3 Big Stock Charts for Thursday: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)

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U.S. equities finished in the red again on Wednesday — the fourth loss in the last five sessions — threatening a breakdown and first significant selloff in six months.

3 Big Stock Charts for Thursday: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)There is no single catalyst for the sudden bout of weakness, just a combination of several nagging concerns ahead of the Friday non-farm payroll report and the approach of the June policy decision from the Federal Reserve.

On a technical basis, weakness seems to be spreading with the percentage of S&P 500 stocks in uptrends falling below 75% for the first time since the middle of March. A drop by the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 17,600 level would mark a clear breakdown out of a three-month topping pattern and confirm the first significant downtrend since December.

This after bumping up against overhead resistance near 18,000 — a level that has kept a lid on the bull market since late 2014.

As we watch for what happens next, keep an eye on these three stocks: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

After a disappointing quarterly earnings report on weak iPhone sales and hints that the upcoming iPhone 7 launch will be merely an incremental update to the iPhone 6/6s form factor, AAPL shares continue to languish near its January/February lows.

Not even an appearance on CNBC’s Mad Money by CEO Tim Cook earlier this week could keep the speculative juices flowing.  Nor could reports that company is looking to revamp its Apple Music service after a lukewarm reception.

Edge Pro subscribers are enjoying a 253%-plus gain in their May $107 AAPL puts.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)

CAT shares closed below their 50-day moving average for the first time since late February on Wednesday. Shares haven’t gone anywhere since 2010 as global growth concerns, and a wipeout in the energy and materials sectors have slammed sentiment.

Also, Greenlight’s David Einhorn announced at the Ira Sohn conference on Wednesday that he is short CAT.

The company will next report results on July 26 before the bell. Analysts are looking for earnings of 98 cents per share on revenues of $10.1 billion. Edge Pro subscribers are holding a position in the May $74 CAT puts.

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)

Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)

Tesla lost 4.2% to close below its 200-day and 50-day moving averages on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported the company’s VP of manufacturing and VP of production were leaving — fueling concerns about the ability to ramp up output.

Yet, after the close, the company gained 3.3% despite reporting a larger-than-expected loss of 57 cents per share for Q1 (on a slight revenue beat) — and that’s because Tesla moved a production target of 500,000 units ahead by two years to 2018. Model 3 production is expected to start in late 2017.

It’s not all sunshine, however.

Given the cash burn rate, which totaled another $446 million last quarter for a $2.1 billion result over the past year, further capital raising is likely.

Let’s see how the share price responds to a likely secondary offering that dilutes existing shareholders.

Anthony Mirhaydari is founder of the Edge and Edge Pro investment advisory newsletters. Free two- and four-week trial offers have been extended to InvestorPlace readers.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/05/3-big-stock-charts-thursday-apple-inc-aapl-caterpillar-inc-cat-tesla-motors-inc-tsla/.

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