The 52-Week-High List: 8 Large Cap Names On Thursday
A short list of market leaders is dominated by just two areas of the economy.
Just 8 Large Cap US and Canada-listed stocks are trading at their 52-week highs as of Thursday. This screen only considers companies with a market value above $40 billion, making for a tight list where leadership is narrow. The largest company making a new high is Coca-Cola (KO), with a market value of about $389.3 billion and a 10.1% gain over the last month.
The list is concentrated, with Health Care and Energy each contributing 3 names. What does this clustering at the top of the tape suggest about where strength resides? The names below show a wide divergence in their underlying business performance.
The Complete 52-Week-High List
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- 13 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
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- The 52-Week-High List: 23 Small Cap Names On Thursday
The table below lists every stock at its 52-week high, largest first, with one-day, one-week, one-month, and one-year returns:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KO | $389.33 Bil | 0.2% | 3.5% | 10.1% | 32.7% |
| COP | $165.11 Bil | 3.3% | 9.1% | 14.3% | 48.4% |
| CP | $85.04 Bil | 0.4% | 1.0% | 3.8% | 27.8% |
| EOG | $80.97 Bil | 1.8% | 7.6% | 5.7% | 34.2% |
| TRGP | $64.92 Bil | 1.7% | 13.3% | 6.8% | 92.0% |
| BDX | $52.65 Bil | 0.0% | 3.1% | 22.5% | 23.5% |
| A | $44.08 Bil | 0.6% | 4.7% | 17.1% | 31.2% |
| IQV | $43.12 Bil | 2.7% | 6.0% | 29.0% | 33.1% |
Does every new high rest on the same foundation?
Consider two names from the Energy sector. EOG Resources (EOG) reached its high alongside revenue growth of 17.3% over the last twelve months and an operating margin of 35.4%. The stock trades at 11.6 times trailing earnings. In contrast, Targa Resources (TRGP) also hit a new high, but its revenue declined 2.0% over the last twelve months. It trades at 28.6 times trailing earnings.
A 52-week high is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A stock at its strongest price of the year is a sign of market approval. Strength can persist. But a price is not a verdict on the business itself. The disciplined move is to treat the high as a prompt to look again at the fundamentals. The price is new, but the question is old: does the business earn its 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.
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.