Two Out of Three Isn't Bad: VVUS, ACUR, and HEB Under the Trading Microscope

Dec 17, 2012 8:33:32 AM PST | 1122 View(s) | No Comment(s) - Post a Comment Rating

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StockHQ:

VVUS
$13.76 $0.00 0.00%
HEB
$0.25 $0.00 0.00%
ACUR
$2.13 $0.00 0.00%

Traders looking for new ideas on Monday should start their search with Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACUR), VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS), and Hemispherx BioPharma, Inc. (AMEX:HEB). All three have dropped key technical hints, though not necessarily bearish ones.

Though Hemispherx BioPharma, Inc. has been under pressure since October, even the sharp plunge under the 100-day moving average line last Monday didn't exactly kill the stock. By Wednesday HEB had popped back above that long-term moving average, and looked like it was headed back into its recent trading range. Things started to unravel on Thursday though.

How so? HEB bumped into the converged 20-day and 50-day moving average lines, and that's all it took. The sellers took over again, and as of today - with the move back under the 100-day moving average line - have pushed Hemispherx BioPharma past the proverbial point of no return. Though anything is possible, after the length of time damage has been done, this chart is most likely to deteriorate quite a bit more before finding a bottom.

On Monday and Tuesday of last week, Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. shares were soaring.... perhaps a little too much. The stock bolted nearly 200% over those two sessions, hurdling the key 200-day moving average line in the process. Problem is, ACUR was simply traveling too far, too fast. And sure enough, the stock spent the last three days of last week peeling back from that peak of $4.50.

So what? The 'so what' is what's happened today. Though it looked like it was going to be just-another one-day (or on this case, two-day) wonder, as of today ACUR has renewed that uptrend - this time at a much more sustainable pace, and this time, by pushing off the 200-day average line with Friday's hammer-shaped doji. Also note that today's bullish volume is already stronger than any of the bearish volume between Wednesday and Friday of last week. It all says this new uptrend from Acura Pharmaceuticals is the real deal; it just needed to find its groove.

Finally, though it's been working on a rebound since early November, VIVUS, Inc. sealed the deal today with a big 10% surge this morning. The move pushed VVUS above what was a modest horizontal ceiling around $12.00. Given that the stock's still down about 50% since the October peak though, there's still plenty of room to run.

Something else you'll also notice on the chart of VVUS is how the buying volume has been better than the selling volume over the past week and a half, though the string of higher lows since early November certainly helps. A move back to the $20.00 area isn't out of the question for VIVUS.

Bryan Murphy is a paid contributor of the SmallCap Network. Bryan Murphy's personal holdings should be disclosed above. You can also view SmallCap Network's complete disclaimer and disclosure.