Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 26 Mid Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
Strength in today’s market is clustered in specific industries, but the valuations behind the new highs tell very different stories.
Strength in the Mid Cap space is concentrated, with Electronic Equipment & Instruments, Aerospace & Defense, and Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals each placing 2 names on today’s list. In total, 26 Mid Cap stocks from the Russell 3000 are trading at their 52-week highs. The largest company on the list is Twilio (TWLO), with a market value of about $36.8 billion. With some names like Arxis (ARXS) up 41.0% over the last month, the essential question is whether the business fundamentals can support these prices.
Here are the names hitting new highs.
The Biggest Names On The List
- Karman Stock: 7 Straight Green Days, Up 28%
- 5 Green Days In A Row: Unity Software Stock Is Up 36%
- A 7-Day Winning Streak Has Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Stock Up 38%
- A 7-Day Winning Streak Has Eaton Stock Up 24%
- A 7-Day Winning Streak Has ATI Stock Up 28%
- Rocket Lab Stock Climbs 41% On A 7-Day Winning Streak
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 26 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWLO | $36.8 Bil | 24.9% | 22.3% | 10.4% | 85.3% |
| TPR | $32.9 Bil | 0.2% | 6.6% | 16.0% | 46.6% |
| TDY | $32.0 Bil | 0.5% | 5.5% | 9.5% | 25.9% |
| ATI | $31.1 Bil | 2.0% | 21.6% | 21.0% | 205.9% |
| P | $29.8 Bil | 3.2% | 16.7% | 11.2% | n/a |
| WSM | $29.8 Bil | 2.0% | 10.1% | 14.9% | 27.2% |
| HPQ | $27.7 Bil | 6.6% | 10.2% | 24.5% | 26.3% |
| LH | $26.3 Bil | 0.8% | 3.2% | 15.0% | 23.6% |
| SN | $26.2 Bil | 3.1% | 14.7% | 24.7% | 62.5% |
| ARXS | $24.3 Bil | 4.2% | 10.5% | 41.0% | n/a |
Tapestry’s new high is backed by strong margins.
Tapestry (TPR), the second-largest name on the list, pairs its new high with an operating margin of 22.2% and revenue growth of 14.1% over the last twelve months. The stock trades at 49.6 times trailing earnings. This contrasts with the list’s largest member, Twilio (TWLO). While its revenue grew 15.7%, its operating margin is 4.9% and it trades at 353.8 times trailing earnings.
A 52-week high is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A stock at its strongest price of the last year is a sign of market approval. Strength often persists. But a high is a price, not a verdict on the business itself. The disciplined move for an investor is to treat this list as a screen for ideas. The real work is checking whether the company’s growth and profitability can earn its current 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, which is the momentum that tends to have staying power.
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 three major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Use the high list for ideas; use the portfolio for the compounding.