12 Large Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Thursday
As of Thursday, October 15, there are 12 Large Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs. Large Cap here means a market value above $40 billion.
At about $751.8 billion in market value, Visa (V) is the largest company on the list; its stock is up 7.8% over the past month and up 15.7% over the past year. Health Care contributed the most names, 6 of the 12. For context, the S&P 500 is up 2.6% over the past month, including dividends.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 12 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D Return |
1W Return |
1M Return |
1Y Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | $751.8 Bil | 2.1% | 6.6% | 7.8% | 15.7% |
| MA | $543.6 Bil | 2.2% | 7.4% | 8.7% | 9.2% |
| ABBV | $501.3 Bil | 0.6% | 4.7% | 8.6% | 28.3% |
| KO | $395.9 Bil | 0.2% | 4.8% | 4.7% | 39.9% |
| GILD | $195.6 Bil | 2.5% | 7.0% | 6.6% | 36.1% |
| PFE | $167.8 Bil | 0.8% | 5.8% | 7.2% | 28.5% |
| MO | $123.3 Bil | 1.0% | 3.4% | 5.3% | 20.5% |
| MCK | $118.5 Bil | 2.3% | 7.4% | 12.5% | 28.2% |
| ADP | $113.9 Bil | 1.9% | 5.5% | 4.6% | 2.8% |
| CAH | $59.1 Bil | 2.4% | 6.2% | 9.4% | 66.1% |
Strong Prices, But How Strong Are The Businesses?
Visa (V) trades at 33.3 times trailing earnings, grew revenue 14.4% over the last twelve months and earned an operating margin of 65.6%.
Mastercard (MA) trades at 33.4 times trailing earnings, grew revenue 16.0% over the last twelve months and earned an operating margin of 59.8%.
Across the list, one-month moves range from +4.6% for Automatic Data Processing (ADP) to +14.4% for Agilent Technologies (A).
Over the past year, the median name here is up 28.3%.
12 of the 12 names are also S&P 500 members.
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.
One more pattern worth noticing: 6 of the 12 names are Health Care stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, a health care ETF like XLV, which holds 6 of the 6 largest of them, is one way to own part of the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
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.