Why now is a good time to bet on Northrop Grumman stock's bounce
The shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) have recently pulled back to a historically bullish trendline, after struggling with overhead pressure at the $550 region since November. That level of resistance emerged after the security notched an Oct. 28, all-time high of $556.27, which helped shares to a 24.3% year-over-year gain. Last seen up 1% to trade at $500.24, shares are still far off from that peak, meaning now could be an opportune time to bet on the stock's bounce.
The trendline that could fuel a move up the charts is the stock's 160-day moving average. According to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's most recent study, NOC saw five similar signals over the past three years, and was higher one month later 80% of the time, averaging a 7.3% jump. A similar move would place the equity back above $536.
Additional tailwinds could come from a sentiment shift the options pits. The equity's 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 86% of readings from the past 12 months. This means long puts have been getting picked up at a much faster-than-usual clip lately.