Pfizer: Oh Buyer Where Art Thou?Pfizer has struggled for years, and some traders may see risk of further downside.
The first pattern on today’s chart is the slide to a new 12-year low in October and November. The drugmaker barely retraced half that move at subsequent highs. It also remained mostly below its October low of $26.87. That may suggest old support has become new resistance.
Second is PFE’s price action at its 100-day simple moving average (SMA). It fell sharply after breaking that SMA in October and now seems to be stalling at the same line. (See white arrows.) That may reflect a longer-term downtrend.
Third, $25.53 was the weekly close in mid-February. It provided support earlier this month, but yesterday the stock returned to the same level. Could that trigger a breakdown?
Next, the 50-day SMA had a “death cross” under the 200-day SMA in late November. The 100-day SMA followed in December. The resulting alignment, with faster SMAs under slower ones, is potentially consistent with a downtrend.
Finally, PFE is an active underlier in the options market. (TradeStation data shows it ranking 13th in the S&P 500 in the last month, averaging about 110,000 contacts per day.) That could make it easier to position for moves with calls and puts.
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