This week, let’s dive into three interesting stocks: a well-known Dow stalwart, a tech giant in a tug of war, and a former Dow member showing signs of revival. Whether you’re looking for opportunity, caution, or something worth watching, there’s a little something here for every thoughtful investor.

Sherwin-Williams (SHW): Painting a Better Picture?

Sherwin-Williams, Co. (SHW) comes into earnings flat year-to-date, and is hoping that a solid quarterly result can turn the price around. This Dow stock, and the second biggest member of the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), has traded higher after three of its last four results and has an average expected move of +/- 3.6% when it reports.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF SHERWIN-WILLIAMS. The uptrend needs to hold to maintain the uptrend.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

From a technical perspective, there are some bright spots. The reality, however, is that the stock has a lot of work to do to be considered healthy again. And from a risk/reward metric, this recent uptrend from the lows needs to hold. Otherwise, look for a retest of the $310 level on a dip.

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

Shares continue to make higher lows, which is a bullish sign

There’s bullish divergence in its Relative Strength Index (RSI) — it’s going higher while the stock stalls

The MACD gave us a short-lived buy signal and has now turned negative

Trading below both key moving averages

There’s major resistance at the $360 level

This is one to put on your watchlist, with definitive risk/reward levels to monitor. To jump in ahead of earnings seems more of a crapshoot, so reacting to price action may be the best play. Patience may be your best friend.

Alphabet (GOOGL): A Mag Stock or Just Mag History?

Alphabet, one of the “Magnificent 7” stocks, has had a rough ride lately. The company has been facing continual headwinds due to antitrust and litigation risk, AI competition disrupting search, and a massive CapEx spend.

Shares have been stuck in neutral for the last year. They are lower by -2.5% year-to-date and 11% off all-time highs. If the company can address these concerns and focus on the positives of its YouTube and Waymo divisions, it could be back on the upswing.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF GOOGL STOCK. It’s in the middle of a rebound and could be at an interesting pivot point.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Technically, I will keep this five-year daily chart as simple as possible. It’s intriguing, to say the least.

GOOGL was dangerously close to breaking down in early April, but quickly regained its key support level. Now it finds itself in the middle of a nice rebound and at an interesting pivot point. The bull case is more concrete at these levels, but I’m sure the bears are looking at a potential head-and-shoulders topping formation in the works as well.

As we examine, watch the 50 and 200-day moving averages closely. They are at a key consolidation area and need to act as support in a small downturn. If not, then back to the major support area we go, and a potential head-and-shoulders top is in play. 

The good news is that overall momentum continues to favor the upside. We have a good support area at the averages (your risk) and then a potential run to $200 easily if we get a nice pop on earnings. If so, this could be the fourth of the “Magnificent 7” stocks trading at all-time highs.

Intel (INTC): A Blast From the Past, Showing Signs of Life?

Remember Intel? It once dominated the landscape during the dot-com era, was a proud member of the Dow, and now is just a struggling former tech giant trying to stay relevant in a challenging environment. We are not claiming they are back by any stretch, but maybe the worst is over for now, as new management and constructive price action have set up a “deja vu” trade that hearkens back to early 2023.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF INTC STOCK. The stock is above its 50-week moving average, there’s a bullish divergence in the RSI and MACD, and the bottom base was tested several times.

Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Technically, we highlight price action daily over a five-year weekly period. The risk/reward set-up seems quite favorable at current levels and also looks eerily similar to its last rebound.

Here’s the current scenario that also occurred in 2022/2023.

Bottom/base that was tested multiple times and held

Bullish divergence in both key momentum indicators – RSI and MACD

Price followed and broke above the 50-week moving average

Price was over 40% below its 200-week moving average — something to reverse

In 2023, shares rallied back. Will this situation resolve similarly?

The risk to the downside seems worth the possible reward up to the moving average. Whether or not the stock has turned it around completely is a different story, but for now, the tide seems to be shifting. 

The Bottom Line

These three stocks offer a mix of opportunity and caution. Be sure to add these stock to your ChartLists and watch the action unfold as the companies report earnings.

In this video, Mary Ellen spotlights the areas driving market momentum following Taiwan Semiconductor’s record-breaking earnings report. She analyzes continued strength in semiconductors, utilities, industrials, and AI-driven sectors, plus highlights new leadership in robotics and innovation-focused ETFs like ARK. From there, Mary Ellen breaks down weakness in health care and housing stocks, shows how to refine trade entries using hourly charts, and compares today’s rally to past market surges. Watch as she explores setups in silver and examines individual stocks like Nvidia, BlackRock, and State Street.

This video originally premiered on July 18, 2025. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen’s videos.

New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.

Join Tom as he covers key inflation data, earnings season highlights, and sector rotation trends. He breaks down recent price action in major indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, with a close look at the 20-day moving average as a support gauge. Tom spotlights standout industry groups such as gambling, semiconductors, software, and aerospace, and shares charts of top-performing stocks like Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, and PNC. Tom highlights under-performing areas like insurance brokers and home improvement, then reviews several strong earnings reactions, including Monarch Casino’s 15% after-hours gain.

This video was published on July 17, 2025. Click this link to watch on Tom’s dedicated page.

Missed a session? Archived videos from Tom are available at this link. 

There is no denying that the broad markets remain in a resilient uptrend off the April 2025 low.  But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from many years of analyzing charts, it’s to remain vigilant during bullish phases.  Even though I’ll assume the uptrend is still intact, that doesn’t mean I can stop looking for signs of potential weakness!

With that in mind, here are three bearish candle patterns that often pop up during bullish market phases.  By looking for these patterns in the stocks and ETFs that you own, you can hopefully get ahead of any corrective moves and take profits before it’s too late!

The Shooting Star Pattern

If you see a long upper shadow, little to no lower shadow, and the open and close are close together near the bottom of the day’s range, then you have identified a shooting star candle pattern.  If you’re familiar with the hammer candle pattern, then you can think of this as a hammer candle but basically everything is upside down!

The chart of AT&T (T) has featured a number of shooting star candles so far in 2025.  Just before the selloff in early April, there was a clear shooting star candle after the March rally.  Then during the rally off the April low, a shooting star pattern in early May suggested that the uptrend phase was nearing an exhaustion point.

The Bearish Engulfing Pattern

One of the most recognizable patterns in the candlestick library, the bearish engulfing pattern represents a short-term rotation from accumulation to distribution.  Basically, a large up candle is followed by a large down candle, and the second day’s “real body” (the open-to-close range) engulfs the range of the first day’s real body.  

Look at the strength in the uptrend for Paramount Global (PARA) going into early June.  Then just before the 4th of July weekend, a bearish engulfing pattern suggests a change of character as the bears take control.  It’s worth noting that these candle patterns are not long-term signals, but rather indicate short-term dynamics.  So a bearish engulfing pattern suggests weakness for the next one to three bars.

The Evening Star Pattern

If you took the bearish engulfing pattern, and then added another small candle in the middle of those two days, then you’d have an evening star pattern.  Now most candlestick textbooks will tell you that the “star” day in the middle should include a gap, so there’s no overlap between that day’s range and the other two candles.  In practice, I’ve found most people ignore this detail and rather look for patterns with enough similarities to this basic structure.

Going back to the AT&T chart we used earlier, we can see an evening star pattern at the end of June.  A big day is followed soon after by a big down day, with a small candle in the middle.  This is a great example of where additional weakness led the price below the 50-day moving average, serving to confirm the bearish outlook as represented by the evening star pattern.

It’s so easy to become complacent during an extended bull market rally.  Investors that regularly scan for bearish candle patterns have an edge, as they can anticipate potential turning points before the uptrend changes in dramatic fashion to a new downtrend phase!

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

marketmisbehavior.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarketMisbehavior

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

One great habit to develop as an investor is regularly scanning the stock market. Whether you’re checking for stocks that are outperforming a benchmark, gapping up, reversing, or breaking out of a trading range, scanning keeps you in the loop and, importantly, helps you stay sharp and spot potential opportunities early on. 

During one of our routine scans, one stock stood out: Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI), a company in a fast-moving quantum computing space. On Wednesday, RGTI closed the day up 30%, which turned some heads. What’s behind the move? Rigetti announced significant improvements in its platform, better performance metrics, and the 36-qubit system, a technical milestone in the quantum world.  

Should You Invest in RGTI?

If you ran any of the bullish predefined scans on StockCharts, you may have noticed RGTI popping up. That alone is a good reason to take a closer look at RGTI stock’s price action.

Looking at the daily chart of RGTI, the stock had a nice ride in late 2024. However, things cooled off in early January 2025 and, since then, the stock has been trading sideways until this week. On Wednesday, RGTI gapped up with strong volume, breaking out of that sideways range.

FIGURE 1. DAILY CHART OF RGTI STOCK. Since its rise in late 2024, the stock has been trading sideways until Wednesday, when it broke out of that range. Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Back in June, RGTI bounced off its 50-day simple moving average (SMA), which is starting to slope upward—a healthy technical signal. With Wednesday’s price move, RGTI is above its May 27 and July 8 highs.

RGTI’s price isn’t too far from its all-time high, set in January. If the stock breaks above that level and has strong momentum, we could see it push to new highs. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Percentage Price Oscillator (PPO) are showing early signs of positive momentum.

On the other hand, if the stock pulls back and Wednesday’s gap up doesn’t get filled, RGTI could reverse either at the May 27 or July 8 high. A reversal with a rise in momentum would confirm an upside continuation. If RGTI falls below these levels, fills Wednesday’s gap up, and finds support at the 50-day SMA, it could go back to trading sideways, waiting for the next catalyst. A decline below the 50-day SMA would invalidate the uptrend.

A Rising Tide in Quantum Stocks?

Other stocks in the Quantum Computing space, like IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) and D-Wave Quantum, Inc. (QBTS), also saw gains on Wednesday.

Quantum computing stocks can be a bit of a roller coaster; they rallied at the end of 2024, dipped earlier this year, and are now gaining ground, thanks to encouraging news on quantum computing developments. The technology is in its early stages and could take years before it’s truly mainstream. So while these stocks are gaining attention now, the momentum may not be consistent.

If you’re a long-term investor with patience and curiosity, it may be worth adding RGTI, QBTS, ION, and others to your ChartLists. Track them regularly and watch for continued technical strength or signs of trend reversals. 

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.