Although the major stock market averages continue...

Although the major stock market averages continue to make new highs, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned in its best week in 15 months, there was a scarcity of new highs among San Diego stocks last week, said Irving Katz, director of research at Thomas Green/San Diego Securities.

Institutional favorites, of which locally there are few, and some of the small bank stocks were the only San Diego-based participants in the surging market. New highs were recorded by Home Federal at $47.50, WD-40 at $35.50 and Mycogen at $11.25.

Small-bank stocks were selling at or near their highs on takeover and merger speculation. First National closed Monday near its all-time high of $23.125, more than twice its low over the past year of $9. BSD Bancorp was selling right at its 52-week high of $10.125 and was also up more than double its 52-week low of $3.875.

La Jolla Bancorp has not come as far as the other banks, but nonetheless hit a 52-week high of $11.

Going the opposite direction were stocks such as Imperial Corp. of America, which was headlined on the cover of this week’s Barron’s financial magazine as the “trashing of an $11-billion thrift,” hit a new low of $2.25 before closing at $2.625.

Imperial was raked over the coals in a scathing article that criticized management’s poor investments in fraudulent auto loans and a failed Yugo automobile importer. The write-down last month necessitated by the deterioration of ICA’s extensive junk bond portfolio was also noted. The article found fault with the delayed reporting of those major catastrophes to ICA shareholders and questioned whether ICA can survive as a viable entity.

Cipher Data Products made a new low of $5.75, despite having a book value of $11. The company is suffering from a downturn in the cyclical computer industry and has forecast a large loss for its first quarter, which ended Sept. 30.