The Nasdaq 100 tried to break above December highs … but failed.
Earlier this week, the index came close to its Dec. 3 peak. That top preceded a slump that took the index down 15 percent for the month.
Whether the Nasdaq is in for another tumble or not, Strategic Wealth Partners’ Mark Tepper sees one stock that could weather a downturn.
“We like Salesforce,” Tepper said on CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday. “When we look at tech in general, we really like software more so than we like hardware or semis.”
Salesforce shares are up 9 percent during the past three months as of Thursday’s close, far better than the 4 percent decline on the Nasdaq 100. They were down 1.8 percent in Friday’s premarket.
“When you look at a company like Salesforce, they’ve got a lot going for them. Yes, the valuation is high, but it’s really justified,” said Tepper. “They have sticky customers. It’s very expensive to get that platform customized and off the ground, they have recurring revenues which is worth two to three times as much as one-time revenues, and I believe that their revenues are essentially recession proof.”
While Salesforce could head higher, one technician says the broader Nasdaq 100 is in for a rough stretch.
“It’s actually how scary how significant this resistance that is keeping the market down,” said TradingAnalysis.com’s Todd Gordon. “This 200-day moving average, it just seems to define this whole market. You can see we’ve come right up to test it.”
The Nasdaq 100 has not traded firmly above its 200-day moving average since October. The long-term trend line has also flatlined after a steady climb since late 2016.
“The other thing traders will look at is retracement levels. We’ve retraced roughly two-thirds or specifically 61 percent,” Gordon said. “This is a resistance level that should have held, it is holding. I’m a little nervous about that.”
Gordon pinpoints its 61 percent retracement at around 6,953. The Nasdaq 100 was less than 1 percent below that level by market close Thursday.
“I think for now, it looks like lower. Is this going to be a long-term top? I don’t think so but I think a couple days of volatility,” Gordon added.
Disclosure: Strategic Wealth Partners has a position in Salesforce.
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