Author: BILL PETERS
Source
Your stocks to watch for the week ahead are Amgen (AMGN), Fortinet (FTNT), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), SQM (SQM) and Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX). Those stocks are either in bases or near key support levels.
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The chart action arrives as the market uptrend remains under pressure, and the Federal Reserve tries to steer the economy out of a recession and away from rising prices.
Amgen Stock
Amgen stock, which was largely unchanged in the stock market today, was in a flat base on a weekly chart with a 258.55 entry. However, investors could view the pattern as an undefined shallow consolidation, with a 250.34 handle buy point. On a weekly chart, the handle shows up as a five-weeks-tight, a longer variant of the three-weeks-tight pattern.
A slightly earlier entry could come from a downward-sloping trendline from the June 1 short-term high. On Friday, AMGN stock came right up to that trendline before paring gains.
Like some of the other stocks to watch here, shares of the Dow Jones giant were close to their 50-day line. They were testing support at that level, and were above their 200-day line.
Biotech company Amgen, whose biggest drugs target things like osteoarthritis and back pain, has a Composite Rating of 95. Its EPS Rating is 86. However, the company has had a series of failed bases over the past year.
Fortinet Stock
Fortinet stock fell 1% to 61.23, once again hitting resistance at the 200-day moving average. The cybersecurity firm has fallen below its 200-day line after fighting to stay above it.
If the stock moves decisively above that support level, using the July 12 high as a specific trigger, investors could use that for an early entry or a place to start a position in this Long-Term Leader.
The official buy point for FTNT stock is 74.45.
The company’s most recent round of quarterly results topped estimates. Q2 earnings are due Aug. 3.
The stock has a 97 Composite Rating, similar to the other stocks to watch here. Its EPS Rating is 96.
Earlier this month, the relative strength line hit a new high, a rarity for software firms in 2022.
Ulta Stock
Ulta Beauty fell 1.2% to 406.40, reversing lower from an intraday high of 416.98. ULTA stock was in a flat base with a 429.58 buy point, following several failed bases. Investors could also use 411.68 as an early entry, but that didn’t work on Friday.
The cosmetics retailer’s first-quarter results, reported in May, beat expectations. The results got a boost from more customers returning to pre-pandemic habits — including wearing fewer masks and more makeup.
Shares have a 98 Composite Rating. Their EPS Rating is 89.
SQM Stock
SQM, a Chilean company that mines lithium and makes fertilizer, reversed lower on Friday, down 1.5% to 90.62. The stock has an official buy point of 115.86.
Shares had slipped below their 50-day line on Friday. But a big move above that level could serve as an early entry, with Friday’s intraday serving as a possible trigger. SQM stock has a best-possible 99 Composite Rating. Its EPS Rating is 84.
The company has benefited from demand for lithium, which is used in electric-vehicle batteries. Prices have soared, along with SQM’s production. SQM also is a fertilizer play, though those prices have come well off highs.
Neurocrine Biosciences
Neurocrine Biosciences fell 2.4% to 95.29 on Friday. The stock was in a cup-with-handle base with a 100.10 entry, nearly reaching that on Wednesday.
Neurocrine Biosciences was a recent IBD Stock of the Day. The company this year is expected to unveil midstage results for a drug that combats essential tremor, a nervous system disorder that causes involuntary shaking.
Shares have a 95 Composite Rating. Their EPS Rating is 55.
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