MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP is setting up nicely for a breakout.

Our stock screener has spotted MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP (NYSE:MPC) as a possible breakout candidate. A technical breakout setup pattern occurs when the stock is consolidating after a nice uptrend. Whether the actual breakout occurs remains to be seen of course, but it may be interesting to keep an eye on NYSE:MPC.

Technical Analysis Observations

ChartMill assigns a Technical Rating to every stock. This score ranges from 0 to 10 and is updated daily. The score is determined by evaluating multiple technical indicators and properties.

Overall MPC gets a technical rating of 7 out of 10. In the last year, MPC was one of the better performers, but we do observe some doubts in the very recent evolution.

• The short term is neutral, but the long term trend is still positive. Not much to worry about for now.
• Looking at the yearly performance, MPC did better than 96% of all other stocks. We also observe that the gains produced by MPC over the past year are nicely spread over this period.
• MPC is part of the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. There are 380 other stocks in this industry. MPC outperforms 92% of them.
• MPC is currently trading in the upper part of its 52 week range. The market is still in the middle of its 52 week range, so MPC slightly outperforms the market at the moment.
• In the last month MPC has a been trading in the 119.46 - 134.13 range, which is quite wide. It is currently trading in the middle of this range, so some resistance may be found above.
• Volume is considerably higher in the last couple of days.

Why is NYSE:MPC a setup?

Next to the Technical Rating, the Setup Rating of a stock determines to which extend the stock is consolidating. This score also ranges from 0 to 10 and is updated daily. The setup score evaluates various short term technical indicators. For NYSE:MPC this score is currently 8:

MPC has an excellent technical rating and also presents a decent setup pattern. We see reduced volatility while prices have been consolidating in the most recent period. There is a support zone below the current price at 123.4, a Stop Loss order could be placed below this zone.

Trading breakout setups.

A breakout could materialize when the stock breaks out to new highs above the current consolidation zone. One could wait for this to happen and buy when this happens. A stop loss could be placed below the consolidation zone.

This article should in no way be interpreted as trading advice. You should always make your own analysis and trade or not trade based on your own observations and style. The article is based purely on some technical observations.

More breakout setups can be found in our Breakout analyzer.