Papa John’s, Southwest Air and Other Service Providers With Recent Golden Crosses

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 30, 3:39PM EST · Published Sep 19, 7:55AM EDT

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Papa John’s, Southwest Air and Other Service Providers With Recent Golden Crosses — © Jeramey Lende / Shutterstock.com

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 stocks of popular consumer services providers that recently saw their 50-day moving average cross above the 200-day average, a golden cross.

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Gannett Co Inc. (NYSE: GCI) saw its golden cross about a week ago, reversing a death cross seen back in May. The company fended off a takeover attempt earlier this year. The stock has climbed more than 4% in the past month, though it is trading in the same neighborhood as six months ago. Analysts on average recommend holding shares.

Papa John’s International Inc.’s (NASDAQ: PZZA) short-term moving average crossed above the long-term one this week, which has happened two other times in the past year. The company appears to have put its scandals in the rearview mirror. Its shares have popped more than 20% in the past month, while the S&P 500 has gained less than 3%. Analysts overall recommend buying shares, although that sentiment has weakened a bit this summer.

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The rise in the Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: SIX) short-term moving average came despite shares retreating recently, even after a series of analyst upgrades this summer. Since last week’s golden cross, the gap between the averages is only up to less than 1% of the share price. The shares have retreated more than 5% from this time a month ago. Still, the consensus recommendation is to buy shares and has been for months.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV | LUV Price Prediction) saw a golden cross this week as well. It is the first time the long-term average has dropped below the other since the beginning of the year. Warren Buffett still favors Southwest and other airline stocks, though its shares have been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride this year. They are currently up marginally from 90 days ago, and most of the analysts surveyed recommend buying shares.

Weight Watchers International Inc.’s (NASDAQ: WW) golden cross happened last week, and the difference in the two averages is up to more than a dollar, or 3% of the share price, so far. The company posted mixed quarterly results last month. Its shares are up about 20% in the past month, yet still more than 9% lower year to date. The consensus analyst recommendation is to sell 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.