After a painful slide on Wednesday, the stock market bounced back on Thursday. Now it will look for Big Tech to make or break the next move from here, with tons of earnings on deck tonight. With all of that in mind, let’s look at a few for our top stock trades.
Top Stock Trades for Tomorrow No. 1: Apple (AAPL)
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set to report on what’s turning out to be a very business Thursday. It’s joined by Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), which I previewed yesterday, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG).
So get ready.
Shares are stuck below the 50-day moving average now, while hovering near wedge support (blue line). Bulls either want a buyable dip or a breakout from the current range.
If Apple stock can clear $120, it will hurdle wedge resistance. Over $125, and it clears this month’s high — putting the all-time high in play up at $137.98.
On the downside, I want to see if support comes into pay in the $104 to $107 area. That’s where shares bottomed in September on the dip. It’s also where AAPL stock will find the 100-day moving average.
That said, while it will feel like the end of the world for Apple to break $100, it would lead to a healthy opportunity. That’s because it could fill its prior earnings gap near $96 and potentially test its 200-day moving average.
Top Stock Trades for Tomorrow No. 2: Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)
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Alphabet is also on deck. The stock is trading much better on Thursday, up more than 3%, after a painful slide on Wednesday. Shares are reclaiming the 50-day and 100-day moving averages in the process.
Like Apple, Alphabet is shaping up in a wedge form. We either need a dip into support or a breakout. This mid-range stuff makes it more of a guess before a big event like earnings.
On a dip, see that support comes into play near $1,400 to $1,425. There the stock finds last month’s lows from the tech selloff. It will also find the 200-day moving average (which was support in September), as well as uptrend support (blue line).
A close below $1,400 creates an issue for bulls in the short term.
On the upside, I want to see a rotation over this month’s high at $1,634. That will also put GOOGL over wedge resistance, and puts the all-time high in play at $1,726.
Top Stock Trades for Tomorrow No. 3: Spotify (SPOT)
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Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) may be down about 3.4% on earnings, but the action feels like a win for the bulls.
Why? First the stock was down a little more than 10% at today’s low. So to be down less than 4% suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. Second, the stock is above today’s open, which was at $260, giving us a nice reversal look.
Finally, the stock temporarily breached but is holding both the 50-day and 100-day moving averages. Now let’s see if shares can fill the gap up toward $275. If so, range resistance is in play near $290.
A break of Thursday’s low is concerning. Although range support is nearby around $240, it puts SPOT below the post-earnings low, as well as its 50-day and 100-day moving averages. However, a move below range support is a huge red flag, putting the September low near $220 in play, followed by the 200-day moving average.
Top Stock Trades for Tomorrow No. 4: Activision Blizzard (ATVI)
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I had really been liking the way Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) was trading. That’s not just from the technicals, but with its upcoming Call of Duty game coming out and as cases of the novel coronavirus start to surge back higher.
Between Wednesday and Thursday’s price action, shares failed to reclaim the 50-day moving average and hold the 100-day moving average. Then it lost uptrend support (blue line).
Now, it could be a shakeout ahead of earnings before a move higher or it could be a warning sign. Unfortunately, it’s a guess as to which.
On the downside, a break of $76 puts the 200-day moving average on the table. On the upside, I want to see ATVI clear $83 to $84. Above this area puts the 2020 high in play near $88, followed by a move into the $90s.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell held a long position in AAPL and GOOGL.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell.
