S&P 500 gains – Risk Off ends – Model Portfolios gain – Update 07/13/26
Is It a Good Idea to Buy Stocks Near Their 52-Week High?
Quant Weekly – Up over 77% since June 2025
Quant 30 – Up over 80% since June 2025
Legacy – Up over 360% since April 2023
Education – Is It a Good Idea to Buy Stocks Near Their 52-Week High?
Quant Top Stock Model Portfolio coverage begins
USA Stock market week ending 07/10/26
SPY (S&P 500 ETF):+1.4% – Large-cap U.S. stocks posted a solid weekly gain.
NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC):+1.7% – Technology and growth stocks led the major indexes higher.
DIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF):-0.4% – Blue-chip stocks finished the week slightly lower.
IWM (Russell 2000 ETF):-0.5% – Small-cap stocks modestly underperformed during the week.
SPMO (Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF):+1.9% – Momentum stocks outperformed the broader market.
Market Drivers this Week (07/13/26 – 07/17/26)
Monday, 7/13
Treasury Budget (June) releases at 2:00 PM ET.
Fastenal (FAST) reports earnings, offering an early read on industrial activity.
Tuesday, 7/14
June CPI releases at 8:30 AM ET — the week’s most important economic report.
Major banks report earnings, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo.
Wednesday, 7/15
Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey are released.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testifies before Congress.
Earnings highlights include Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, United Airlines, and J.B. Hunt.
Thursday, 7/16
Retail Sales, Initial Jobless Claims, and the Philadelphia Fed Index headline the economic calendar.
Netflix (NFLX) reports after the close, alongside earnings from UnitedHealth, Abbott Laboratories, GE Aerospace, and several financial firms.
Friday, 7/17
Housing Starts, Import & Export Prices, Industrial Production, and Capacity Utilization are released.
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment provides an updated view of consumer confidence.
The CNN Fear and Greed Index ends the week at 49 in the Neutral area. This follows five straight weeks in the Fear area. It is encouraging to see the Index finally climb out of the Fear area.
The Quant Model Portfolios made slight gains this past week as the market environment turned slightly favorable. With earning season just now starting, expect the Model Portfolios to benefit from the new updates released by the companies.
Note: You are reading the free subscriber newsletter. Paid subscribers enjoy instant access to weekly Model Portfolio updates upon release. Free subscribers get access to Portfolio updates after a three-week delay. Want timely access to the new Adds/Removes?
Model Portfolio Quant Alpha Weekly
Any newly added stock is being released to Paid Subscribers today. Below are the updates from three weeks ago. This Portfolio continues to significantly outperform its benchmark, 77% versus 21%. It has 27 members.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
HRTG (Heritage Insurance) no longer qualifies for a longer term hold and is being removed. It was added on 7/17/25 and goes out with a +8% return.
Add (06/19/26) : None
Remove (HRTG) : HRTG (Heritage Insurance)
Outperformers: SEZL (Sezzle) up over +100%, MU (Micron Technology) up over +520%, TTMI (TTM Technologies) up over +130%, CLS (Celestica) up over +80%
Model Portfolio Quant 30
This week’s new update, if any, is being released to the paid subscribers. Shown below is the update made three weeks ago. This Portfolio continues to beat its benchmark by a wide margin, 80% to 21%. It has 30 members in it.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
AU (AngloGold Ashanti plc) leaves the Portfolio on 6/19/26 with a +102% return since it was added on 7/3/25.
Add (06/19/26): UCTT (Ultra Clean Holdings) – Semiconductor Equipment and Materials
Remove (06/19/26): AU (AngloGold Ashanti plc)
Outperformers: MU (Micron Technology) up over +700%, LITE (Lumentum Holdings) up over +230%, TTMI (TTM Technologies) up over +100%, BTSG (BrightSpring Health) up over +220% and SNDK (Sandisk) up over +210%
Model Portfolio Quant Alpha’s – Legacy
The portfolio is up over +360% since it began in 2023. It has 17 stocks in it. Powell industries is now a 12 bagger. Celestica is now a 14 bagger. Sterling Infrastructure has become a 10 bagger.
Top five Quant stocks in the Portfolio (Paid subscribers only).
Remove (06/19/26): None
Outperformers: AGX (Argan) up over +800%, STRL (Sterling Infrastructure) up over +1000%, POWL (Powell Industries) up over +1200% and CLS (Celestica) is up over +1400%
Model Portfolio Quant Top Stock
This new Portfolio adds one new stock a week. A separate email is sent on Thursday morning detailing the selection, a shallow dive on the pros and cons of the stock and the criteria used for the Portfolio.
Add: CRDO (Credo Technology) – Semiconductors
Performance to 07-10-2026
Top Quant Stocks for this week – (Paid subscribers only feature)
Paid subscribers got a list of Top Quant stocks in the Materials sector today.
Is It a Good Idea to Buy Stocks Near Their 52-Week High?
Pros
Momentum has a strong long-term track record.
Stocks near 52-week highs have historically outperformed over the following 3–12 months.
Momentum is one of the most well-documented factors in investing.
New highs often reflect improving fundamentals.
Strong earnings, new products, or competitive advantages frequently drive new highs.
Rising prices often signal improving business quality—not just market enthusiasm.
Breakouts can signal the start of bigger gains.
Stocks breaking above long consolidations often continue higher.
Strong volume confirms institutional buying and positive momentum.
Many great companies spend years near their highs.
Leaders like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Visa often traded near all-time highs.
Waiting for large pullbacks frequently meant missing years of compounding.
Buying strength promotes discipline.
Favors companies with both strong fundamentals and market confirmation.
Helps avoid value traps and weak businesses with declining trends.
Cons
Valuation risk increases as prices rise.
Strong price gains can outpace business fundamentals.
Rich valuations leave less room for disappointment.
Momentum can reverse quickly.
New highs sometimes mark short-term peaks.
Late buyers may face sharp pullbacks after strong rallies.
A 52-week high doesn’t guarantee quality.
Great companies and speculative stocks can both reach new highs.
Always verify the underlying business before investing.
Large positions increase downside risk.
Buying aggressively near highs magnifies losses if momentum fades.
Concentrated positions can force emotional decisions during corrections.
FOMO can lead to poor decisions.
Chasing recent winners often reflects emotion rather than analysis.
Independent research should always outweigh market excitement.
Summary
Buying near a 52-week high isn’t automatically bullish or bearish. The best opportunities occur when strong fundamentals support the breakout and valuations remain reasonable. Avoid buying simply because a stock is making new highs—buy because the business continues to improve and your investment thesis remains intact.
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All content on this site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult relevant financial professionals in your country of residence to get personalized advice before you make any trading or investing decisions. This post was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The original ideas and final review are human-generated.
The multi-bagger list is quite impressive. I need to look at this closer. I am not sure I have the patience to hold on to the big winners however. I need to work on that.
For a look at the live scorecard for Position Trader, see the google doc link below.
It has the Live performance numbers and some links back to more information about the three Quant stock Model Portfolio's.
https://live-scorecard.position-trader.com/