5 NYSE Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs Yesterday

The markets are wavering on Thursday after U.S gasoline inventories crushed chances of a reduction in global oversupply. Market sentiment was also dented after the Bank of Japan’s Chief Haruhiko Kuroda shot down speculation that the bank would undertake an initiative to underwrite public debt.

However, it’s been another strong week overall and several stocks reached their 52-week highs on Wednesday, including Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A), Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH), Aramark (NYSE:ARMK), Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). Let’s check out the recent performance of these stocks and see what hedge funds in our database think about these companies.

The smart money sentiment is an important metric that can be used to assess the long-term profitability of a stock. While there are thousands of stocks trading daily on the market, taking a look at what hedge funds think about certain companies can narrow down the search significantly. At Insider Monkey, we track more than 700 hedge funds, whose 13F filings we analyze as part of our small-cap strategy. Our research has shown that imitating a portfolio that includes the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among hedge funds can outperform the market by as much as 95 basis points per month on average (see more details here).

Agilent Technologies Rising High

Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) soared to its 52-week high on Wednesday, touching $47.14 and inched it up further, to $47.18 this morning. The California-based research and development company announced earlier this month that the FDA had approved its Absorb bioresorbable heart stent to treat coronary heart diseases. The company has also recently enhanced its scientific instruments line with new Triple Quadrupole Gas Chromatography Spectrometry systems. A total of 42 hedge funds in our database were bullish on Agilent Technologies Inc (NYSE:A) at the end of the first quarter.

Amphenol Corporation Beats Estimates

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH)’s stock skyrocketed to its new 52-week high of $60.50 on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected second quarter results. The electronics company posted EPS of $0.65, beating estimates of $0.63. Revenue of $1.55 billion was also above the expectations of $1.52 billion. For the full year, Amphenol expects to pull in $6.12 billion-to-$6.20 billion in revenue. Out of the funds in our database, 19 funds were bullish on Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH) at the end of March. Shares of the company have gained 13% this year.

On the next page, we continue our discussion of the stocks reaching 52-week highs.

Aramark’s Hits 52-Week High

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK)’s stock reached $36.00 on Wednesday and cruised to $36.06 today before sliding back under $36.00. The food and service provider, which has operations in Britain, nosedived after the Brexit voting results came in, but has quickly rebounded since. Shares of the company have gained 12.25% in 2016. At the end of the first quarter, 44 funds that we track owned shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK).

Boston Scientific Settles Dispute with IRA

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)’s stock hit its 52-week high of $24.45 yesterday. It was revealed in a recent SEC filing that the company has entered into a Stipulation of Settled Issues with the Internal Revenue Service to pay the agency $275 million plus interest to settle a dispute that stretches back over a decade. The settlement came just before Boston Scientific’s scheduled trial opening in the court on Monday. The Massachusetts-based medical devices company is scheduled to release its latest earnings report on July 28, with analysts expecting $0.26 in EPS, which would be 18.18% more than the $0.22 per share that it earned for the same quarter of last year. As of the end of first quarter, 35 funds in our system were long Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX).

Corning’s New Gorilla

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)’s shares touched 52-high peaks on Wednesday after the company announced its new Gorilla Glass 5. A statement from the glass manufacturer said that the new glass provides enhanced protection from everyday drops of mobile devices on rough surfaces. Shares have pushed their 52-week peak even higher today, reaching $21.77. Shares have gained 18% year-to-date. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, 31 funds in our database of 766 actively-reporting funds were bullish on Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). Among them was John A. Levin’s Levin Capital Strategies, which owned approximately 13.26 million shares of the company.

 Disclosure: None