NYSE:VLO may be ready to breakout.

Our stock screener has spotted VALERO ENERGY CORP (NYSE:VLO) 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:VLO.

Technical analysis of NYSE:VLO

ChartMill assigns a proprietary Technical Rating to each stock. The score is computed daily by evaluating various technical indicators and properties. The score ranges from 0 to 10.

Overall VLO gets a technical rating of 7 out of 10. This is due to a consistent performance in both the short and longer term time frames. Also compared to the overall market, VLO is showing a nice and steady performance.

• Both the short term and long term trends are positive. This is a very positive sign.
• When comparing the yearly performance of all stocks, we notice that VLO is one of the better performing stocks in the market, outperforming 96% of all stocks.
• In the last month VLO has a been trading in the 96.93 - 115.60 range, which is quite wide. It is currently trading near the high of this range.
• VLO is part of the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. There are 389 other stocks in this industry, VLO did better than 67% of them.
• VLO is currently trading in the middle of its 52 week range. This is in line with the S&P500 Index, which is also trading in the middle of its range.

How do we evaluate the setup for NYSE:VLO?

Besides the Technical Rating, ChartMill also assign a Setup Rating to every stock. This setup score also ranges from 0 to 10 and determines to which extend the stock is consolidating. This is achieved by evaluating multiple short term technical indicators. NYSE:VLO currently has a 8 as setup rating:

VLO 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 resistance zone just above the current price starting at 113.0. Right above this resistance zone may be a good entry point. There is a support zone below the current price at 108.98, a Stop Loss order could be placed below this zone.

Trading setups like NYSE:VLO

For a potential trade one would typically wait until the stock breaks out of the consolidation zone to enter the stock and it could be sold again for a loss when it would fall back below the zone.

Of course, there are many ways to trade or not trade NYSE:VLO and this article should in no way be interpreted as trading advice. The article is purely based on an automated technical analysis and just points out the technical observations. Always make your own analysis and trade at your own responsibility.

Every day, new breakout setups can be found on ChartMill in our Breakout analyzer.