On April 25th I opined here: http://investorplace.com/2013/04/apples-chart-still-has-no-pep-in-its-step/ that Apple Inc. (AAPL) remains trading in a rather lackluster fashion. I further stated that for me to get interested in the long-side of the stock again it would have to trade above its 50 day simple moving average, which at the time came in around the 430 mark. Since I wrote those words the stock has staged a significant rally to the tune of 57 points or around 14%. In full disclosure, I traded the stock to the long side when my signal flashed, have however since taken full profits and am now scouring the chart for the next trade setup.
Onwards and upwards, let’s look at the charts.
First-up, the longer term chart looking back to the summer of 2011 gives us some perspective as to the level where the stock recently found a ‘bottom.’ The July 2011 through January 2012 period served as basing time for Apple Inc. (AAPL) and in this important trading range is also where the stock recently bounced from. The area remains important if and when the stock should ever head down there again.
On the closer-up daily chart of Apple Inc. (AAPL) note that the stock has now bumped into its down-trending 100 day simple moving average (blue line) near $463. While the stock is immediate-term overbought, the break of the September 2012 downtrend puts the stock into a positive formation that should lead to further gains in coming months. I am not looking to chase the stock higher here, but a break above $466 should lead to a first target at $485, followed by $510 – $514, which would fill the earnings down-gap from January 24th (blue shaded area).
Last but not least, for those wanting a real close up look of the stock, here is a 5 minute interval chart looking back several trading days. The white horizontal lines serve as interesting areas of support, as does the 200 period moving average (blue line). Shorter term traders can use these reference areas to base trade against.
