Big Weekly Winners: Swing Trading with PowerRatings

The market wrapped this last trading week on a high note with Thursday’s rally and new record levels set for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 hit a 4-year high at 1,437.92, now up about 14% for this year, while the Nasdaq set a new 12-year high at 3,136.42. The Dow spiked as well with a healthy gain of 14.64 points to cap off the rally. The gains were tempered with some negative news on the employment front with fewer jobs than expected being added in August, although the unemployment rate did slip 0.2%. We’ll see if anything new in terms of quantitative easing comes from the Fed’s 2-day meeting this week on Wednesday and Thursday. All the speculation following the ECB bond-buying program has intensified focus on the U.S. front, but we’ll see what happens first as we enter Monday’s open with the market very overbought. The top-performing stocks from this trading week came from the healthcare, financial, and basic materials sectors.

The stocks in this week’s Big Weekly Winners: Swing Trading with PowerRatings all earned PowerRatings of 8 or higher one week ago on August 31, 2012.

To learn more about PowerRatings, including how to swing trade stocks and ETFs with PowerRatings, click here.

Performance of 8/31/12 – 9/7/12 Trading Week

Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR)

HNRchart

Shares of Harvest Natural Resources Inc. surged this week, ending Friday’s trading in extremely overbought territory. After going into Labor Day weekend very oversold but still trading above its 200-day moving average, HNR gapped-up on Wednesday – rising 11% for the day – and went on to secure a 14.89% gain for the week.

  • 8/31/12 Entry Price: 8.53 with a PowerRating of 8
  • 9/7/12 Exit Price: 9.80
  • Gain: 14.89%

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG)

LYG chart

Lloyds Banking Group PLC shares opened Tuesday in neutral territory after bottoming out before the weekend on Friday’s close. LYG spiked on Wednesday and rallied throughout the end of the week.

  • 8/31/12 Entry Price: 2.06 with a PowerRating of 8
  • 9/7/12 Exit Price: 2.34
  • Gain: 13.59%

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RIGL)

RIGL chart

Opening the trading week with its shares above its 200-day moving average in firmly oversold territory, Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose steadily from Tuesday onward. RIGL peaked during Thursday’s trading with a 7.1% gain and an upgraded rating from Wells Fargo. Despite dipping slightly on Friday RIGL ended the week with a strong 12.55% gain.

  • 8/31/12 Entry Price: 9.32 with a PowerRating of 8
  • 9/7/12 Exit Price: 10.49
  • Gain: 12.55%


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Joshua Glasgall is Editor in Chief of Connors Research