4 Charts For Navigating Murky Markets

With the market's direction murky, stock selection becomes increasingly important. Here are four stocks to watch, two on the long side and two short.

Calithera Biosciences, Inc. CALA closed up $1.85, or nearly 12%, at $17.60 on 1.5 million shares traded Wednesday. Price broke out of a consolidation starting on Monday, tagged $17.90, and then closed at $17.60. The stock is among the top-gaining biotechs of 2017 so far, up over 300% since January 1, aided by news of clinical partnerships with Incyte and Bristol-Myers Squibb for the company's cancer drugs. Given the present strong upward momentum, price could reach $21 and may travel up into the mid $20s.

It was a strong day for Hudson Technologies Inc. HDSN on Wednesday. Price popped 31 cents, or 3.6%, to $8.88, on 1.1 million shares traded. That is the highest this stock has closed in 20 years. Price has been on the move up since the refrigerant services company announced on June 26 that it had been added to the Russell 3000 and Russell 2000 Indices. It has been up three days in a row now on heavy volume, with huge monthly volume observable across the past year. The stock is up at resistance, but could move into the $11-$12 area if it clears that level.

On the short side, Ebix, Inc. EBIX lost 80 cents, closing at $53.70 on 302,175 shares traded Wednesday. The software stock plummeted immediately following the company's earnings announcement on May 9. Since then it has lost 15% of its value, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has been revised 3.7% downward in the past month. Price is dropping out of its current bear wedge pattern. If it closes below the $52.40 support level, the stock may drop into the $50-$49.50 zone, and possibly down into the mid $40s after that.

Inphi Corporation IPHI actually gained 31 cents to $34.18, on 941,009 shares traded on Wednesday. But the chart doesn't look promising. The semiconductor stock had a sharp decline at earnings on May 2 when the company announced a poor outlook for 2Q. Price did snap back up, but it formed a bear wedge and now it’s coming down again and consolidating. If price breaks down below $33, it could drop to $30 and then $27.

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Harry Boxer is founder of TheTechTrader.com, a live trading room featuring his stock picks, technical market analysis, and live chart presentations.