Hershey's stock has pulled back. If you missed a previous opportunity to own the stock, this may be your second chance. Explore a few simple technical analysis tools that can help determine if the stock presents a buying opportunity.
Are you bummed out that you missed a stock trading opportunity? Upward-trending stocks don't always go up. They're known to pull back, and sometimes the price action at the pullback could give you a second chance.
As an example, Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) rallied from January 2023 to May 2023. The StockCharts Technical Ranking (SCTR) for HSY has, for the most part, been above 70 for a few months. It's important to note that, since the SCTR crossed above 70 in April, it has managed to stay above the 70 level even after the stock price pulled back. The stock is also performing well relative to the S&P 500 index ($SPX).
Hershey's stock has had an interesting ride, reaching a high of $275.81 on May 1. Consumer demand for chocolates and other sweet and salty snacks has increased, as indicated in the company's recent earnings calls. Plus, the company pays dividends to its shareholders. Check out the Symbol Summary tool in the StockCharts charting platform for dividend info.
Since reaching its May high, the stock has traded sideways in a narrow range for a couple of weeks until it sold off, bringing its price close to its 50-day moving average (MA).
The downside: The stock could move lower to its 100-day MA. If the SCTR and relative strength drop, any reversal of the downward trend would be void for a while. Things can always change.
The weekly chart of HSY shows that the upward trend is still in play. It helps to look at the last two occasions when the SCTR experienced sharp dips below the 70 level. In both those instances—November 2022 and January 2023—the stock fell to its 50-week MA and rebounded. But the price is quite a ways from the 50-week MA, so, in this case, it would be helpful to add a shorter period MA to the chart. In the chart below, you see a 25-week, which was added because price hugged it pretty closely during the rally from 2020.
If you open a long position in HSY, you may not need to place too tight of a stop loss. There are a few months before Hershey's next earnings call. It depends on your risk tolerance level. If the stock trends higher, set trailing stops, and if you have a significant position size, take profits incrementally if conditions warrant such a strategy.
Here are some other stocks that showed up on the large-cap SCTR scan.
On May 16, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) was the featured SCTR scan candidate. Let's look at how that stock is performing.
AMZN broke above the $113.84 level (dashed horizontal green line). Since then, it has pulled back and bounced off the green dashed line. If you had opened a long position slightly above $113.84, you're probably holding on to that stock. The SCTR is well above the 70 level, and the stock's performance against the benchmark S&P 500 is rising.
A change in any of the above criteria could be a reason to take at least some positions off the table.
SCTR Crossing Scan
[country is US] and [sma(20,volume) > 100000] and [[SCTR.large x 76] or [SCTR.large x 78] or [SCTR.large x80]]
Credit goes to Greg Schnell, CMT, MFTA.
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.