Bulls and Bears on the Trenches - Omnicare

Published on Monday, 28 November 2011 04:24 Written by Christian Paolinetti

New York, November 28th (TradersHuddle.com) - Shares of Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR) closed the trading day lower by $0.06 or -0.2% from its previous close. Omnicare's shares price action formed what is considered to be a doji close, where the open and close prices are very close to each other, mainly signaling an indecision between buyers and sellers.

Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR), based in Covington, Kentucky, is a leading provider of pharmaceutical care for the elderly. Omnicare serves residents in long-term care facilities, chronic care and other settings in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Omnicare is the largest U.S. provider of professional pharmacy, related consulting and data management services for skilled nursing, assisted living and other institutional healthcare providers as well as for hospice patients in homecare and other settings. Its pharmacy services also include distribution and patient assistance services for specialty pharmaceuticals. Omnicare also offers clinical research services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in 31 countries worldwide.

Omnicare's current stock range is defined by a trough, which marks calculated support at $29.16 and by a peak that marked the resistance point at $31.38. These levels are closely watched by traders managing their positions.

Traders wanting to establish a position in Omnicare or traders that are already holding the stock can use the doji close to their advantage, since the pattern present a short term pause in the stock's price action. This pause results in an entry point for traders depending of which way the stock resolves this short term indecision.

Doji are important candlesticks that provide information on their own and as components in a number of important patterns. Doji form when a security's open and close are virtually equal. The length of the upper and lower shadows can vary and the resulting candlestick looks like a cross, inverted cross or plus sign. Alone, doji are neutral patterns.

Any bullish or bearish bias is based on preceding price action and future confirmation. In the case of Omnicare, given that the stock finished the session lower, bears should monitor the stock, as it could reverse if it manages to trade above today's intraday high. Below a Doji illustration: