With the medical sector among the market leaders, some of those stocks in Your Weekly Review are making good on recent breakouts.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) rose for the sixth straight day Thursday. The biotech company broke out of flat base June 19 and made moderate gains. It retraced those gains and found support near the 95.11 buy point of its base.
The support is encouraging, although the stock is getting extended from its buy point.
HealthSouth (HLS) broke out late in June past a 23.05 buy point. It's up 6% from that level, so it's extended. The rehab-care provider posted earnings increases of 47% and 33% the past two quarters, but its sales growth has been in decline. In the past five quarters, sales gains went from 10% to 6%.
Air Methods (AIRM), which operates an ambulance fleet of helicopters and airplanes, broke out June 28 in tremendous volume.
The thinly traded stock slid back to test its 95.05 buy point this week, but it bounced back from that level, which coincided with the 10-week moving average.
Air Method's earnings have been erratic, going from a 22% decline in Q2 of last year to a 116% surge in the first quarter. But revenue growth has been accelerating at a healthy pace: 8%, 20%, 29% and 45% the past four quarters.
Bio-Reference Labs (BRLI) made its breakout June 15 in active trading. The clinical laboratory company formed a cup-without-handle with a 24.58 buy point. Shares are extended 8% from that level after a steady ascent. Thursday's 2.5% decline was about the only sign of institutional selling since the breakout.
But Bio-Reference is another thinly traded medical stock. Profit increased 19% to 53% the past 13 quarters. Sales gains were in the 20s for most of that time.
The medical sector was No. 6 out of 33 sectors in Thursday's IBD and accounted for seven of the top 20 industry groups.
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