Dow stocks Apple, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and General Electric are trading well above their 50-day moving averages. They have something else in common — one technician sees more upside for each.
“There’s a misperception out there that because a stock is overbought that that is bad,” Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Jaffray, told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday.
Apple, the world’s largest company by market cap, is trading nearly 8 percent above its 50-day moving average, but Johnson says it’s set to continue its move higher.
“Apple’s already gone through a corrective move,” he said. It “doesn’t look like a stock that I want to be taking profits in. I think there’s probably more upside to go in that name.”
Apple shares traded in the red in March and April before exploding higher on positive earnings in May. Its shares are now more than 11 percent higher for the year.
Like Johnson, Michael Binger of Gradient Investments sees more room to run for Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
“There’s nothing like $70-$80 oil to really help these names like Exxon and Chevron,” Gradient’s senior portfolio manager said on Friday’s “Trading Nation.” “There’s no way we’re selling them right now. Their cash flow profiles are getting better.”
One stock on which Johnson and Binger disagree is General Electric. Where Johnson forecasts a “short-term bottom,” Binger sees a fundamental picture that points to further hardship.
“We’d prefer to stay on the sidelines of General Electric,” said Binger. “This recent move is more of a dead-cat bounce. I have no idea what their business model is going to look like going forward. I have a lot of doubt about their earnings power.”
GE is on track to close May with its second month of gains, though it remains lower for the year. Shares of the oldest Dow component rallied 3 percent on Monday after the industrial giant said it would merge its transportation business with Wabtec in a deal worth $11 billion. Still, the stock is 47 percent below its 52-week high, placing it firmly in bear-market territory.
