Trading By the Numbers: Apple Advances, Dell Disappoints
It took four consecutive lower closes and two finishes in oversold territory, but buyers are back in the market for shares of Apple (AAPL).
The bounce of more than 2% in Apple comes after the stock’s second longest pullback of the quarter, the longest being AAPL’s fall for seven straight sessions in late September shortly after rallying to what were then new 52-week highs. A return trip to yearly highs a month later resulted in a similarly sharp sell-off that took Apple lower for four out of five days before buyers re-entered the market and, ironically enough, sent AAPL up for four out of the following five days.
It is impossible to tell whether or not Tuesday’s buying will result in a multi-day rally. With the stock closing above its 5-day moving average and showing short term strength ahead of trading on Wednesday, some profit-taking from those who bought the stock as it pulled back should be expected. That said, AAPL is in neutral territory, and still closer to recent short term closing lows than to recent short term closing highs.
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With shares of Dell (DELL) up more than 2% in Tuesday’s session, but disappointing investors after hours with lower than expected revenue numbers, traders should be prepared to see selling in the stock when trading begins on Wednesday (the stock was down more than 1% in afterhours trading approximately two hours after the close).
Note that DELL was heading toward overbought territory in the wake of Tuesday’s strong finish. Up three out of the past four sessions, shares of DELL have rallied to new short term closing highs. And the last time DELL traded at similar levels was in late October, shortly before a three-day sell-off took the stock lower by well over 6%.
The stocks in today’s report were drawn from the data and research available through The Machine. To find out more, click here.
David Penn is Editor in Chief of TradingMarkets.com