Shares of Martin Marietta ( MLM) , the building materials company, were raised to an overweight rating by a major sell-side firm Friday. In our last review of MLM on December 17 (https://realmoney.thestreet.com/investing/stocks/martin-marietta-looked-bullish-even-before-getting-an-upgrade-15865505) we wrote that "The charts and indicators of MLM are bullish. Traders could buy available weakness but need to risk to $404 for now. The $521 area is our price target for now."
Traders should have been stopped out in January. Let's check the charts again.
In this daily bar chart of MLM, below, we can see that prices made a peak in early January and turned down to make a low in early May. MLM has improved in the past couple of weeks and the indicators have too. Prices are moving up towards the still declining 50-day moving average line.
The daily On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line is attempting a turnaround to the upside. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has crossed to the upside for a cover shorts buy signal.
In this weekly Japanese candlestick chart of MLM, below, we can see that prices turned down below the 40-week moving average line. Lower shadows on the candles in May are encouraging. The weekly OBV line is looking steady so far in May. The MACD oscillator is below the zero line but has begun to narrow.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of MLM, below, we can see a potential upside price target in the $407 area.
In this weekly Point and Figure chart of MLM, below, we can see a downside price target in the $233 area. A trade at $352 is needed to start an improvement in this chart.
Bottom line strategy: Risking to $323, traders could probe the long side of MLM for a trading bounce the next few weeks. Be nimble and do not overstay your welcome.
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The only reason to exit the stock now is profit-taking.
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