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 135,000-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 two such stocks:

Company

Today’s Intraday Price

Industry

CAPS Rating (out of 5)

Fools Saying Outperform

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY)

$34.01

Specialty Retail

2 Stars

997 of 1215

Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ:SLAB)

$40.16

Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

3 Stars

323 of 350

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of July 22, 2009

Top-rated specialty retail companies:

  • PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM): Stock price is 12% higher than last year.
  • Charlotte Russe Holding (NASDAQ:CHIC): Stock price is 1% lower than last year.

Top-rated semiconductors and semiconductor equipment companies:

  • Kopin Corp (NASDAQ:KOPN): Stock price is 52% higher than last year.
  • RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD): Stock price is 23% higher than last year.

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