12 Mid Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Tuesday
A new list of market highs shows a heavy concentration in just one corner of the economy.
The strongest one-month run on today’s list belongs to Okta (OKTA), up 45.5% against an S&P 500 that returned just +1.3%. As of Tuesday, September 22, there are 12 Mid Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs.
The names are heavily concentrated. Health Care accounts for 8 of the 12 stocks. Information Technology has 3 names, and Consumer Discretionary has 1. Is this a narrow rally driven by a single theme?
The Ten Largest At New Highs
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 12 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILMN | $37.37 Bil | 3.6% | 11.3% | 12.8% | 140.8% |
| OKTA | $34.63 Bil | 2.8% | 3.2% | 45.5% | 110.6% |
| BIIB | $33.29 Bil | 2.9% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 58.1% |
| WST | $26.27 Bil | 2.6% | 1.7% | 5.1% | 46.1% |
| FFIV | $25.72 Bil | 0.7% | 5.2% | 17.9% | 37.9% |
| BBY | $19.95 Bil | 1.7% | 2.8% | 11.6% | 38.3% |
| MEDP | $17.75 Bil | 1.0% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 26.4% |
| DT | $16.71 Bil | 1.4% | 3.7% | 16.0% | 18.3% |
| HALO | $13.5 Bil | 3.3% | 8.4% | 6.4% | 48.0% |
| TECH | $11.33 Bil | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 37.3% |
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.
Does a 115.8 times multiple reflect the business?
Okta (OKTA) has gained 45.5% over the last month. The company trades at 115.8 times trailing earnings. Its revenue grew 11.2% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 7.7%.
A 52-week high is a question, not an answer.
A stock trading at its highest price of the past year is demonstrating strength. That strength can often persist. But a price is simply a price, not a final verdict on a company’s value or future.
The disciplined move is to treat the new high as the start of a question. The work begins now: determining whether the business fundamentals can earn the market’s new, higher valuation.
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.