One way investors look for signs that a stock is recovering is by looking at its moving average (MA). And when we see a crossover of the 50-day MA climbing above the 200-day MA, it’s known as a “golden cross” and is a very bullish indicator. It’s important because it shows that a stock that has been underperforming for a period of time is now showing signs that it is getting stronger, with a shorter-term price trend rising above a longer-term price.
Below are two stocks that have recently seen this crossover happen and that could be great buys today.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) stock made the crossover at the beginning of April when it closed at just under $74. It would go on to rise to well over $75 by the end of last week, but it still has a lot more room to run.
Since reaching a high of $80 last year, TD’s stock went on a steep decline along with the markets, where it would fall to as low as $65. As there was no good reason for the stock to drop in price, it makes perfect sense that TD’s share price has recovered. After all, it’s not any worse of a buy than it was back in September and it wasn’t overpriced either. TD is still one of the top bank stocks in the country and makes for a great long-term investment.
For the 50-day MA to climb above the 200-day MA is really nothing more than confirmation that the stock has stabilized and that the share price is on the way up again. Although value investors are unconcerned by this since the fundamentals have remained strong, the bullish movement could bring more investors on board to help push the price even higher. TD is still an undervalued stock at its current price and has a lot more upside.
Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE)(NYSE:CVE) is another stock that’s been on the rise this year. Cenovus started the year trading below $10 a share and last week finished at $13.50, which is the highest it has closed at since July of last year. Cenovus saw its 50-day MA rise above its 200-day MA just last week; it could be just what the stock needs to get out of the range it has been stuck in over the past year.
We’ve seen the share price run into resistance at around $14 a share, but with this strong sign from the markets that investors have become more bullish, it might be what Cenovus needs to continue to rise in price. With oil prices also showing strength lately and Alberta having a more oil-and-gas-friendly government in place, there are some very good reasons to be optimistic about Cenovus, as it could have a strong year in 2019. Even with the recent increase in price, the stock is still trading below its book value.
Fool contributor David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.
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