AbbVie, Cigna and Other Health Care Stocks With Recent Golden Crosses

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 30, 1:03PM EST · Published Nov 18, 7:45AM EST

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AbbVie, Cigna and Other Health Care Stocks With Recent Golden Crosses — © NanoStockk / Getty Images

Golden crosses and death crosses are common signals in technical analysis and refer to the relationship between short-term and long-term moving averages. The golden cross typically is seen as a bullish sign, perhaps a stock that has broken out or is about to. The death cross, on the other hand, can be a bearish sign, perhaps warning investors to get out of the way or signaling that it may be time short the stock.

Here are five health-care-related stocks that recently saw their 50-day moving average cross above the 200-day average, a golden cross.

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AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV | ABBV Price Prediction) saw its golden cross about a week ago, the first in more than two years. This remains a popular baby boomer retirement stock pick. Shares climbed about 16% in the past month, though they are trading in the same neighborhood as at the beginning of the year. Analysts on average recommend buying shares.

Agile Therapeutics Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AGRX) short-term moving average crossed above the long-term one last week, reversing the death cross seen in late September. The stock surged after a positive FDA reaction to the company’s Twirla contraceptive patch. Despite pulling back some late last week, the shares are still up more than 25% in the past month, while the S&P 500 has gained less than 5% in that time. Analysts overall recommend buying shares.

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The rise in the Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE: CAH) short-term moving average began in earnest in mid-October, and the gap between the two moving averages is up to almost 3% of the share price. Earlier this month, Cardinal Health agreed to pay more than $5 million related to opioid crisis claims. Shares are up about 9% from this time a month ago. Still, the consensus recommendation is to hold shares and has been for months.

Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) saw a golden cross last week as well. The long-term average dropped below the other back in February. The stock has seen some analysts raise their price targets recently, and it is a top Merrill Lynch pick for 2020. Shares are currently up more than 17% in the past 30 days, and most of the analysts surveyed recommend buying shares.

Immunomedics Inc.’s (NASDAQ: IMMU) golden cross happened earlier this month, and the difference in the two averages is up to about 46 cents, or more than 2% of the share price, so far. The company posted a larger than expected third-quarter net loss late last month. Yet, its shares are up more than 13% in the past month and about 17% year to date. The consensus recommendation (of only three analysts) is to buy the shares.
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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.