21 S&P 500 Stocks Reach New 52-Week Highs Amid Sharp Gains

According to Trefis, 21 S&P 500 components have made new 52-week highs, with some stocks experiencing sharp gains. Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA), two of the largest payment processors on the list, saw revenue growth of 14.4% and 16.0%, respectively, over the last twelve months. In contrast, Coca-Cola (KO) reported a 6.5% increase in revenue.

The mix of rapid gains and large market capitalization raises questions about the nature of strength. While some stocks may be experiencing short-term sprints, others may have underlying business expansion driving their prices. The disciplined approach is to treat new highs as prompts to look deeper into a company's fundamentals, rather than making investment decisions based solely on price.

The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio tracks quality businesses with strong fundamentals, outpacing a benchmark combining the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Investors can use the list of new highs as ideas, but it's the portfolio that provides compounding returns.