Momentum is an important attribute when picking stocks to trade, and the strength of the price movement is something you want to embrace, not fight against. One of the strongest market sectors this year has been pharmaceuticals. The SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: XPH) has gained more than 30% year to date, double the gains of the S&P 500. Not all pharma stocks have fared so well, though. Pfizer… Read More

Momentum is an important attribute when picking stocks to trade, and the strength of the price movement is something you want to embrace, not fight against. One of the strongest market sectors this year has been pharmaceuticals. The SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: XPH) has gained more than 30% year to date, double the gains of the S&P 500. Not all pharma stocks have fared so well, though. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is only up 11% year to date, lagging behind the broader market and sharply behind its peers.  On the chart below, we can see that the January breakout above $27 held on the June and July pullbacks, forming a key support level. The $4 range between the $27 breakout level and the $31 yearly highs targets a breakout move to $35. The $35 target is about 22% higher than current prices, but traders who use a capital-preserving stock-substitution strategy could more than double their… Read More

While equities have risen to multi-year highs, many commodities and natural resources companies have largely been left in the dust. But the best time to buy something is often when it is out of favor and not in demand… yet. One… Read More

Gold has made a series of higher lows during the past few weeks after a visit to key support at $1,550 per ounce. A move above $1,620 could confirm a bottom and resume the overall bull trend. Gold, as measured by the… Read More

From its 2009 lows near $3 a share, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) made a massive rebound near the $20 level in 2009 and 2010, but then saw a renewed push down with last year’s base lows at $7. The move back above the $10 pivot point this year sets… Read More

Although nuclear power plants only provid about 12% of the world’s electricity production, growing energy demand put Cameco Corp. (NYSE: CCJ) in a position to benefit. The company is engaged in the exploration, development, mining, refining, conversion and fabrication of uranium for sale as… Read More

Shares of small-cap Molycorp (NYSE: MCP), a development stage company that engages in the production and sale of rare earth oxides, have been hit hard in the past two years. But it appears a price bottom has formed. Cheap is a relative term,… Read More

The Brazil turnaround story garnered headlines and investors’ attention in the first half of the past decade. But the past two years have seen an economic slowdown and a pullback in stock prices that I believe… Read More

Paper, pens and file folders are big business. And the recently announced merger of the No. 2 and No. 3 office-supplies chains, Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), should provide a sense of clarity that could help No. 1 Staples (Nasdaq:… Read More

One way to participate in the resurgence of the China bull trend is through the iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (NYSE: FXI). This exchange-traded… Read More

Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) has been hit hard during the past year, but a price bottom may have formed with extreme lows below $3 a share. As of this writing, Groupon is trading around $5.36 a share. The unfilled gap down in August from $6.35 to the… Read More