UnitedHealth Group Inc. ( UNH) has been in a strong uptrend for months and has resisted the downward tug of the broad markets, but that out-performance could be tested this week as prices are poised for another test of the key 200-day moving average line.
Let's check the charts and indicators for UnitedHealth Group.
In this daily bar chart of UNH, below, we can see that prices have trended higher the past 12 months. Notice how prices have rebounded off the rising 200-day moving average line? In early October. We get close to the line in late February and there is another test in May. The rallies off of these tests have been strong until now. The rebound from May into June stopped at the underside of the 50-day moving average line and this Monday we are likely to see another test of the 200-day line, which intersects around $468 or so. The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows a rise to late May and the start of a decline in the early days of June, suggesting a shift from aggressive buying to aggressive selling. The trend-following Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator turned upward in May for a cover shorts buy signal but has quickly narrowed and could cross to the downside again for a new sell signal.
In this weekly Japanese candlestick chart of UNH, below, we can see a weakening picture. Prices are in a short-term downward trend and poised for a test (again) of the rising 40-week moving average line. The weekly OBV line shows a decline in April and May to test a three-year uptrend. The MACD oscillator crossed to the downside in late April for a take profit sell signal.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of UNH, below, we can see a downside price target of $465.
In this weekly Point and Figure chart of UNH, below, we can see a potential longer-term downside price objective in the $374 area.
Bottom line strategy: There is an old and politically incorrect saying on the floor of the stock exchange -- "When they raid the house they take all the ladies" -- which is a crude way of saying that in a bear market no one is left unscathed. This could be the moment when UNH breaks its uptrend. Avoid the long side of UNH. A close below $468 would break the 200-day line, I believe.
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