Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is set to report earnings numbers on Friday. Will they move the stock? Let's check out the charts.
The last time we reviewed the charts of CAT was back on Oct. 5, and we gave the $172 area as an upside price target. Prices touched the $200 level earlier this month. Now what? 
In this updated daily bar chart of CAT, below, we can see that prices have been in a great looking uptrend since March. A ruler would be able to fit a really "neat" uptrend line. Prices have been staying above and bouncing off the rising 50-day moving average line.
On Wednesday, CAT closed below the 50-day line, but bounced up Thursday. The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line shows a steady rise until this month when the line weakens. This shift in direction suggests a shift from aggressive buying to aggressive selling. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator has crossed to the downside for a take-profits sell signal. The oscillator is not all that far above the zero-line.
In this weekly bar chart of CAT, below, we see some developing weakness. Prices are in an uptrend above the rising 40-week moving average line but the trading volume has been diminishing since March. The weekly OBV line shows a rise from April but a recent dip. The MACD oscillator has narrowed in recent weeks and is very close to a bearish downside crossover.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of CAT, below, we can see that the software is reading the X's and O's as a weak pattern and projecting a downside price target in the $162 area.
Bottom line strategy: I have no knowledge of what CAT is going to report, but I can say that the charts of CAT have weakened so far this month. Earnings numbers could precipitate further declines in the days ahead.
