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Stocks going the other way during a massive sell-off are interesting — what is it that allows them to escape the great unloading going on all around them? Why would they be showing unusual strength during a period of market weakness? To find out the answers, I went to Financial Visualization for background information to a few of the stocks on the “new highs” list and to Stockcharts for price pattern analysis. Here’s what I found:
Boston Beer Company. The beverage company has run from 160 in March to its current price of 305, almost a double. A solid green free cash flow and no long-term debt helps. The 5-year track record of earnings is positive although this year is red. The price/earnings ratio of 46 is higher than the market’s p/e, but it’s not as high as some tech stocks. Boston Beer’s short float is an intoxicating 23% — it might be that shorts being forced to cover are helping the stock’s upward flight.
Boston Beer Co. chart
Extra Space Storage traded at 75 in November and today you’d have to pay 101 for it, a better than 33% gain in a short time. It’s a real estate investment trust that pays a 3% dividend. The company is coming off a great earnings year and a decent 5-year run. The short float is near 10%, more than your average stock — as with Boston Beer above, shorts forced to cover can propel price upward.
Extra Space Storage chart.
Duke Realty is another real estate investment trust on a price tear: from 24.50 in March to 28.96 today. Earnings are off this year but the 5-year record is solidly green. The dividend is 2.77%. The short float for this industrial REIT is only 1.71% so the short sellers are mostly leaving it alone. In May, Bank of America/Merrill analysts moved Duke Realty from “neutral” to “buy.”
Duke Realty chart.
New York & Co. is a Big Apple based apparel maker with excellent recent earnings, no long-term debt and what you would have to call a sensible price/earnings ratio of 23. I’m double-checking the chart here, but this stock seems to have gone from 1.6 in November to its current price of 4.98. That’s an extraordinary move in less than a year. The company says celebrity endorsements have definitely helped.