Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 18 Mid Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
A small group of mid-cap stocks is showing significant strength, but the stories behind their new highs differ.
NetApp (NTAP), a company with a market value of about $39.5 billion, is trading at a new high after gaining 17.7% over the last month. It leads a list of 18 Mid Cap stocks from the Russell 3000 at their strongest price of the past year, a period where the S&P 500 has returned +23.3%.
This raises a core question for any high list: which prices are backed by business expansion, and which have run ahead of it? The names below show both kinds of strength.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
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The table below shows the 10 largest of the 18 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NTAP | $39.5 Bil | 4.9% | 8.6% | 17.7% | 94.7% |
| TWLO | $38.1 Bil | 3.6% | 27.2% | 16.5% | 104.3% |
| DXCM | $33.8 Bil | 3.4% | 0.4% | 16.9% | 14.7% |
| TPR | $33.4 Bil | 1.5% | 5.9% | 17.1% | 53.9% |
| P | $32.4 Bil | 8.8% | 22.3% | 23.5% | n/a |
| ATI | $31.2 Bil | 0.2% | 18.2% | 22.0% | 209.5% |
| CPAY | $27.1 Bil | 2.0% | 3.9% | 13.4% | 31.7% |
| LH | $26.4 Bil | 0.7% | 4.5% | 16.1% | 24.9% |
| SN | $26.3 Bil | 0.4% | 15.9% | 22.0% | 61.6% |
| DRI | $24.9 Bil | 2.0% | 5.7% | 6.7% | 8.8% |
Which names pair price strength with business growth?
NetApp (NTAP), the largest company on the list, trades at 31.0 times trailing earnings. That valuation is supported by a 24.5% operating margin and revenue that grew 5.4% over the last twelve months.
Contrast that with Everpure (P). The stock trades at 143.4 times trailing earnings. While its revenue grew 21.0% over the last twelve months, its operating margin is 4.2%.
A 52-week high is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A list of stocks at their strongest price of the last year is a useful screen for what is working in the market. Strength often persists, as buyers tend to beget more buyers.
But a high is a price, not a verdict on the business itself. The disciplined next step is to check the work, asking whether the company’s revenue growth and margins can support its current valuation. The price is a fact; the value is an argument.
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.
Chasing Highs Is A Reflex. Owning Strength Is A System
A 52-week-high list is seductive: everything on it has been going right. But buying a stock because it is at its high is buying a price, and prices revert; what persists is the quality underneath the run.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is built to own that quality before and after it makes headlines: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with rules. 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. Admire the list; own the system.