Tuesday, April 11, 2006
What does a classic head and shoulders top look like?
The classic head and shoulders top looks like a human head with shoulders on either side of the head. A perfect example of the pattern has three sharp high points, created by three successive rallies in the price of the stock.
The first point - the left shoulder - occurs as the price of the stock in a rising market hits a high and then falls back. The second point - the head - happens when prices rise to an even higher high and then fall back again. The third point - the right shoulder - occurs when prices rise again but don't hit the high of the head. Prices then fall back again once they have hit the high of the right shoulder. The shoulders are definitely lower than the head and, in a classic formation, are often roughly equal to one another.
A key element of the pattern is the neckline. The neckline is formed by drawing a line connecting two low price points of the formation. The first low point occurs at the end of the left shoulder and the beginning of the uptrend to the head. The second marks the end of the head and the beginning of the upturn to the right shoulder. The neckline can be horizontal or it can slope up or down. However, as Elaine Yager, Director of Technical Analysis at Investec Ernst and Company in New York and a member of Recognia's Board of Advisors points out, a Head and Shoulders Top neckline that is sloping downwards is highly unusual and demonstrates extreme weakness,
The pattern is complete when the support provided by the neckline is "broken." This occurs when the price of the stock, falling from the high point of the right shoulder, moves below the neckline. Technical analysts will often say that the pattern is not confirmed until the price closes below the neckline - it is not enough for it to trade below the neckline.
A classic head and shoulders top has been described above. There are many variations, some of which are described here and can be just as valid as the classic formation. Other factors - including volume and the quality of the breakout - should be considered in conjunction with the pattern itself.
http://www.recognia.com/reference/patterndescr_hst.htm
The first point - the left shoulder - occurs as the price of the stock in a rising market hits a high and then falls back. The second point - the head - happens when prices rise to an even higher high and then fall back again. The third point - the right shoulder - occurs when prices rise again but don't hit the high of the head. Prices then fall back again once they have hit the high of the right shoulder. The shoulders are definitely lower than the head and, in a classic formation, are often roughly equal to one another.
A key element of the pattern is the neckline. The neckline is formed by drawing a line connecting two low price points of the formation. The first low point occurs at the end of the left shoulder and the beginning of the uptrend to the head. The second marks the end of the head and the beginning of the upturn to the right shoulder. The neckline can be horizontal or it can slope up or down. However, as Elaine Yager, Director of Technical Analysis at Investec Ernst and Company in New York and a member of Recognia's Board of Advisors points out, a Head and Shoulders Top neckline that is sloping downwards is highly unusual and demonstrates extreme weakness,
The pattern is complete when the support provided by the neckline is "broken." This occurs when the price of the stock, falling from the high point of the right shoulder, moves below the neckline. Technical analysts will often say that the pattern is not confirmed until the price closes below the neckline - it is not enough for it to trade below the neckline.
A classic head and shoulders top has been described above. There are many variations, some of which are described here and can be just as valid as the classic formation. Other factors - including volume and the quality of the breakout - should be considered in conjunction with the pattern itself.
http://www.recognia.com/reference/patterndescr_hst.htm
# posted by Cherie : 3:22 PM
