Outside of energy and defense names, not many stocks are hitting 52-week highs. That’s especially true in technology.
But at least one stock has been doing it and it’s done so all week. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has been in strong demand from investors, hitting highs in four out of five sessions this week.
After doing so on Friday, the shares are taking a rest and are currently down about 2% in the session. That’s fine, as it’s been on a real heater, up in eight straight sessions and rallying more than 22% from last week’s low.
When it comes to recent eight-day winning streaks, Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) both come to mind (and we covered Apple’s chart yesterday).
As our dependence on the internet and connected devices continues to grow, cybersecurity has been a growing concern among companies. For instance, Okta (OKTA) was recently breached and left Microsoft (MSFT) exposed to some extent.
In the past, it’s been everyone from tech to retail that has felt the effect of cybercrime. With geopolitical issues heating up, cyberwarfare is now becoming a thing to worry about as well.
When it comes to Palo Alto Networks, investors are wondering two things: How high can it go and where do they buy the dip?
Trading Palo Alto Networks Stock
Chart courtesy of TrendSpider.com
We’ve seen PANW shares rally more than $100 apiece from last month's low and erupt over the prior high at around $599. With the move, it had investors wondering about the upside.
More conservative bulls can use the January range, which has an upside extension near $645. Aggressive bulls may prefer the upside extension for the current range near $655.
If we split the difference, we get roughly $650, so that may be a prime upside target to look for. Again, more conservative traders can punch out a little early, while more aggressive bulls can try and press for more gains.
But with the shares moving lower on Friday — and with tech in general under pressure — bulls are wondering when and where to buy the dip. Like the upside, there’s an answer for aggressive vs. conservative traders.
Aggressive longs can dip their toe in near $600, where Palo Alto Networks stock previously topped out. Other bulls may consider waiting for a dip down to the 10-day moving average, which should act as short-term trend support.
It would be even better if the two could align.
Otherwise, perhaps conservative traders would prefer for a dip into the prior highs near $570, along with the 21-day moving average and daily VWAP measure.
