The indices were split again on Thursday with two moving higher and two moving lower. The Nasdaq gained 0.38% to lead the way and it was joined in positive territory by the S&P which gained 0.17%.
Both the Dow and the Russell experienced minimal losses with drops of 0.02% and 0.04%, respectively.
The sectors had a slight skew to the downside with six moving lower and only four moving higher. The energy sector took the worst hit with a drop of 1.57%. The utilities sector lost 0.55% as the second worst performer.
On the plus side the tech sector jumped 1.12% to lead the way. The healthcare sector rallied 0.20% as the second best performer.
My scans continued to produce far more bearish signals than bullish ones. The tallies from last night were 123 bearish signals and six bullish signals.
The barometer dropped to -97.8 from -71.6 and that is the lowest reading since November 20.
Even though there were far more bearish signals than bullish signals, and after three straight bearish trade ideas, I have a bullish idea for you today. The company is Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN) and it was on the bullish list last night. The fundamental ratings are good with an EPS rating of 69 and an SMR rating of a B.
Cerner has been pretty volatile over the last six months, but you can see how an upwardly sloped trend channel has formed. The stock is down near the lower rail at this time and it is oversold based on the daily stochastic indicators. The last two times the indicators were this low, the stock bounced pretty quickly.
Buy to open the March 75-strike calls on CERN at $2.80 or better. These options expire on March 19, 2021. I suggest a target gain of 100% and that means the stock will need to reach $80.60. The stock was well above that level in late January. I recommend a stop at $74.25.
— Rick Pendergraft
Magnificent 7 Wipeout: What's Next? [sponsor]The next three months could be very challenging and critically important for anyone with money in the markets. You need a big-picture plan... and you need to take specific actions starting TODAY. Don't get stuck in the "denial" trap so many fall into. 50-year Wall Street veteran Marc Chaikin recently published his full big-picture plan, which lays out – based on more than 100 years of data – exactly what you can expect in the markets this year (and in 2026, too). Click here for Marc's critical new update.