Meta Platforms ( META) , formerly known as Facebook, is scheduled to tell anxious shareholders and calm analysts their latest quarterly numbers after the close of trading Wednesday. The stock has made an impressive advance from early November but maybe the rise has resulted in is\t being "over its skis."
Let's check out the charts.
In the daily bar chart of META, below, I can see how shares of META have advanced and rallied to the underside of the declining 200-day moving average line. The trading volume has decreased from the activity level of early November and the On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows a slow crawl higher from early November.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator is in a bullish trend above the zero line.
In the weekly Japanese candlestick chart of META, below, I see a mixed picture. The shares have suffered a big decline from the highs of 2021. Prices made a high volume low in October and a subsequent recovery rally. META is testing the declining 40-week moving average line.
Trading volume has declined and the weekly OBV line has only responded in January. The trend-following MACD oscillator is still below the zero line in sell territory.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of META, below, the software projects an upside price target in the $156 area.
In this weekly Point and Figure chart of META, below, a $154 price target is shown.
Bottom-line strategy: META has made a big advance ahead of earnings but trading volume has not expanded and the Point and Figure charts do not suggest much more on the upside. If traders have new long positions at a profit they should probably grab those gains and stand aside at this juncture in time.
