21 Large Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
A concentrated list of market leaders hits new highs, but not all strength is created equal.
Strength in today’s market is concentrated in old-line industries, with Rail Transportation leading the 52-week-high list with 5 names. In total, 21 Large Cap stocks are at their strongest price of the past year, a list dominated by the largest company on it, Apple (AAPL), with a market value of about $4656.0 billion.
While the list includes some powerful one-month runs, like Allstate (ALL) gaining 14.8%, the most important question is whether the underlying business justifies the new price. Below is the full list of names making new highs.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
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The table below shows the 10 largest of the 21 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $4,656.0 Bil | 0.6% | 1.5% | 8.8% | 50.0% |
| KO | $362.4 Bil | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 24.2% |
| UNP | $171.5 Bil | 0.8% | 2.3% | 8.3% | 24.8% |
| CVS | $134.8 Bil | 1.7% | 3.7% | 8.0% | 67.3% |
| SBUX | $122.3 Bil | 1.3% | 5.1% | 8.7% | 15.8% |
| BNS | $108.2 Bil | 0.5% | 2.0% | 8.9% | 66.8% |
| ELV | $93.5 Bil | 2.1% | 4.2% | 5.1% | 25.5% |
| CSX | $92.3 Bil | 0.5% | 1.7% | 7.0% | 50.1% |
| VLO | $88.1 Bil | 5.4% | 9.4% | 14.7% | 96.0% |
| MPC | $87.6 Bil | 4.6% | 10.4% | 12.8% | 66.1% |
Which names have the numbers to back up their new highs?
Apple (AAPL) is a useful benchmark. It trades at 38.0 times trailing earnings while its revenue grew 12.8% over the last twelve months, supported by a 32.6% operating margin. Contrast that with Starbucks (SBUX), which trades at a much higher 81.8 times trailing earnings on revenue growth of 5.8% and an operating margin of 9.3%. The list also contains industrial powerhouses like Union Pacific (UNP), whose 40.2% operating margin stands out.
So is a 52-week high a buy signal or a warning?
Neither. A stock hitting a new high is a sign of strength, and that strength can persist. But a price is not a verdict on a company’s quality or future. The disciplined move for any name on this list, or any other, is to look past the price and check the fundamentals. The critical question is always whether the business itself earns the level the market has awarded it.
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 Feel Great. Concentration Decides How They End
If a stock you own is on this list, the gain is real – and so is the way winners quietly grow into most of a portfolio right before their worst stretch. Trimming a big winner the usual way means handing a chunk of those gains to the IRS. There is a way to lock in the gains and diversify without the tax hit.