What happens when SPs hit 12 month highs27 Jul 2020 05:37
A look into the psychology of shares when they hit 12 month highs from Yahoo Finance in April.
What happens when a share hits a new high?
52 week highs are always good news. But surprisingly, the prices of high performing shares can be slow to move when they publish positive earnings news.
Research shows this happens because investors are cautious about bidding high performing shares any higher (even if they deserve it). Psychologists call this anchoring. As humans, we tend to take our time when it comes to changing our opinions in the face of new information - even when it's good news.
This emotional tug-of-war often ends with the ‘new high’ stock drifting higher in price over the coming weeks and months. The upward trend is called “post earnings announcement drift”. As the news sinks in, momentum takes over and the price moves higher.