Zacks.com featured highlights include IAMGOLD, Leidos, Brinker International, Phibro Animal Health and State Street

In This Article:

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 7, 2024 – Stocks in this week’s article are IAMGOLD IAG, Leidos Holdings LDOS, Brinker International EAT, Phibro Animal Health PAHC and State Street STT.

5 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week Highs with More Upside Potential

Investors generally consider a 52-week high a good criterion for an entry or exit point for a given stock. However, stocks touching new 52-week highs are often predisposed to profit-taking, resulting in pullbacks and trend reversals.

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

In fact, investors might lose out on top gainers in an attempt to avoid the steep prices.

Stocks such as IAMGOLD, Leidos Holdings, Brinker International,Phibro Animal Health and State Street are expected to maintain their momentum and keep scaling new highs. More information on a stock is necessary to understand whether or not there is scope for further upside.

Here, we discuss a strategy to find the right stocks. The technique borrows from the basics of momentum investing and bets on "buy high, sell higher."

52-Week High: A Good Indicator

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

Overvaluation is natural for most of these stocks as investors' focus (or willingness to pay the 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.

Here are our five picks out of the 13 stocks that made it through the screen:

IAMGOLD is an international gold exploration and mining company based in Canada. IAG is poised for growth, supported by an upward trend in gold prices, the ongoing ramp-up at Côté Gold, and the established portfolio of early-stage and advanced exploration projects within high-potential mining districts. IAMGOLD recently announced that production from the Côté Gold mine was 68,000 gold ounces in the third quarter of 2024 on a 100% basis (or attributable production of 41,000 ounces).