What do Incyte , KKR and Chipotle have in common? At first glance, absolutely nothing. INCY is a biotech stock, KKR is a financial/private equity firm and CMG is, of course, a popular restaurant in the consumer discretionary sector. If you haven’t heard much about these names during the market’s recent surge, it’s no surprise. All three remain below their respective 200-day moving averages, which means they’ve underperformed in recent weeks. This is especially glaring compared to large-cap growth stocks, many of which have rallied 20%, 30%, 40% from their lows. Some are even approaching new highs for the year. Conversely, these three stocks are still well off their peaks. So, if we were to run a simple relative strength screen focused only on stocks near their highs, we’d completely overlook them. That said, we can’t ignore stocks like this. If this market is going to extend meaningfully higher, participation will likely need to broaden beyond the current leaders. A hallmark of a strong uptrend is rotation — capital flowing into laggards as the front-runners become near-term overbought. And that rotation often begins with names showing clear bottoming formations, despite underperforming. Believe it or not, as of this morning, more than half of S & P 500 stocks are still trading below their 200-day moving averages. So, relying solely on trend-following screens would eliminate a lot of potentially actionable setups. We’re highlighting INCY, KKR and CMG because each has traced out a textbook bottoming pattern over the last few weeks — in particular, an inverse head and shoulders formation. KKR broke out earlier this week, a move that it now will be trying to extend. We’re still waiting for INCY and CMG to do the same. Both are close to their respective potential breakout zones. These patterns may or may not trigger, but the process remains the same: focus on identifying technically attractive setups with clear upside potential If the breakouts hold, the measured move targets on all three names would put them above their 200-day moving averages. And if that happened, it would be a meaningful development, and potentially a signal of broader participation beneath the surface. As we often say, one of the earliest signs of a long uptrend is seeing successful bullish patterns. Again, the formations don’t have to be large to be effective. Some of the smallest, cleanest bases often precede bigger formations, creating the kind of solid foundation that fuels sustainable rallies. These three stocks are just examples of the types of setups we’ll continue to look for as the market pushes higher. The goal is to stay aligned with names breaking out from clear bases — without chasing those that are already stretched. DISCLOSURES: None. All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
