The 52-Week-High List: 14 S&P 500 Names On Thursday
A small group of stocks is trading at its highest price of the year, raising questions about whether strong prices reflect strong businesses.
As of Thursday, September 17, there are 14 S&P 500 stocks trading at their 52-week highs. This strength is narrow, as the S&P 500 has returned -0.6% over the last month. The largest company on the list is Dell Technologies (DELL), which has gained 25.6% over the last month. When a few names run this far against the market, the key question is whether the price has left the business behind.
The Biggest Names On The List
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 14 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DELL | $381.87 Bil | 4.5% | 16.1% | 25.6% | 366.7% |
| CRWD | $249.37 Bil | 1.8% | 17.6% | 15.4% | 120.9% |
| TMO | $244.24 Bil | 1.5% | 9.2% | 11.8% | 37.4% |
| MPC | $121.95 Bil | 1.9% | 7.5% | 15.5% | 134.4% |
| VLO | $121.28 Bil | 2.3% | 7.0% | 17.8% | 159.0% |
| PSX | $109.95 Bil | 3.6% | 6.1% | 12.6% | 112.2% |
| ADM | $42.72 Bil | 3.6% | 1.4% | 7.5% | 45.4% |
| WAT | $42.2 Bil | 2.6% | 7.0% | 7.1% | 41.8% |
| DGX | $27.47 Bil | 0.1% | 7.1% | 4.7% | 39.8% |
| WST | $25.96 Bil | 1.3% | 6.5% | 5.8% | 42.3% |
Has the price run ahead of the business?
The list shows different paths to a new high. Dell Technologies (DELL) trades at 33.4 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 49.0% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 9.6%.
Another name near the top of the list, Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), shows a different profile. It trades at 35.1 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 7.2% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 18.3%. Both stocks are at yearly highs with similar multiples, but one is valued on high growth while the other shows much higher profitability.
So how should an investor use this list?
A 52-week high is a sign of strength, and strength often persists. But a high price is a data point, not a verdict on a company’s future. It simply marks the market’s current opinion.
The disciplined next step is to look at the business fundamentals that earned that price. A stock at its high requires a business that can support the valuation with its own performance. The work begins, it does not end, with the price itself.
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.
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.