With the major averages logging a strong up week across the board, and with the Nasdaq 100 finally retesting its 200-day moving average from below, it can feel like a challenging time to take a shot at winning charts. You may ask yourself, “Do I really want to be betting on further upside after an incredibly strong April?”
When the macro environment feels less certain, I find it’s helpful to go back to tried-and-true technical analysis approaches. By identifying stocks with constructive chart patterns, we can hopefully focus our attention on names that could do well regardless of the overall market movements in the coming weeks.
With that bottom-up investing justification in mind, let’s review three recent earnings names that are showing strong technical profiles going into next week.
Visa Inc. (V)
Both Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) reported earnings, and both stocks experienced an upside follow-through after their quarterly report. Visa has been pounding out a consistent pattern of lower lows and lower highs since the end of February, but this week appears to have broken that downtrend pattern.
After Tuesday’s earnings release, Visa completed a move out of the downtrend phase by breaking trendline resistance using the major peaks from February and March. Wednesday’s up day pushed V back above the 50-day moving average, a level which had repelled a previous breakout attempt in mid-April. MA has now broken above its late March high, and a similar move next week would suggest a retest of all-time highs for Visa.
Coca Cola Co. (KO)
The Consumer Staples sector pulled back this week, and leading names in the sector, such as Coca-Cola (KO), experienced a brief drop post-earnings. KO is demonstrating a cup-and-handle pattern, although we’ve not seen the breakout that would serve to confirm a bullish outlook.
We’ve used the Annotations tool to draw a rectangle marking the resistance zone from the September 2024 peak. Subsequent peaks in March and April 2025 have retested this same range, forming the cup-and-handle pattern which often precedes a strong upthrust. The trigger for this pattern is a confirmed break above the rim of the cup, and, with this week’s pullback, investors will have to wait for this bullish confirmation.
We’ve noted the bearish momentum divergence in recent months, with the higher price highs in March and April marked by weaker RSI peaks. With this bearish divergence clearly signalling a weaker momentum profile, we would need to see a valid break above $74 on stronger RSI readings to negate the divergence and confirm an upside breakout.
CME Group Inc. (CME)
Since I discussed the exchanges with Jay Woods on my Market Misbehavior podcast back in February, I’ve been following the resilient uptrend of higher highs and higher lows. The daily chart features a series of consolidation patterns followed by upside breakouts that have led to further gains.
This is the kind of chart that I think about when someone asks, “But if you’re buying the new highs list, isn’t that too late?” The chart of CME shows that new highs often lead to even more new highs. And when a stock like CME Group keeps pulling back to an ascending 50-day moving average, I’m reminded the essence of trend-following is to remain invested in charts that continue to work.
In the immortal words of legendary technical analyst Paul Montgomery, “The most bullish thing the market can do is go up!”
I had the pleasure of heading back into the StockCharts TV studio this week to shoot the “Top Ten Stocks for May 2025” video with Grayson Roze. Visa was one of the five stocks I contributed. Check out the other nine in this week’s video!
RR#6,
Dave
P.S. Ready to upgrade your investment process? Check out my free behavioral investing course!
David Keller, CMT
President and Chief Strategist
Sierra Alpha Research LLC
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.
The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.