5 High-Flying Stocks Near 52-Week High That Can Scale Higher

A 52-week high generally serves as an indicator for investors as stocks near that level are perceived to be winners.

Notably, investors often wonder if the stock is overpriced considering the high price. While the apprehensions are not absolutely baseless, all stocks hitting a 52-week high are not necessarily overpriced.

In fact, an investor might miss out on top gainers in an attempt to avoid the steep prices of stocks that are near their 52-week high mark.

A stock can maintain the momentum and keep scaling new highs. So, one should take a more informed approach to understand if further upside is left.

Here we discuss a strategy to find the right stocks.

Borrowing from the basics of momentum investing, this technique bets on “buy high, sell higher.”

52-Week High: A Good Indicator

Many a time, stocks hitting a 52-week high fail to scale higher despite having potential. This is because investors fear that the stocks are overvalued and a price crash is impending.

In fact, overvaluation is natural for most of these stocks as investors’ focus (or willingness to pay premium) has helped them reach the level. But that does not always indicate an impending decline. Factors such as robust sales, surging profit levels, earnings growth prospects and strategic acquisitions that encouraged investors to bet on these stocks could keep them motivated if there is no tangible negative. In other words, the momentum might continue.

Also, when a string of positive developments dominates the market, investors find their under-reaction unwarranted, even if there are no company-specific driving forces.

Setting the Right Filters

We ran a screen to zero in on 52-week high stocks (trading near the high level) that hold tremendous upside potential. The screen includes parameters to shortlist stocks with strong earnings growth expectations, sturdy value metrics and price momentum.

Moreover, the screen filters stocks that are relatively undervalued compared to their peers, in terms of earnings as well as sales, ensuring continuation of their rally for some time.

Current Price/52 Week High >= .80

This is the ratio between the current price and the highest price at which the stock has traded in the past 52 weeks. A value greater than 0.8 implies that the stock is trading within 20% of its 52-week high range.

% Change Price – 4 Weeks > 0

It ensures that the stock price has moved north over the past four weeks.

% Change Price – 12 Weeks > 0

This metric guarantees a continued upward price momentum for the stock over the past three months as well.

Price/Sales <= XIndMed

The lower, the better.

P/E using F(1) Estimate <= XIndMed

This metric measures the amount an investor puts into a company to obtain one dollar of earnings. It narrows down the list of stocks to those that are undervalued compared to the industry.

One-Year EPS Growth F(1)/F(0) >= XIndMed

This helps choose stocks that have higher growth rates than the industry. This is a meaningful indicator, as decent earnings growth adds to investor optimism.

Zacks Rank <=2

No screening is complete without Zacks Rank, which has proved its worth since inception. It is a fundamental truth that stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have always managed to brave adversities and beat the market. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Current Price >= 5

This parameter will help screen stocks that are trading at $5 or higher.

Volume – 20 days (shares) >= 100000

Inclusion of this metric ensures that there is a substantial volume of shares, so trading is easier.

Here are five of the 40 stocks that made it through the screen:

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. GPI is one of the leading automotive retailers in the world. The core brands of vehicles sold by the company are Toyota, BMW, Honda, Ford, Nissan, General Motors, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai. Currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, it pulled off average positive surprise of 5.6% in the last four quarters.

North Chicago, IL-based AbbVie ABBV, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and marketing of treatments for complex and serious ailments. The Zacks #2 Ranked player delivered average beat of 1.71% in the previous four quarters.

Based in Dallas, TX, Brinker International EAT primarily owns, operates, develops and franchises various restaurants under Chili’s Grill & Bar (Chili’s) and Maggiano’s Little Italy (Maggiano’s) brands. The Zacks #2 Ranked player delivered average beat of 1.44% in the previous four quarters.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company HPE was formed as a result of the split of Hewlett-Packard Company into two separate entities – one focusing on the enterprise-facing hardware and service business and the other focusing on the consumer-facing computer and printer segments. The company came up with average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 14.34%, and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of treatments targeting serious diseases. Its key oncology products include Opdivo, Sprycel, Yervoy and Empliciti. The company came up with average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 8.3% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
    
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your trial to the Research Wizard today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
 
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Brinker International, Inc. (EAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research