The stocks in this article are all trading near their 52-week highs. This strength often reflects positive developments such as new product launches, favorable industry trends, or improved financial performance.
But not every company with momentum is a long-term winner, and plenty of investors have lost money betting on short-term fads. Keeping that in mind, here are two stocks with lasting competitive advantages and one best left ignored.
One Stock to Sell:
Guardant Health (GH)
One-Month Return: +20.3%
Pioneering the field of "liquid biopsy" with technology that can identify cancer-specific genetic mutations from a simple blood draw, Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) develops blood tests that detect and monitor cancer by analyzing tumor DNA in the bloodstream, helping doctors make treatment decisions without invasive biopsies.
Why Does GH Fall Short?
- Issuance of new shares over the last five years caused its earnings per share to fall by 23.7% annually while its revenue grew
- Negative free cash flow raises questions about the return timeline for its investments
- Short cash runway increases the probability of a capital raise that dilutes existing shareholders
Guardant Health’s stock price of $50.11 implies a valuation ratio of 6.7x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with GH, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Two Stocks to Watch:
Philip Morris (PM)
One-Month Return: +8.6%
Founded in 1847, Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) manufactures and sells a wide range of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, including cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and oral nicotine pouches.
Why Will PM Beat the Market?
- Average unit sales growth of 3% over the past two years reflects steady demand for its products
- Unique products and pricing power are reflected in its best-in-class gross margin of 64.8%
- PM is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders, and its recently improved profitability means it has even more resources to invest or distribute
Philip Morris is trading at $179.03 per share, or 23.9x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Curtiss-Wright (CW)
One-Month Return: +15.8%
Formed from a merger of 12 companies, Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW) provides a range of products and services to the aerospace, industrial, electronic, and maritime industries.
Why Does CW Catch Our Eye?
- Annual revenue growth of 10.6% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Operating margin expanded by 4.7 percentage points over the last five years as it scaled and became more efficient
- Share repurchases over the last two years enabled its annual earnings per share growth of 18.2% to outpace its revenue gains
At $448.46 per share, Curtiss-Wright trades at 36.4x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.