The stocks featured in this article have all approached their 52-week highs. When these price levels hit, it typically signals strong business execution, positive market sentiment, or significant industry tailwinds.
However, not all companies with momentum are long-term winners, and many investors have lost money by following short-term trends. Keeping that in mind, here are two stocks we think live up to the hype and one best left ignored.
One Stock to Sell:
IDEX (IEX)
One-Month Return: +8.7%
Founded in 1988, IDEX (NYSE: IEX) is a global manufacturer specializing in highly engineered products such as pumps, flow meters, and fluidics systems for various industries.
Why Does IEX Give Us Pause?
- Organic sales performance over the past two years indicates the company may need to make strategic adjustments or rely on M&A to catalyze faster growth
- Earnings per share lagged its peers over the last two years as they only grew by 3.5% annually
- Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging
IDEX’s stock price of $240.75 implies a valuation ratio of 26x forward P/E. If you’re considering IEX for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Two Stocks to Watch:
Five Below (FIVE)
One-Month Return: +24.4%
Often facilitating a treasure hunt shopping experience, Five Below (NASDAQ: FIVE) is an American discount retailer that sells a variety of products from mobile phone cases to candy to sports equipment for largely $5 or less.
Why Do We Like FIVE?
- Aggressive strategy of rolling out new stores to gobble up whitespace is prudent given its same-store sales growth
- Same-store sales growth averaged 8% over the past two years, showing it’s bringing new and repeat shoppers into its stores
- Expected revenue growth of 10% for the next year suggests its market share will rise
Five Below is trading at $238.18 per share, or 26.1x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Old Second Bancorp (OSBC)
One-Month Return: +11.9%
Dating back to 1871 as one of the Chicago area's longest-standing financial institutions, Old Second Bancorp (NASDAQ: OSBC) is an Illinois-based community bank offering deposit services, commercial and consumer loans, wealth management, and mortgage products through its 53 branch locations.
Why Are We Positive on OSBC?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 29.2% annual net interest income growth over the last five years was exceptional
- Differentiated product suite is reflected in its best-in-class net interest margin of 5%
- Non-interest operating profits and efficiency rose over the last five years as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage
Old Second Bancorp’s stock price of $25.81 implies a valuation ratio of 1.4x forward P/B. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Top 5 Momentum Stocks. The best time to own a great stock is when the market is finally noticing it. These aren’t just high-quality businesses. Something is happening with them right now. Elite fundamentals meet near-term momentum — both boxes checked at the same time.
Find out which stocks our AI platform is flagging this week. See this week’s Strong Momentum stocks — FREE. Get Our Strong Momentum Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
