Profit from Stocks Hitting New Highs

Today, we decided to focus on a powerful concept: buying stocks at new highs.

Some investors don’t like to buy stocks reaching new 52-week highs. But if somebody asked you what your best stocks are, it’s likely you would name the stocks moving up the most in your portfolio—and vice versa.

The most basic idea is that the winners in your portfolio are the ones going up. If a stock is underperforming the market or going down, you'll quickly identify it as one of your worst holdings. With that said, it makes sense that some of these stocks will be reaching new highs along the way.

Don't Be Afraid of New Highs

I know many investors are hesitant to buy stocks making new 52-week highs. But there really isn’t any reason to be. Some may worry that they have already missed the mark at that point, or that now it has more room to fall. Still, a stock making a new 52-week high is a ‘good thing,’ just as one falling to a new 52-week low is a ‘bad thing.’

On top of that, would the person who doesn’t want to buy stocks making new highs be upset if a stock they owned broke out to a new 52-week high? Statistics have also shown that stocks making new highs have a tendency of making even higher highs. And aren’t these the stocks we all dream about?

Now obviously, the fundamentals need to be there, and you should try to keep an eye on valuations. But if you were in a stock making new highs and cheering it on, it seems odd to be afraid of one doing the same just because you haven't bought it yet.

Think about this: A stock just made a new-52 week high, which is great news. Guess what? Last year it made a new 52-week high as well. And the year before that. And the year before that. Can you imagine all the money you'd be leaving on the table if you were afraid of being in stocks every time they made a new high?

Parameters

• Current Price/52-Week High greater than or equal to .80

Stocks that are either at a new 52-week high, or have just hit it and are still trading within 20% of it, or are climbing towards their 52-week high and are within a 20% striking distance.

• Percent Change in Price over 12 Weeks greater than 0

Even though we're looking for stocks trading near their highs, I want to make sure the price momentum over the last 3 months is positive.

• Percent Change in Price over 4 Weeks greater than 0

The same goes for the last month as well.

• Zacks Rank equal to 1

Only Zacks Strong Buys for this one.

• Price/Sales Ratio less than or equal to Industry Median

As mentioned before, the P/S ratio shows how much you're paying for every $1 of sales the company makes. For this screen, we're requiring the P/S ratio to be less than the median P/S for its Industry. Note: different industries will have different averages or medians for different items. A P/S of 1 is not such a great bargain if the median for its Industry is 0.7. But it's a great find if the Industry's median is 1.5. This parameter lets us focus in on 'discounted' valuations germane to their industry. And this allows these stocks to still be considered undervalued even as their stock price continues higher.

• P/E (using F1 Estimates) less than or equal to Industry Median

Just like the P/S ratio, we're looking for stocks whose P/E is below the median for their respective Industry. Including proven valuation metrics when using price momentum screens gives the trader a significant advantage.

• Projected One Year EPS Growth F(1)/F(0) greater than or equal to Industry Median

While the P/S and P/E ratios searched for stocks with valuations below their Industry's median. This item is looking for stocks with projected growth rates above the median for its Industry. In order for a stock to continue to go higher, there needs to be a reason for it to do so. And strong growth of course is an important part of that.

• Current Avg. 20-Day Volume greater than Previous Week's Avg. 20-Day Volume

This helps find stocks where the volume has increased in the recent week vs. the previous week. Once again, if the price is climbing on increased volume, that shows increased demand or buying coming in. And the more buying demand there is for a stock, the more it should climb.

• All of the above parameters are applied to stocks with a Price greater than or equal to $5 and an Average 20-Day Volume of greater than or equal to 100,000 shares.