Down But Not Out: 3 Stocks for Swing Traders

Stocks ended the day lower on Tuesday, marking the fifth consecutive down session for both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials.

Over the past few days, I have suggested that stocks remain vulnerable to a downturn. I base this observation on the research done by Larry Connors which reveals that stocks have a historical tendency to underperform when the VIX, or CBOE Volatility Index, is stretched significantly below its 10-day moving average. And although the VIX was somewhat higher on Tuesday, it still remains more than 10% below its 10-day moving average.

At the same time, I have also pointed out that the quality of our Top 25 PowerRatings Stocks has improved over the past few days. Looking at that roster now, after Tuesday’s close, I spot 15 stocks out of 25 that have Short Term PowerRatings of 8 and are trading above their 200-day moving averages. Suffice to say that it has been several weeks since stocks have been even moderately attractive to the longside. And “moderately attractive” is how I would characterize many oversold stocks above the 200-day moving average right now.

As such, my suggestion for short term stock traders going forward remains the same: look for short term opportunity to the upside in specific stocks while in the midst of what still looks to be general stock market weakness. I have listed 3 stocks below which, in addition to the five stocks highlighted in yesterday’s “5 PowerRatings Stocks for the Next 5 Days” column, should be the kind of stocks that short term traders are focusing on in the near term.

Universal Technical Institute Inc.
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Short Term PowerRating 8. RSI(2): 4.36

Panera Bread Company
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PNRA |
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Short Term PowerRating 8. RSI(2): 5.87

Granite Construction Inc.
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Short Term PowerRating 8. RSI(2): 4.13

Recall that stocks with Short Term PowerRatings of 8, according to our research into short term stock price behavior since 1995, have outperformed the average stock by a margin of more than 8 to 1 after five days.

What is most remarkable about this set of stocks is that not only do they have high Short Term PowerRatngs, but also their 2-period RSIs are all in the low single digits. In the recent past, I’ve come across 8-rated stocks, for example, that are trading above their 200-day moving averages. But the missing ingredient has been the kind of low, 2-period RSI that confirms that the stock under analysis is truly oversold. As of the fifth consecutive selling day in the S&P 500 and Dow industrials, it appears as if that ingredient is back in the mix.

Click here to find out what traders are saying about Larry Connors’ new book, Short Term Trading Strategies That Work: A Quanitified Guide to Trading Stocks and ETFs!