Who's setting 52-week highs?
Posted
Mar 04 2009, 03:08 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
A 52-week high in 2009? A few stocks have hit that mark so far.
American Italian Pasta (AIPC) has been on fire for the last three months (see chart here), climbing from $14.50 to Wednesday's close of $32.07. The company sells private label pasta, allowing stores to put their own branding on the package. As consumers increasingly trade down to private label brands, AIPC is seeing big gains in sales and pricing.
AutoZone (AZO) shares are up more than 50% over the last three months, closing Wednesday at $154.29. It's hard to imagine this kind of success for anything connected to the auto industry, but that's precisely why AutoZone is doing so well.
People are keeping their old beaters these days instead of buying new cars. So they're buying parts and other supplies for their cars, and spending more at places like AutoZone.
Cephalon (CEPH), on the other hand, hasn't fared so well since hitting its 52-week high in January. Shares have dropped fast over the last couple of weeks for the biotechnology company, ever since Q4 profit came in way below the year-ago period. Cephalon makes the epilepsy drug Gabitril and the narcolepsy drug Provigil.
Brinks Home Security (CFL) hit a high in February after going public last fall. The stock plunged below $16 shortly after the IPO, but has climbed above $25 last month (it closed at $20.29 on Wednesday). It's subscribers rose 6% in the fourth quarter to $1.3 million -- an impressive feat given the way home sales have been going. Are people turning to home security in hard times, as fears of crime rise? That's one theory, though I haven't seen any data to prove it.
AeroVironment (AVAV) shares doubled in the last year to a 52-week high of $41.22 last month. The company makes unmanned aircraft and energy systems, and recently got panned by CNBC's Jim Cramer as having moved too much.
"I'm afraid that people are clustered in thinking that this is the Obama defense stock," he said. "We've got to get over the idea that we can make money on the long side with Obama."
Hmmm. Why, it was just in October that Cramer said AeroVironment would rally under an Obama presidency. Can you blame people for clustering?
Photo credit: Dr. Conati, public domain release
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