To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (7758 ) 4/7/2010 3:19:46 PM From: Jacob Snyder Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 16955 Solar chart patterns:stockcharts.com TAN (solar ETF), after plunging to $4.65 in March 2009, has been in a horizontal range of around $8-$11.50 since May 2009. For traders: A simple trading strategy: buy at $8, sell at $11.5, repeat. Continue this, until the pattern changes. For investors: Barring another "exogenous shock" like 9/11 or the Lehman bankruptcy, it is unlikely we will see the market, or TAN, go down to the levels seen in late 2008 to early 2009. That was a once-a-decade event. Uncertainty about demand in 2H2010 and 2011 is holding back FAN from a breakout above $11.5, and probably will continue to do so, until companies start giving firm guidance about 2011. On the other hand, we could break below that $8 support level (looked like that might happen in February), if overcapacity, rising inventories, and falling module prices (more than is already expected) develops. Within the sector, there is a huge divergence in chart patterns. TSL has the best chart, the other Chinese companies look OK, while FSLR, SPWRA, and the non-Chinese producers have weak chart patterns. FSLR:stockcharts.com On the log chart, there is a straight down-sloping line, from the 2008 peak to today's price, defining where every rally has failed. The stock is also approaching the 200-day moving average ($133). Since Sept. 2008, every rally above that 200dma has failed. On the other hand, there is a horizontal line at about $100, where the stock found support in late 2008, early 2009, and again in February 2010. That downward-sloping line, and the 100$ support line, will meet later this year. I'm going to wait and watch and do nothing (always my most profitable activity), and see which of those two patterns holds, and which fails.stockcharts.com Some stocks, like SPWRA, rebounded from their late-2008/early-2009 lows, but then gave it all back, and have gone on to set new lows in 2010. These stocks have no support anywhere. They may look underpriced, they may look like a "value stock", but they are the most likely to just keep going down (all the way to zero, in some cases), while the stronger stocks in the sector bounce at support lines. TSL:stockcharts.com What a roller-coaster ride. Zoomed up to $37 in 2007, then plunged to below its IPO price, zoomed back up to $31 in January 2010. Has been above its 200-day moving average, continuously since May 2009. TSL is about the only solar stock where most investors who bought at any time since the IPO, and still hold the stock, have made money. There is an interesting pattern: after setting their recession lows, the high since then has happened earliest for the weakest stocks, and latest for the stronger stocks.