As I wade through the many chart set-ups, I see plenty of patterns that make me scratch my head. But that's not the case with Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO).
I think it's meaningful that KO exhibits an 8-month, rounded-base formation, is considered a defensive name and pays a dividend that yields 3.4% within a market that remains extremely selective in the names it takes higher (take for instance, the crowded big technology names like AAPL, AMZN, FB and GOOG.
Earlier this week, KO popped above multi-month resistance at 43, then ran to 43.78 and has since returned to its breakout plateau. And that's where new buyers should act if the intermediate-term, technical set-up means that KO is under accumulation for a run at 45.
That said, earnings are due on April 25 and will likely will be the next directional catalyst.
Based on the intermediate-term, technical set-up, I expect a positive reaction to the earnings, but I'm not suggesting anyone enter ahead of next Tuesday's earnings.
