With the Australian share market storming higher on Friday it will come as no surprise to learn that several shares have raced away to 52-week highs or better.
The likes of Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX), St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM), and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) have all reached 52-week highs today.
Two that have gone even better and raced to all-time highs are listed below. Is it too late to invest in these high-flying shares?
The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price reached an all-time high of $8.63 today, bringing its 12-month return to an impressive 78%. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the horticulture company's shares following an impressive first-half result which saw Costa grow EBITDA before SGARA and material items by 24.2% to $60.9 million. And with changing consumer tastes and management's medium-term plans looking very favourable for its growth prospects in the long-term, Costa looks to be in a position to continue this strong form for some time to come. However, with its shares now trading at 33x estimated full-year earnings, I would suggest investors wait for a decent pullback before picking up shares.
The Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP) share price touched on an all-time high of $6.52 on Friday. This means that the leading health food manufacturer and UHT producer's shares have risen almost 39% over the last 12 months. Like Costa Group, Freedom Foods has been benefiting from favourable changes to consumer eating habits. In addition to this, an insatiable demand for its UHT products has been a major boost and led to it achieving underlying operating EBDITA growth of 28% to $16 million in the first-half of FY 2018. Thanks to its plan to significantly upgrade the capacity of its Shepparton dairy facility, I believe there's plenty more growth on the horizon. While its shares are certainly on the expensive side and high up on the risk scale, I remain confident that Freedom Foods' long-term growth potential justifies the premium.
