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Let’s shake things up and dive into the charts of three stocks making big moves in our proprietary 13-indicator “Barchart Opinion” rating system. These stocks got caught up in a busy week marked by corporate earnings, a U.S.-China trade truce, ongoing government shutdown worries, and new Wall Street fears that the bubble is about to burst. We’ll explore these three stock charts you might have missed, and dive into what’s happening off the chart too. Chart #1: Appian After gaining nearly 31% in a single day on Nov. 6, Appian (APPN) broke above its key moving averages in a clear up move. At writing, APPN is trading near $42 and its 50-day moving average is at the $31 level. Appian’s Weighted Alpha, Barchart’s premier indicator, also flipped into positive territory, coming in at +15.38. Weighted Alpha is a measure of how much a stock has risen or fallen over the past 250 trading periods. The recent move into positive territory is an indication APPN stock could continue to rally. One warning sign, however, is that Appian’s 14-day RSI is near 81 now, above the “overbought” threshold at 70. Appian’s giant move came on the back of earnings, with earnings per share of $0.32 beating the analyst estimate by more than 430%. As a result, shares jumped in Barchart’s rating system from a 72% “Sell” to an 88% “Buy.” Chart #2: McDonald’s Things aren’t looking so tasty over at McDonald’s (MCD). The company’s EPS missed estimates due to still-high beef prices and weakening consumer spending, raising concerns about its outlook as management warned that its current operating environment was “challenging.” As a result, shares have plunged from a 24% “Buy” to a 72% “Sell.” Barchart’s “Trend Seeker,” our proprietary trend analysis system, issued a new “Sell” signal on Nov. 3. Since then, shares have fallen 1.62%. Its Weighted Alpha has been flirting with negative territory, currently reading a tiny +0.08. MCD shares remain below the 20-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages, and with consumer sentiment near record lows, it may be hard for McDonald’s to sustain any uptrend. Chart #3: Israel Chemicals Israel Chemicals (ICL), commonly known as ICL, fell to a new 6-month low on Nov. 6. The Israeli chemicals company gave up its right to first refusal, allowing other companies to bid against it for Dead Sea mineral extraction rights when its contract comes up for renewal in 2030. ICL currently focuses on potash and bromine extraction. Investors didn’t like the sound of this, and shares closed down more than 17%. Barchart’s rating system has made a dramatic flip from a 56% “Buy” to a 72% “Sell.” ICL is now trading below all of its key moving averages, but did investors react too negatively? If the company loses out on its contract, the Israeli government will still pay it $3 billion. One sign that Thursday’s move was an overreaction is its 14-day RSI at 34.48, flirting with the 30 “oversold” threshold. Want Even More Chart of the Day? If you’ve always wanted to know how columnist Jim Van Meerten finds his daily picks – or go behind the scenes of Barchart’s top-notch technical toolkit – this is your chance. Get comfy, get out your notebook, and head over to our YouTube to watch this walk-through of Weighted Alpha, Trend Seeker, Barchart Opinion, and more, step by step. Here’s the beginner’s guide to finding top stock picks using Barchart.com. Today’s Chart of the Day was brought to you by Sarah Holzmann, Barchart’s Editorial Director. Learn more about Chart of the Day and read our past issues here.
