Each stock in this article is trading near its 52-week high. These elevated prices usually indicate some degree of investor confidence, business improvements, or favorable market conditions.
But not every company with momentum is a long-term winner, and plenty of investors have lost money betting on short-term fads. All that said, here are two stocks with the fundamentals to back up their performance and one not so much.
One Stock to Sell:
Stifel (SF)
One-Month Return: +9.6%
Tracing its roots back to 1890 when the firm was established in St. Louis, Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) is a financial services firm that provides wealth management, investment banking, and institutional brokerage services to individuals, corporations, and institutions.
Why Are We Wary of SF?
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last five years as they only grew by 9% annually
- Capital trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 6.1% annual book value per share growth was below the typical financials firm
Stifel is trading at $120.83 per share, or 13.2x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than SF.
Two Stocks to Buy:
SoFi (SOFI)
One-Month Return: +6.3%
Starting as a student loan refinancing company founded by Stanford business school students in 2011, SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ: SOFI) operates a digital financial platform offering lending, banking, investing, and other financial services to help members borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money.
Why Are We Backing SOFI?
- Annual revenue growth of 30.1% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Incremental sales significantly boosted profitability as its annual earnings per share growth of 92.5% over the last two years outstripped its revenue performance
SoFi’s stock price of $28.23 implies a valuation ratio of 51x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
GE Aerospace (GE)
One-Month Return: +1.8%
One of the original 12 companies on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, General Electric (NYSE: GE) is a multinational conglomerate providing technologies for various sectors including aviation, power, renewable energy, and healthcare.
Why Is GE a Good Business?
- Annual revenue growth of 15.2% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends
- Rising returns on capital show management is finding more attractive investment opportunities
At $305.49 per share, GE Aerospace trades at 45.4x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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