GS

The lazy symmetry of the pattern shown in the chart lends weight to the prospect of a rally to 177.00, the pattern's Hidden Pivot midpoint.  Longs can use the resistance as a minimum upside objective and target, but also as a place to reverse polarity and go short with a tight stop-loss. I'll provide more-detailed guidance if and when the stock gets there, since we should be eager to short this flying pig whenever risk:reward is in propitious balance. ______ UPDATE (March 15):  The stock appears to have peaked at 176.34 after rallying since January from around 148.  The best opportunity to get short is past, but in theory, close monitoring of Goldman's progress as it closely approached an intermediate-term target could have gotten us short via the first subtle abc downtrend from the actual high.

Goldman squandered an opportunity to turn vicious yesterday, lunging above two "internal" peaks on the hourly chart in the opening minutes of the session, then failing to go for the gusto by taking out the "external" peak that I've labeled on the chart. What this suggests is that the next rally cycle is doomed to fail.  From a trading perspective the stock remains a long-term short, although the opportunity to do so does not appear to be perfectly ripe at the moment.

Goldman has overshot a 153.13 correction target on the daily chart, so we should assume it will fall at least to the 149.95  target of a minor extension of the pattern. The target is somewhat interesting because the relevant point 'C' (see chart) occurred in night trading above the regular-session high. I wouldn't rate the support as a high-confidence number to bottom-fish, but it's worth a shot if you can abide a penny-ante stop-loss. _______ UPDATE: The stock bottomed at 148.27, presumably shaking out any longs from 149.95.

Price action has been so lame since Thanksgiving that you could almost get to feeling sorry for the little sumbitch (if not necessarily for Goldman's officers). The long-term chart is hard to get excited about, especially if you are short the stock or perhaps intending to get short. As much could be said for the bullish case, so we'll leave the stock alone for a while.  A steep surge hitting 185 would change the picture significantly, however, and so I've set an alert there.

The short squeeze that propelled Goldman shares on the last two trading days of the year has the potential to mutate into something scary if a further $5 push over the next day or two materializes.  That would create an impulse leg on the daily chart that will have surpassed four previous peaks, three of them "externals".

The rally from a 162.11 pivot was fun while it lasted, but the stock has now relapsed and looks bound for a minimum 157.37.  This Hidden Pivot has low value for trading purposes, however, because it roughly coincides with some important lows recorded back in August. A bigger picture projects 153.13, which would be the death knell for Goldman, cracking a series of supports that took most of last summer to construct.

The 162.11 Hidden Pivot where I suggested bottom-fishing in the chat room yesterday nailed the intraday low precisely to-the-tick.  Because the subsequent bounce carried 55 cents, anyone who took the trade would have had an easy opportunity to exit with a partial profit.  If you still hold stock, I'd suggest a 162.28 stop-loss, switched to a 30-cent trailing stop when 162.85 is hit. Minimum objective:  163.10.  (FYI, here is the heads-up I gave in the chat room wth the stock selling around 162.80 and falling:  "GS looks like it will bottom -- tradably -- at 162.11. The target...looks every bit as promising as the one given in Citi." ) _____ UPDATE (2:09 p.m. EST):  The stock has traded as high as 165.19 today, so anyone who took a position overnight after having bought at the targeted low, 162.11,could have reaped gains of as much as $308 per round lot.  You're on your own now, but please note that Goldman could be signaling more upside to as high as 169.33 if it closes above a midpoint resistance at 165.72.

The stock would need to pull back to at least 166.18 to be properly rested for another bullish thrust, but we'll accept the actual low at 166.21 as sufficient. That implies a long entry at 167.16 and a 169.99 target, but it's not an ideal camouflage opportunity because of the overnight interval between the creation of 'C' and its calculated entry price 'X'. No trade is advised, but this would have been an enticing one if the expected liftoff had occurred before yesterday's close.

We should relish kicking Goldman when it's down, of course, but we should never turn our back on the little sonofabitch as long as it is still breathing. Which it is. The stock would need to print 173.64 today to earn our begrudging respect for the near term, since that would create a bullish impulse leg on the hourly chart.  It would take a bit less -- 172.11, to be exact -- to do it on the five-minute chart, so let's set an alert there to warn of a sneak attack.  Traders please note that there is a dandy look-to-the-left peak to use for a camouflage entry, but if the trade triggers, be ready to enter on a buy-stop with zero hesitation.