Stocks to Watch for Tuesday 7/26/2011: Fresh 52 Week Highs and Lows

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels and entry/exit points become more defined.

The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Monday's trading session (listed from highest total volume to lowest):

1) Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL): Shares of Apple hit a 52-week high of $400.00 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $398.50. The year-to-date performance of Apple has been a gain of 23.5%.

2) Conn's, Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN): Shares of Conn's hit a 52-week high of $9.98 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $9.74. The year-to-date performance of Conn's has been a gain of 108.1%.

3) Datalink (NASDAQ: DTLK): Shares of Datalink hit a 52-week high of $11.11 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $10.30. The year-to-date performance of Datalink has been a gain of 120.5%.

4) Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDIX): Shares of Idenix hit a 52-week high of $7.03 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $6.96. The year-to-date performance of Idenix has been a gain of 38%.

5) Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU): Shares of Baidu hit a 52-week high of $157.90 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $156.54. The year-to-date performance of Baidu has been a gain of 62.2%.

6) Changyou.com (NASDAQ: CYOU): Shares of Changyou.com hit a 52-week high of $49.84 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $49.20. The year-to-date performance of Changyou.com has been a gain of 72.6%.

7) Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI): Shares of Baker Hughes hit a 52-week high of $80.64 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $79.94. The year-to-date performance of Baker Hughes has been a gain of 40.1%.

8) Carbo Ceramics (NYSE: CRR): Shares of Carbo hit a 52-week high of $183.34 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $180.25. The year-to-date performance of Carbo has been a gain of 74.3%.

9) SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD): Shares of SPDR Gold Trust hit a 52-week high of $155.29 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $157.34. The year-to-date performance of SPDR Gold Trust has been a gain of 13.4%.

10) iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU): Shares of iShares Gold Trust hit a 52-week high of $15.82 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $15.77. The year-to-date performance of iShares Gold Trust has been a gain of 13.4%.

11) Key Energy Services (NYSE: KEG): Shares of Key Energy Services hit a 52-week high of $20.72 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $20.48. The year-to-date performance of Key Energy has been a gain of 57.8%.

12) Lithia Motors (NYSE: LAD): Shares of Lithia hit a 52-week high of $22.23 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $22.17. The year-to-date performance of Lithia Motors has been a gain of 56.3%.

13) PP&L (NYSE: PPL): Shares of PP&L hit a 52-week high of $28.48 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $28.39. The year-to-date performance of PP&L has been a gain of 7.8%.

14) Sturm, Ruger, & Co. (NYSE: RGR): Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Co. hit a 52-week high of $24.28 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $24.16. The year-to-date performance of Sturm, Ruger, & Co. has been a gain of 59%.

15) Sonic Automotive (NYSE: SAH): Shares of Sonic Automotive hit a 52-week high of $15.86 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $15.78. The year-to-date performance of Sonic has been a gain of 19.6%.

16) Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS): Shares of Precision Drilling hit a 52-week high of $18.18 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $17.89. The year-to-date performance of Precision Drilling has been a gain of 84.6%.

17) Complete Production Services (NYSE: CPX): Shares of Complete Production hit a 52-week high of $41.30 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $41.70. The year-to-date performance of Complete Production Services has been a gain of 41.1%.

18) SandRidge Mississippian Trust (NYSE: SDT): Shares of SandRidge hit a 52-week high of $28.97 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $28.87. The year-to-date performance of SandRidge has been a gain of 19.2%.

The following stocks hit new 52-week lows in Monday's trading session (listed from highest total volume to lowest):

1) HCA Holdings (NYSE: HCA): Shares of HCA hit a 52-week low of $27.51 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $27.97. The year-to-date performance of HCA has been a loss of 9.8%.

2) Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP): Shares of Popular hit a 52-week low of $2.29 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $2.35. The year-to-date performance of Popular has been a loss of 25%.

3) AMR (NYSE: AMR): Shares of AMR hit a 52-week low of $4.14 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $4.16. The year-to-date performance of AMR has been a loss of 46.5%.

4) Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL): Shares of Delta Air Lines hit a 52-week low of $7.78 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $7.86. The year-to-date performance of Delta Air has been a loss of 37.6%.

5) United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL): Shares of United Continental hit a 52-week low of $18.78 in Monday's trading sessions. The stock closed at $18.93. The year-to-date performance of United Continental has been a loss of 20.5%.

6) US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC): Shares of US Airways hit a 52-week low of $6.43 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $6.50. The year-to-date performance of US Airways has been a loss of 35%.

7) Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV): Shares of Southwest Airlines hit a 52-week low of $10.21 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $10.24. The year-to-date performance of Southwest has been a loss of 21%.

8) JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU): Shares of JetBlue hit a 52-week low of $5.26 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $5.28. The year-to-date performance of JetBlue has been a loss of 20.1%.

9) New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB): Shares of New York Community Bancorp hit a 52-week low of $14.02 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $14.24. The year-to-date performance of New York Community Bancorp has been a loss of 23.4%.

10) Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ: HGSI): Shares of Human Genome Sciences hit a 52-week low of $20.83 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $21.15. The year-to-date performance of Human Genome has been a loss of 11.4%.

11) Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR): Shares of Clearwire hit a 52-week low of $2.93 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $2.94. The year-to-date performance of Clearwire has been a loss of 42.9%.

12) Diana Shipping (NYSE: DSX): Shares of Diana Shipping hit a 52-week low of $9.68 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $9.73. The year-to-date performance of Diana shipping has been a loss of 15.9%.

13) Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM): Shares of Navios Maritime hit a 52-week low of $15.92 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $16.14. The year-to-date performance of Navios Maritime Partners has been a loss of 15.3%.

14) Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NYSE: NAT): Shares of Nordic American hit a 52-week low of $20.51 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $20.51. The year-to-date performance of Nordic American Tanker has been a loss of 18.7%.

15) Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP): Shares of Ferrellgas hit a 52-week low of $21.07 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $21.09. The year-to-date performance of Ferrellgas has been a loss of 14.5%.

16) Navios Maritime Holdings (NYSE: NM): Shares of Navios Maritime Holdings hit a 52-week low of $4.68 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $4.68. The year-to-date performance of Navios Maritime Holdings has been a loss of 9.3%.

17) Excel Maritime Carriers (NYSE: EXM): Shares of Excel Maritime hit a 52-week low of $2.59 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $2.63. The year-to-date performance of Excel Maritime Carriers has been a loss of 53.2%.

18) Overseas Shipholding Group (NYSE: OSG): Shares of Overseas Shipholding hit a 52-week low of $24.17 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $24.29. The year-to-date performance of Overseas Shipholding has been a loss of 29.5%.

19) Capalease Funding (NYSE: LSE): Shares of Capalease hit a 52-week low of $4.41 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $4.44. The year-to-date performance of Capalease has been a loss of 21.8%.

20) Sabra Healthcare REIT (NASDAQ: SBRA): Shares of Sabra hit a 52-week low of $14.67 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $14.75. The year-to-date performance of Sabra Healthcare REIT has been a loss of 19.8%.

21) Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI): Shares of Smith Micro hit a 52-week low of $3.72 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $3.74. The year-to-date performance of Smith Micro has been a loss of 76.2%.

22) Ballantyne Strong (NYSE: BTN): Shares of Ballantyne hit a 52-week low of $3.97 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $3.99. The year-to-date performance of Ballantyne has been a loss of 48.6%.

23) Zion Oil & Gas (NASDAQ: ZN): Shares of Zion Oil hit a 52-week low of $3.96 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $3.96. The year-to-date performance of Zion Oil has been a loss of 17.1%.

24) Sun Healthcare (NASDAQ: SUNH): Shares of Sun Healthcare hit a 52-week low of 47.45 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $7.51. The year-to-date performance of Sun Healthcare has been a loss of 40.6%.