16 Small Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Thursday
As of Thursday, October 15, there are 16 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs. Small Cap here means a market value between $2 billion and $10 billion, the upper figure excluded.
Paylocity (PCTY), with a market value of about $8.9 billion, is the largest company on the list; its stock is up 12.8% over the past month and up 9.9% over the past year. For context, the S&P 500 is up 2.6% over the past month, including dividends.
The Biggest Names On The List
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 16 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D Return |
1W Return |
1M Return |
1Y Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCTY | $8.9 Bil | 4.5% | 8.6% | 12.8% | 9.9% |
| ETSY | $8.4 Bil | 7.5% | 18.7% | 21.4% | 24.0% |
| URBN | $7.5 Bil | 3.2% | 8.0% | 13.4% | 28.7% |
| RNG | $6.7 Bil | 6.3% | 2.0% | 8.7% | 192.7% |
| SIG | $4.6 Bil | 9.4% | 11.6% | 14.8% | 18.5% |
| CNK | $4.4 Bil | 0.8% | 4.8% | 13.2% | 49.0% |
| APLE | $4.0 Bil | 2.8% | 3.9% | 9.8% | 56.0% |
| NHC | $3.8 Bil | 4.7% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 105.1% |
| FIZZ | $3.2 Bil | 2.3% | 11.3% | 6.6% | 5.2% |
| SLDE | $3.1 Bil | 3.4% | 4.9% | 3.4% | 72.8% |
Strong Prices, But How Strong Are The Businesses?
Paylocity (PCTY) trades at 33.0 times trailing earnings, grew revenue 11.0% over the last twelve months and earned an operating margin of 21.8%.
ETSY grew revenue 3.7% over the last twelve months and earned an operating margin of 16.0%.
Across the list, one-month moves range from +1.4% for ABM Industries (ABM) to +37.1% for Novavax (NVAX).
Over the past year, the median name here is up 39.8%.
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.
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.