The 52-Week-High List: 17 Small Cap Names On Tuesday
A new list of small-cap highs is heavily concentrated in one part of the market, raising questions about price and value.
As of Tuesday, September 1, 17 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks with a market value above $2 billion are trading at their 52-week highs. The list is dominated by a single group, with the Energy sector accounting for 7 of the 17 names. The largest company on the list, SM Energy (SM), has a market value of about $9.1 billion and has gained 19.1% over the last month.
This kind of clustering raises a critical question: are these new highs being earned by business performance, or are they just a function of price action? The 10 largest of these names are detailed below.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
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The table below shows the 10 largest of the 17 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SM | $9.09 Bil | 2.3% | 6.6% | 19.1% | 38.0% |
| CHRD | $8.42 Bil | 2.2% | 6.9% | 8.9% | 42.8% |
| ZETA | $7.74 Bil | 1.9% | 13.2% | 39.9% | 60.7% |
| ACA | $7.14 Bil | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 47.3% |
| RNG | $5.95 Bil | 1.7% | 7.9% | 23.8% | 133.2% |
| PAGP | $5.64 Bil | 0.9% | 4.8% | 9.5% | 59.0% |
| PTEN | $4.86 Bil | 2.0% | 11.9% | 25.5% | 132.9% |
| CRGY | $4.65 Bil | 2.8% | 4.6% | 24.3% | 53.9% |
| HP | $4.62 Bil | 6.0% | 9.8% | 36.0% | 127.6% |
| CLMT | $4.51 Bil | 3.6% | 9.5% | 21.6% | 216.1% |
Which names show the business is keeping pace with the stock?
Some runs are matched by strong underlying figures. Zeta Global (ZETA) posted the strongest one-month run among seasoned names, up 39.9% over the last month. Its business has also expanded, as revenue grew 35.9% over the last twelve months. Similarly, SM Energy saw its revenue grow 65.9% over the last twelve months, though it trades at 9.1 times trailing earnings (on trailing earnings that include at least one loss quarter, so the multiple is not comparable to a clean-year multiple).
In contrast, some valuations appear stretched. RingCentral (RNG) trades at 53.9 times trailing earnings, while its revenue grew 5.2% over the last twelve months.
So how should a disciplined investor use this list?
A 52-week-high list is a useful screen for strength, and strong stocks often continue to be strong. But a high is a price, not a verdict on the business itself. The disciplined move is to treat this list as a starting point. The real work is to look past the price and determine whether the company’s fundamentals can support its new 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.
One more pattern worth noticing: 7 of the 17 names are Energy stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, an oil and gas ETF like XOP, which holds 3 of these names, is one way to own part of the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
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.