Is Altria Reversing?

Published on Saturday, 21 January 2012 15:45 Written by Danny Miller

New York, January 21st (TradersHuddle.com) - Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) closed the trading day higher by $0.09 or 0.31% from its previous close. Altria'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.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO), its a holding company, parent of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, and US Smokeless Tobacco Company. Altria, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, and other tobacco products in the United States and internationally. It primarily offers cigarettes under the Marlboro, Virginia Slims, and Parliament brands; smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco.

Altria's current stock range is defined by a trough, which marks calculated support at $28.25 and by a peak that marked the resistance point at $30.40. These levels are closely watched by traders managing their positions.

Traders wanting to establish a position in Altria 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 Altria, given that the stock finished the session higher, bulls should monitor their positions for confirmation that stock will continue higher by taking today's intraday high. Below a Doji illustration: