34 stocks hit 52-week highs last week: Why Gold, Healthcare and Industrials are leading the way

Welcome back to the 52-week High Series where we review the performance of recent runners and why they're worth watching.

You can check out Market Index’s 52-week high scan here - which shows users which companies are clearing yearly highs on the given day.

To recap some of the research about why the 52-week high is a big deal:

• The research: A thesis by Thomas J. George and Chuan-Yang Hwang found that the closer a stock is to its 52-week high, the stronger it performs in the subsequent period

• The fundie: 1851 Capital CIO Chris Stott says his fund 'follows the data religiously' to help identify momentum and generate fresh ideas

• The trader: US trader Mark Minervini says when you see a growing number of stocks in a particular industry making 52-week highs, this could be "an indication that a group advance is underway"

Stocks that hit 52-week high last week

Note: This list only refers to companies with a market cap of more than $300 million. The year-to-date refers to closing prices on Thursday, 13 April 2023.

There were 34 stocks that hit 52-week highs last week. There were quite a few names from sectors including gold, industrials and healthcare, which will be separated from the main list.

Gold stocks rally as spot prices push through US$2,000.

Does Industrials strength reflect a preference for reliable earnings?

Three larger cap healthcare names move out.

Interesting Observations

Gold: Gold has rallied back above US$2,000 an ounce amid economic concerns, lower bond yields and a weaker US dollar. However, is the yellow metal setting up for a breakout or a tripe top? While gold has seen some spectacular rallies in the past three years, it's mostly been trading within the US$1,670 to US$2,070 range. It's interesting to see several emerging names like Ramelius, Perseus, De Grey and Emerald Resources outperform larger cap names.

Gold spot price (Source: TradingView)

Industrials: Small cap names like Lycopodium and Linsay have rallied quiet strongly this year, with shallow pullbacks. On the larger cap side of things, a household name like Brambles rallied 7.5% on the day of its half-year earnings on February 27 and its been trending higher ever since.

Of note, Citi was Buy rated on the stock with a $14.55 target price as of March 24. The note said "while we understand cautiousness around the macro, ironically we think the environment is actually becoming more favourable for Brambles."

Healthcare: Cochlear, Nanosonics and Fisher & Paykel all bottomed around October last year and now trending above yearly highs. The businesses have all been impacted by Covid, whether that be supply-chain related issues, labour shortages, lockdowns or cycling elevated sales. Does this breakout suggest that the worst is behind them?

Cochlear (blue), Nanosonics (red) and Fisher & Paykel (green)

Tech: It's interesting to see some quality tech names make an appearance on the 52-week highs list including Data#3, NextDC and Wisetech (hit 52-week highs the week before).