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 140,000-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

Braskem S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:BAK)

$14.10

Chemicals

5 Stars

270 of 281

Blackboard, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBB)

$39.23

Software

3 Stars

1224 of 1298

Source: Motley Fool CAPS, as of October 9, 2009

Top-Rated chemicals companies:

  • NewMarket Corp (NYSE:NEU): Stock price is 149% higher than last year.
  • Sociedad Quimica y Minera (ADR) (NYSE:SQM): Stock price is 145% higher than last year.

Top-Rated beverages companies:

  • Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (ADR) (NYSE:ABV): Stock price is 145% higher than last year.
  • Coca-Cola HBC S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:CCH): Stock price is 88% higher than last year.

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