Friday's rough landing to what would have otherwise been a profitable week for the market has pushed a handful of charts to the brink. Since momentum - or lack of it - can affect a stock's price as much as any news can, reviewing charts in search of directional clues is crucial. The most compelling looks today are coming from Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. (HTDS:PK), Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (SSCCQ.PK), BioElectronics Corp. (BIEL.PK), and M&T Bank Corp. (MTB). Here's what we're seeing for each one.
This isn't the first encounter the Small Cap Network has had with pink sheet stock
Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. (
HTDS).... or even the second or third. It's the first time we're going to emphatically encourage traders to take profits though.
Our last look at Hard to Treat Diseases was on
July 30th; HTDS was one of the previous day's most-purchased stocks thanks to the rejuvenation of news that the company was getting some media love. A clip that painted Hard to Treat Diseases in a positive light that aired in Europe would soon be playing here in the U.S.
Good or bad, after seeing this overbought stock make what's almost a full-blown outside reversal (bearish) today means it's time to make an exit.
The development of Hard to Treat Diseases' multiple sclerosis treatment, Ribavirin, continues... per today's news. There's just no concrete or meat to any of the recent announcements.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (
SSCCQ) shares may be down 13% today on news that it's closing its Connecticut plant, but it may mean little in the grand scheme of things. The company is simultaneously expanding its Massachusetts operation.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. is working its way through bankruptcy proceedings. As such, owning SSCCQ shares is more than a little adventurous.
Though the stock's down sharply today, note that the pullback was halted at a short-term resistance line at $0.21. That line may not hold up next, but the longer-term support line at $0.12 is apt to catch the stock if it tumbles further.
Bigger picture, there's a lot of upside/recovery room, and the stock is indeed making higher highs. Traders just need to shop for the right (low, at support) entries.
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This isn't the Small Cap Network's for look at
BioElectronics Corp. (
BIEL) either. We updated our readers a few days ago (
the 11th) when BIEL shares were on the verge of getting squeezed out of their wedge shape.
Though not explosively, it looks like the bears have so far won the war of the wedge - resistance held up, while support broke down.
Even then, it's not clear how low BioElectronics could go. The 38.2% Fibonacci line at $0.059 may catch a pullback before it gains any momentum.
BIEL continues to be one of the more compelling ideas we've been following. The company, started as a manufacturer of drug-free anti-inflammatory patches, but has been upgrading the technology for higher-level, post-operation.... the kind that required FDA clearance, but can bear more revenue.
In a word,
M&T Bank Corp. (
MTB) is a sell. The stock broke under a short-term support line a couple of days ago, and has followed through pretty decisively. Moreover, the recent peak occurred after MTB shares hit the same high reached in March. The performance then may repeat itself now.
As a company, there's nothing particularly wrong with M&T Bank Corp. In fact, M&T was strong enough to acquire Provident Bankshares recently. One of the problems that could pull shares lower, however, is four straight quarters of earnings misses. The company's profitable - just not as profitable as analysts were hoping. The market's probably questioning forward-looking estimates now as well.
If you'd like to know of any changes in our opinion of these four stocks (or if we officially recommend them as trades), be sure to sign up for free newsletter today. It's delivered 2 to 3 times per week.
