Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is up a staggering 36.6% in the last three months and an equally impressive 47.5% in the past year. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has gained 7.7%.
This rally in the global investment bank's stock has sent the share price surging to not only a fresh 52-week high of $83.43, but also its highest level since before the global financial crisis (GFC).
Just a few short months ago with Macquarie's share price trading in the $60 range it would have been long odds for the stock to be the first to top the $100 mark, today however those odds have shortened considerably!
Macquarie's rival in the race to the mark are CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), which are trading at $95.21 and $92.10 respectively. Both stocks are closer to the triple digit level than Macquarie, however, over the past three months they have recorded price gains of 11.5% and 6.8% respectively. This is good, but certainly lacking the momentum of Macquarie.
Potential catalyst coming in May
Macquarie is due to present its full year results for the year ending 31 March 2015 at 9:30am on 8 May.
Given the stock's rally it would be fair to say that the market is expecting a strong result when the group reports. Should the bank beat the market's expectations it could provide the impetus to keep the stock trending higher and possibly send it to $100 before either CSL or Commonwealth Bank achieve the milestone.
