The charts of CBS Corp. (CBS) look like they are trying to look forward and away from the headline news of sexual harassment, and so forth. I am not trying to minimize or make light of the various allegations but just act as a simple technical analyst and try to give my best appraisal of risks and potential rewards.
In this daily bar chart of CBS, below, we can see a rally from early May to early November before prices slumped to new lows for 2018. The nadir near year-end around $42 represented a 30% decline in less than two months - a quick and painful correction.
Prices failed at the underside of the declining 50-day moving average line in late November and have recently rallied back to that short-term math driven indicator. CBS is likely to retest the 50-day line very soon and I anticipate that this attempt to break the average line will be successful.
Looking at the On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line gives one a different view of the price action. From early May the OBV line has risen and it is close to making a new high for the move up. The decline in the OBV line in November and December did not go to a new low for the move down unlike the price action. This is a bullish divergence and suggests that longer-term investors in CBS largely held their positions and selling was "just on the margin".
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator in the lower panel shows a cover shorts buy signal in early January and it is now close to crossing the zero line for an outright go long signal.
In this weekly bar chart of CBS, below, we can see a longer decline than what shows on the daily bar chart. Prices are below the declining 40-week moving average line.
The weekly OBV line shows a long pattern of weakness and aggressive selling. A turn up in December of 2018 may be the start of a new uptrend.
The weekly MACD oscillator has narrowed and could soon cross for a cover shorts buy signal.
In this Point and Figure chart of CBS, below, we can see an upside price target or objective of $65 being projected.
Bottom line strategy: Financial markets and securities are forward looking and looking ahead, these charts of CBS suggest higher prices. Hold longs or buy a shallow dip and risk a close below $45. $65 is the price target.
Jim Cramer discussed CBS on his latest Action Alerts PLUS conference call. Click here to access the call and learn more about AAP.
