The health care industry has been a bright spot for investors in 2022, but if the weakening in the indicators on the Dow Jones' power stock UnitedHealth Group ( UNH) is any indication, you may want to do some trimming of long positions.
Let's check the charts.
In this daily bar chart of UNH, below, we can see that prices have trended higher in the past 12 months. UNH has tested the rising 200-day moving average line in February, June, October and again in November. The rallies off of these tests have weakened. Trading volume is not really expanding. The daily On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows a rise into early November.
The 12-day price momentum study shows a lower high from early July to late October, telling us that the pace of the rally has slowed down and when this is compared to the price action of higher highs gives us a bearish divergence. It is typical to see price momentum peak before prices do and that is what I am seeing on UNH.
In this weekly Japanese candlestick chart of UNH, below, we can see a weakening picture. Prices are still in an uptrend as they stand above the rising 40-week moving average line. The weekly OBV line has been moving sideways since April and thus has diverged from the price action. The 12-week price momentum study in the lower panel shows weakening price momentum from December giving us a much bigger bearish divergence than what we see on the daily chart.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of UNH, below, we can see a potential downside price target in the $497 area.
Bottom line strategy: I have no idea what could bring the price of UNH down for a test or break of its October low, but that is what the charts and indicators suggest to me. If you think charts and technical indicators are worth including in your investment strategy then I suggest that longs should raise their sell stops.
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