Why You Should Closely Watch Apple’s Stock Chart
Loading the player… Apple ( AAPL ) shares tried to make a pivotal move in the stock market today with the recapturing of a key technical level. Credit Suisse raised its price target on Apple from 140 to 150, saying that gross profit from Apple services — including Apple Pay, Apple Music and iCloud — has big growth potential. Meanwhile, Brean Capital cut its price target from 170 to 155. The analyst said that the Street’s iPhone unit shipment expectations for the March and June quarters may be too optimistic. Shares jumped as much as 1.9% in heavy volume Monday morning, breaking past resistance at the 110 price level and retaking the critical 200-day moving average in intraday trade. Apple hasn’t traded above the 200-day since five months ago, and even then it stayed above the line only briefly. Shares pared their gains to close up 1% at 111.12, pennies below their 200-day line at 111.32. If the stock can close above the 200-day line, it would be bullish. The stock has suffered severe technical damage over the last year, but it’s up more than 20% from its January low. Apple is now 16% below its all-time high of 134.54, reached at the end of last April. Among other widely held tech stocks, Microsoft ( MSFT ) is trading about 2% below its late December high and a consolidation base buy point of 56.95. Microsoft shares were down 0.5% in intraday trade. Facebook ( FB ) fell 3% in big volume on a cautious report from Deutsche Bank. Facebook is now trading about 4% below its February high and a buy point at 117.69. Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is trading 6% below a cup-base buy point of 810.45. Alphabet lost 0.6% Monday. And Netflix ( NFLX ) is hitting resistance at its 200-day line for a second session. The stock is 21% below its December peak. Netflix shares fell 1.3% Monday.