Merck & Company (MRK): Signals in Focus

Tracking shares of Merck & Company (MRK), we have spotted Span A below Span B. Traders following this signal will be looking for possible signs of a bearish shift.

A certain stock price rally by itself may not be sufficient evidence when making important investing decisions. To understand whether buying a stock at a higher price is justified by its long-term return potential, it is necessary to keep the finger on the pulse of underlying fundamentals. Following the latest data may help investors make the tough portfolio decisions. Investors may also want to set personal financial goals to help ensure that they are staying on the proper track. Financial professionals may be debating if global economic growth appears to be in a modest uptrend. This may have investors scrambling to study if developing markets are indeed growing with developed markets. This year could end up being the first year in a while where this has happened. The longer the bull market run, the tougher the investing decisions might be for the stock picker. 

Shifting gears to the Relative Strength Index, the 14-day RSI is currently sitting at 54.91, the 7-day is 65.18, and the 3-day is currently at 68.57 for Merck & Company (MRK). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a highly popular momentum indicator used for technical analysis. The RSI can help display whether the bulls or the bears are currently strongest in the market. The RSI may be used to help spot points of reversals more accurately. The RSI was developed by J. Welles Wilder. As a general rule, an RSI reading over 70 would signal overbought conditions. A reading under 30 would indicate oversold conditions. As always, the values may need to be adjusted based on the specific stock and market. RSI can also be a valuable tool for trying to spot larger market turns.

Active traders have a wide variety of technical indicators at their disposal for completing technical stock analysis. Presently, the 14-day ATR for Merck & Company (MRK) is spotted at 1.41. First developed by J. Welles Wilder, the ATR may assist traders in determining if there is heightened interest in a trend, or if extreme levels may be signaling a reversal. Simply put, the ATR determines the volatility of a security over a given period of time, or the tendency of the security to move one direction or another.

The Williams Percent Range or Williams %R is another technical indicator worth checking out. Merck & Company (MRK) currently has a 14 day Williams %R of -8.34. The Williams %R fluctuates between 0 and -100 measuring whether a security is overbought or oversold. The Williams %R is similar to the Stochastic Oscillator except it is plotted upside-down. Levels above -20 may indicate the stock may be considered is overbought. If the indicator travels under -80, this may signal that the stock is oversold. Chart analysts may also use the indicator to project possible price reversals and to define trends.

Many traders will use a combination of moving averages with different time frames to help review stock trend direction. One of the more popular combinations is to use the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Investors may use the 200-day MA to help smooth out the data a get a clearer long-term picture. They may look to the 50-day or 20-day to get a better grasp of what is going on with the stock in the near-term. Presently, the 200-day moving average is at 74.35 and the 50-day is 80.12.

One technical indicator that may assist in measuring the strength of market momentum is the Average Directional Index or ADX. At the time of writing, the 14-day ADX for Merck & Company (MRK) is standing at 23.69. Many chart analysts believe that an ADX reading over 25 would suggest a strong trend. A reading under 20 would suggest no trend, and a reading from 20-25 would suggest that there is no clear trend signal. The ADX was created by J. Welles Wilder to help determine how strong a trend is. In general, a rising ADX line means that an existing trend is gaining strength. The opposite would be the case for a falling ADX line.

Investors often closely follow fundamental and technical data. Even with all the evidence, it can be tough to determine if the economy and the markets are preparing for a whole new breakout run. With the recent trend resulting in a series of new all-time record highs, investors will have to put the pieces together to try and gauge how long the second longest bull market in history will continue. Some professionals are still wondering if the next recession is looming, and if a bear market is right around the corner. Investors commonly strive to locate the highest probability of success. The next goal may be to capitalize on what could become the most interesting part of the record bull market. Investors will most likely be concentrating on what has proven to work in the past, which may offer a better idea as to how successful the strategies will be heading into the second half of the year and beyond.