Shares in Focus – Average True Range Watch for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) - Wagner Review

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares are on our radar today. We have noted that the latest ATR reading is 2.78. The ATR may be used by investors and traders to gauge when markets are likely to range, when extreme stock price levels are being approached, or if there is significant interest in a trend. ATR may be used as an indicator, but it may not predict anything by itself. Higher ATR’s may indicate that the stock is trending, and smaller ATR’s may be indicitive of stock price consolidation. The ATR range will be positive whether or not shares are trending up or down. ATR may allow traders to more accurately buy or sell into certain trends.

Investors may be trying to decide if stocks will make new highs before the year is out, and whether or not the bull market will celebrate its 9th anniversary next year. The tricky part is prognosticating the short term picture. Investors may not be comfortable enough to go all in, but they may not want to get bearish given the solid economic backdrop. Will there be a big breakout given the strength of earnings and economic growth? Will investors just become numb to the headlines and decide to focus on the positive economic picture? It is always wise to remember that the market can have a correction at any time for any reason. If the political landscape gets even more dysfunctional, then it may be enough of a driver to spur a correction.

Following some historical performance data on shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), we can see that performance for the previous week is 6.24%. YTD, the stock has performed 29.37%. Over the last full-year, shares have performed 28.21%. For the previous month, company shares are 4.69%. For the last quarter, the stock has performed 18.90%. Tracking some recent volatility numbers, shares are 2.60% for the week, and 1.86% for the past month.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has a current consensus broker rating of 1.70. This rating follows a scale where a 1 or a 2 would represent a consensus Buy recommendation. A rating of 4 or 5 would indicate a consensus Sell recommendation. A rating of 3 would represent a Hold recommendation. Checking in on the RSI or relative strength index, we see that the 14-day level is 63.22. The RSI operates in a range-bound area with values between 0 and 100. When the RSI line heads higher, the stock may be showing strength. The opposite is the case when the RSI line is moving down. RSI may be used to spot overbought or oversold conditions. An RSI reading over 70 would be considered overbought, and a value under 30 would indicate oversold conditions. A level of 50 would represent neutral market momentum. At current stock price levels, we have noted that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares are separated 0.02% from the 52 week high and 39.85% off of the 52 week low. From the open, the stock has seen a change of 1.71%. Looking at some other high/low data, the stock has been seen trading 0.02% away from the 50 day high and 13.75% off of the 50 day low. In terms of volume, the current value is near 33766780. Investors may be keeping a close eye on unusual trading volume on company shares. A large increase or decrease in trading volume may suggest that other factors are present.

Investors might have been ready to throw in the towel as the rally stalled recently. However, the panic subsided and growth-hungry investors came searching for their favorite stocks in the wreckage. Keeping things in perspective, the economy seems good, and so does earnings growth. Investors may be wondering where the money will be flowing in the second half of the year. Many people may assume healthcare and tech would be the easy targets, primarily because that’s where the earnings growth is. Industrials and staples are no slouches for growth either, but they may be well fully-valued for their growth. Traders will most likely be honing their strategies that they created, trying to beat the market over the next couple of months.

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