The 52-Week-High List: 10 Small Cap Names On Tuesday
A small list of stocks at new highs is heavily weighted toward a single area of the market.
The strongest one-month run on the list belongs to Kodiak Sciences (KOD), up 141.6% over the last month. As of Tuesday, September 29, there are 10 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs.
The group is dominated by Health Care, with 6 names, and its gains stand out while the S&P 500 has returned -0.4% over the last month. The question is what kind of business performance is driving these prices.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
Here are all 10 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRKR | $9.82 Bil | 1.9% | 5.4% | 13.1% | 108.7% |
| IOVA | $6.51 Bil | 31.5% | 35.8% | 80.4% | 584.8% |
| GRAL | $5.89 Bil | 3.0% | 25.8% | 70.7% | 173.9% |
| KOD | $5.71 Bil | 1.3% | 169.6% | 141.6% | 476.7% |
| ABCL | $4.53 Bil | 6.5% | 17.2% | 30.6% | 212.7% |
| MGNI | $3.67 Bil | 9.7% | 3.5% | 8.3% | 15.9% |
| ATKR | $3.2 Bil | 0.1% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 58.7% |
| IMAX | $3.1 Bil | 0.4% | 5.1% | 11.8% | 72.8% |
| DBRG | $2.9 Bil | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 36.0% |
| PGEN | $2.87 Bil | 3.1% | 2.0% | 15.8% | 129.3% |
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.
Growth and price do not always move with profit.
Consider Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA), which has gained 80.4% over the last month. Its revenue grew 34.5% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was -91.1%.
In contrast, Bruker (BRKR) is the largest company on the list and has gained 13.1% over the last month. For Bruker, its revenue grew 1.6% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 7.6%.
A high price is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A stock trading at its highest price of the past year is a sign of strength, and that strength can persist. But a price is not a verdict on the underlying business.
The disciplined next step is to investigate whether the company’s financial results and prospects justify the new valuation. The list is a screen for names worth a closer look, not a signal to buy.
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.
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 what separates a run that lasts from 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 S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Let the highs point; let the discipline decide.