Well, this past week finally brought that time of year we’ve all been waiting for.
No, I am not talking about ☘️St. Patrick’s Day.
I am talking about the potential for the market to start turning higher from a MAJOR seasonal bottom.
It’s all right here on this chart, which you know I love to share from time to time.
Again, what you are looking at here is the 20-year price average of the S&P 500, broken down by month.
And what do you see?
That’s right!
On average, over the past 20 years, this has been the time of year when stocks bottom and begin to rally through the rest of the year.
In addition, many analysts are also arguing that it’s a good time to get back into the markets and look for another bull run.
While I do like the market’s chances to start becoming increasingly bullish, it just appears that the major indexes have not found enough bullish escape velocity just yet, and things may stay a bit volatile before the turn can be sustained.
As usual, I teamed up with “the professor” this past week to give members our picks as we get ready for next week.
To avoid getting caught up in any short-term volatility, our picks are stocks in established uptrends and on the verge of breaking out of bullish price patterns.
Buying stocks in uptrends helps traders avoid volatile market conditions
If you like buying stocks in an uptrend, Mike Parks has found a couple of interesting trade setups.
Mike is a veteran trader and educator and is adding a level of insight to Total Alpha that can only come from decades of experience in trading and market education.
He is incredibly knowledgeable on all things markets and his talent for teaching new traders how to use market signals to choose the right options strategies is unmatched.
Mike’s trades heading into next week are as follows:
Mike brought Juniper Networks to the attention of our members on Friday.
Mike likes the trade because the stock is forming a “symmetrical triangle” consolidation.
According to MarketBeat, Juniper Networks, Inc. engages in the designing, development, and the sale of products and services for performance networks. It offers requirements for global service, cloud providers, national governments, research and public sector organizations, and other enterprises. The company was founded by Pradeep S. Sindhu on February 6, 1996, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA.
Mike also likes the fact that the stock is squeezing on the daily chart and the On Balance Volume indicator is confirming the stock’s recent turn higher.
Mike’s entry is $34.94, with targets at $36.76 and $$38.38.
Mike also likes buying the 14 APR 34 Call if you are looking to play this with options.
Next, Mike introduced good old Altria (MO) for a bullish trade.
Altria Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands, as well as provides on! oral nicotine pouches. It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors; and large retail organizations, such as chain stores. Altria Group, Inc. was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.
The pattern Mike pointed out here is the “Ascending Triangle” shown on the next chart.
Similar to what we saw with JNPR, Mike also likes the confirmation coming from the On Balance Volume indicator.
If the buyers continue to increase buying volume, Mike expects to see the price of the stock reflect this.
Finally, Mike is also seeing the TTM Squeeze with positive momentum.
Mike’s entry is $51.84, with targets at $53.82 and $55.25.
Mike also likes buying the 14 APR $50 call if you are looking to play this with options.
To YOUR Success!
