The 80-day moving average has been bullish for the stock in the past
UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) has been consolidating on the charts for most of the past four months, though last month managing to stage a breakout that had it hitting an Aug. 20 record high of $431.35. Today, UNH is down 0.4% to trade at $410.51 at last check, though there is reason to believe the stock will soon add to its 17% year-to-date gains.
For one, the equity just came within one standard deviation of its 80-day moving average, after spending several months above it. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, 11 similar signals have occurred in the past three years. UnitedHealth stock enjoyed a positive return one month later in 70% of those cases, averaging a 1.1% gain.
An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could provide tailwinds as well. UNH's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.89 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than all other readings in its annual range. In other words, puts have been picked up at their fastest rate all year during this time. The top two most active positions by far over the past two weeks were the weekly 9/10 430 call and 430 put.