U.S. stocks are currently in the third-longest bull market in history, trailing the upswing from 1949 to 1956 which lasted 2,607 days, and the longest-running bull market from 1987 to 2000, which ended with the burst of the tech bubble.
Though investors may find equities to be overvalued, many stocks in the S&P 500 still saw prices increase more than 50% over the past year. The All-In-One-Screener can be used to sort the S&P 500 companies by the price change in the past 52 weeks to find the top-performing stocks.
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS, Financial)
Skyworks Solutions is the top performing S&P 500 company over the past year, as its stock rose 131%. The company, together with its subsidiaries, produces high reliability analog and mixed signal semiconductors.
The stock currently trades at $105.49 with a P/E ratio of 32.2 and P/S ratio of 7.3. Over the past five years, the company has posted good growth rates, with revenue growing by 19% and EBIT by 37.2%.
Skyworks’ balance sheet is healthy with current assets that cover current liabilities many times over. The company also holds no long-term debt.
During the first quarter, three gurus — Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio), Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio), and RS Investment Management (Trades, Portfolio) — added Skyworks as a new holding.
Avago Technologies (AVGO, Financial)
Avago Technologies produces various analog semiconductor devices, and its primary target markets include wireless communications, wired infrastructure, and industrial and automotive electronics. Over the past year, the stock has risen 102% and currently trades at $143.29.
Over the past five years, the revenue growth rate was 14.7%, and EBIT grew by 35%. Avago reported EBIT per share of $1.64 in 2014, as shown in the graph below.
Though the current ratio remains above 1, indicating Avago can easily cover its short-term obligations, the company took on $5,463 million in long-term debt in 2014.
Louis Moore Bacon (Trades, Portfolio) was the only guru to initiate a new position in the company during Q1; however, seven others including Lee Ainslee and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) added to existing positions during the quarter.
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST, Financial)
The maker of energy drinks, sports drinks, and other beverages saw its stock increase 85% over the past year. It is now priced at $125.97 with a P/E ratio of 56.3 and P/S ratio of 8.6.
In 2014, Monster’s EBIT per share was $4.29, up from $3.30 the year before. Over the past five years, this figure has increased 21.63%.
Free cash flow has also been increasing steadily over time. Last year, free cash flow jumped to $554 million, up from $290 million the year before.
Caxton Associates (Trades, Portfolio) added Monster to their portfolio in Q1, while four other gurus sold out of the stock.
Electronic Arts Inc (EA, Financial)
The stock for the video game and console maker increased 81% over the past year and is currently priced at $63.37. EA’s P/E ratio is 24, while the P/S ratio is 4.5.
EA had an impressive year in FY 2014, posting net income of $875 million, a large increase from $8 million the year before. In addition, free cash flow expanded from $615 million in 2013 to $972 million.
The company has a comfortable current ratio over one, and carries no long-term debt on the balance sheet.
Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) invested in EA during the first quarter, while four others including Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), added to their existing holdings.
Hospira’s stock increased 77% over the last year and now trades at $88.37. Hospira develops injectable drugs and infusion technologies. Its portfolio includes generic acute-care and oncology injectables, as well as medication management products.
Over the past five years, the company’s revenue increased only marginally by 1.8%. EBIT, however, declined by 26.6% over the same time frame.
Hospira’s current P/E ratio is 44.5 and the P/S ratio is 3.3. The pharmaceutical company pulled out of the red to post net income of $333 million in 2014, up from $-8 million the year before.
During the first quarter, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) initiated a new position in Hospira, while Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake.
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