When a stock hits a fresh high, it can mean that it’s on its way to greatness -- or that it has run its course. Even with the risk of the latter, searching for these outperformers can reveal companies that are doing something right, much to their investors' delight.

Let’s dig deeper
With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to find stocks hitting 52-week highs today. The community's approval (signified by four- and five-star ratings) could be a sign that further research is in order.

Here are three such stocks:

Company

Today’s Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Cogent, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGT)

$13.44

Electronic Equipment, Instruments and Components

4 Stars

536 of 556

Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PHLY)

$61.45

Insurance

5 Stars

236 of 250

American Science & Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASEI)

$75.87

Aerospace and Defense

4 Stars

932 of 970

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Nov. 28, 2008.

Top-Rated electronic equipment, instruments and components companies:

  • SAIC, Inc. (NYSE:SAI): Stock price is -10% lower than last year.
  • FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLIR): Stock price is -11% lower than last year.

Top-Rated insurance companies:

  • Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:QNTA): Stock price is 124% higher than last year.
  • ProCentury Corp (NASDAQ:PROS): Stock price is 28% higher than last year.

Join us on CAPS to learn more about these and countless other interesting stock ideas.