When a stock hits a fresh high, it can either signal that the stock is 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.

Digging deeper
With that in mind, we'll use the aggregate intelligence of the 115,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS to find stocks hitting 52-week highs today. The community's approval (as 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 High

Industry

CAPS Rating

Fools Saying Outperform

IXYS (NASDAQ:IXYS)

$13.84

Electronics

*****

219 of 228

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD)

$67.00

Leisure

****

2,703 of 2,891

Rock-Tenn Company (NYSE:RKT)

$38.00

Consumer Non-durables

*****

105 of 110

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of Aug. 11, 2008.

Other five-star electronics companies:

  • CEVA (NASDAQ:CEVA) -- up 17.3% in the past year.
  • EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ:EZCH) -- up 12% in the past year.

Other five-star consumer non-durables companies:

  • Votorantim Celulose e Papel (NYSE:VCP) -- up 6.5% in the past year.
  • VF (NYSE:VFC) -- stock price is 13.1% cheaper than a year ago.

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