The 52-Week-High List: 17 Small Cap Names On Friday
A small group of stocks reaches new highs, led by a heavy concentration in a single part of the economy.
As of Friday, September 11, 17 Small Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe are trading at their 52-week highs. That small count arrives while the S&P 500 has returned -1.1% over the last month. The list is dominated by the Energy sector, which accounts for 7 of the names, including the largest, PBF Energy (PBF). In a market showing weakness, does this list represent isolated pockets of business strength or just price strength?
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 17 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
This screen covers US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe. Small Cap here means a market value between $2 billion and $10 billion, the upper figure excluded.
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBF | $9.27 Bil | 1.6% | 3.9% | 11.7% | 185.2% |
| TXG | $8.92 Bil | 3.3% | 8.5% | 18.8% | 444.8% |
| CHRD | $8.51 Bil | 0.1% | 2.7% | 11.5% | 48.8% |
| AVT | $8.19 Bil | 7.2% | 10.1% | 2.8% | 89.8% |
| MATX | $6.93 Bil | 1.0% | 3.6% | 7.3% | 125.5% |
| SAIC | $5.68 Bil | 0.9% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 27.8% |
| INSW | $5.13 Bil | 1.5% | 6.5% | 17.9% | 161.5% |
| CVI | $4.99 Bil | 2.2% | 14.0% | 41.7% | 56.5% |
| CLMT | $4.97 Bil | 0.6% | 6.2% | 20.4% | 221.6% |
| NSIT | $4.97 Bil | 6.1% | 3.9% | 6.9% | 31.6% |
A new high does not always mean a growing business.
The list itself contains sharply different profiles. 10x Genomics (TXG), the second-largest company shown, saw its revenue decline 4.3% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was -14.9%. Contrast that with another name making a new high, Chord Energy (CHRD). Chord Energy trades at 10.0 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 19.2% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 18.9%.
Price is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A stock trading at its highest price of the past year is a clear signal of market interest, and such trends can continue. But a price is not a verdict on the quality of the underlying business. The disciplined move for any name on this or any high list is to ask whether the fundamentals, revenue growth and actual margins, can support the valuation the market is now assigning 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.
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 5 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 S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Admire the list; own the system.