San Diego, CA 9/9/2009 12:48:47 AM
News / Business

Technical Outlook: SVA, MESA, EDAP, MTXX

Charts of Matrixx Initiatives, Mesa Air Group, EDAP TMS S.A., and Sinovac Biotech are worth a closer analysis.

We all know about the recent news Mesa Air Group Inc. (MESA), Matrixx Initiatives Inc. (MTXX), EDAP TMS S.A. (EDAP), and Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SVA). What are the charts telling us though? Here's a closer look at the clues each stock had dropped regarding where each stock may be headed next.

There was never any real doubt that Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (
SVA) was leading the race when it came to creating a swine flu vaccine (though efficacy wasn't part of the discussion). That's largely why SVA has had such a strong run from $4.50 to a peak above $12.00 over the last couple of weeks, with the peak coming the day after - September 1st - China approved the Sinovac Biotech vaccine for use in that country.

Since then, it's been nothing but downhill for the stock.



As overextended as it was, in addition to there being no real news left in the pipeline to pump the stock's price up any further, we view SVA shares as a downside opportunity - a textbook case of 'buy the rumor, sell the news'. There are two possible target prices.... a 38.2% retracement at $8.20, and a more likely 61.8% retracement to $5.46.

After June's implosion from $19.24 to $5.78, Matrixx Initiatives Inc. (
MTXX) didn't budge from the $5-ish area for weeks. And, it still hasn't.  However, there's still something compelling about the Matrixx Initiatives chart.

Now we can see there' a very tight trading range between $5.59 and $6.87; if and when those boundaries break, the move should be explosive from MTXX.

Just as important, it's worth noting the odds favor an upside breakout move. Why? We've seen multiple strong accumulation days of Matrixx Initiatives shares while the stock has been range-bound. Between an excessive beating two months ago and the fact that investors are now going fishing, MTXX should be on your breakout watchlists.

Mesa Air Group Inc. (
MESA) shares have made a couple of nice runs since hitting a bottom in February, though both of those rallies have been met with more than modest selling. The net result has been the creation of a bullish trading zone (framed on our chart).



Based on these support and resistance lines, Mesa Air Group shares are likely headed for the 16 cent area, though the precise landing spot will depend on how quickly the selling materializes for MESA. Either way, once the lower edge of the range is hit, a rebound is expected again.

And finally, EDAP TMS S.A. (
EDAP) has become of great interest to us following its late-August pop from $1.37 to $4.20. It's not a bullish interest though, as EDAP hasn't managed to make a close above that one-day wonder move's closing price of $4.20 from August 19th. That lack of follow-through is more suggestive of weakness rather than strength ahead.

The key to EDAP TMS S.A. chart's future is the wedge shape we've seen established since the big jump. The highs have been getting lower, and the lows have been getting higher, and now - with EDAP at the very tip of the pennant shape - the stock's at the point where one of those trends will have to change. Whichever line snaps first, that's the direction of the higher-odds trade.

If you'd like to know when or if we issue trading alerts specifically for MESA, EDAP, MTXX, or SVA, then be sure to subscribe to our free e-newsletter. It's delivered two to three times per week.