Largest At New Highs
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 17 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILMN | $37.02 Bil | 7.1% | 21.8% | 30.2% | 141.6% |
| DGX | $27.47 Bil | 0.1% | 7.1% | 4.7% | 39.8% |
| WST | $25.96 Bil | 1.3% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 42.3% |
| FFIV | $24.65 Bil | 2.6% | 9.1% | 10.4% | 34.3% |
| GH | $24.33 Bil | 4.7% | 15.1% | 14.4% | 230.5% |
| RBRK | $21.96 Bil | 2.7% | 21.3% | 7.2% | 43.8% |
| DINO | $20.92 Bil | 2.3% | 8.3% | 21.9% | 128.5% |
| BBY | $19.9 Bil | 3.4% | 8.5% | 9.5% | 36.3% |
| SMTC | $16.55 Bil | 6.4% | 12.0% | 31.8% | 184.9% |
| RVTY | $16.37 Bil | 0.7% | 21.3% | 29.0% | 72.5% |
This screen covers US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe. Mid Cap here means a market value between $10 billion and $40 billion, the upper figure excluded.
Are these new highs built on growth?
The figures show different stories. Illumina (ILMN) trades at 44.9 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 4.9% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 19.9%. West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) trades at 45.9 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 12.4% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 21.7%.
Other names show faster expansion but no current profit. For Guardant Health (GH), its revenue grew 42.7% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was -39.7%.
A high price is a question, not an answer.
A 52-week-high list is a map of where money has been. Strength often persists, but a high is a price, not a verdict on a business. The disciplined move is to treat the new price as a prompt. It is an occasion to check whether the underlying business earns its new level.
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.
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 S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Use the high list for ideas; use the portfolio for the compounding.