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2 Mooning Stocks with Impressive Fundamentals and 1 We Brush Off


Radek Strnad /
2026/02/18 11:42 pm EST

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.

While momentum can be a leading indicator, it has burned many investors as it doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. All that said, here are two stocks we think live up to the hype and one that may correct.

One Stock to Sell:

Hilton (HLT)

One-Month Return: +7.3%

Founded in 1919, Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) is a global hospitality company with a portfolio of hotel brands.

Why Are We Out on HLT?

  1. Revenue per room has underperformed over the past two years, suggesting it may need to develop new facilities
  2. Free cash flow margin is projected to show no improvement next year
  3. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities

Hilton’s stock price of $311.05 implies a valuation ratio of 35.1x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including HLT in your portfolio, it’s free.

Two Stocks to Buy:

Vertiv (VRT)

One-Month Return: +39.1%

Formerly part of Emerson Electric, Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) manufactures and services infrastructure technology products for data centers and communication networks.

Why Is VRT a Top Pick?

  1. Core business can prosper without any help from acquisitions as its organic revenue growth averaged 21.9% over the past two years
  2. Free cash flow margin increased by 16 percentage points over the last five years, giving the company more capital to invest or return to shareholders
  3. Returns on capital are climbing as management makes more lucrative bets

Vertiv is trading at $243.63 per share, or 39.7x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report.

Curtiss-Wright (CW)

One-Month Return: +6.2%

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 Should You Buy CW?

  1. Annual revenue growth of 10.9% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
  2. Excellent operating margin of 16.9% highlights the efficiency of its business model, and it turbocharged its profits by achieving some fixed cost leverage
  3. Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 18.8%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last two years

At $690.51 per share, Curtiss-Wright trades at 45.8x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report.

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 6 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.