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Jul 08, 2019
Healthcare ETF trending lower and gets a bearish signal

Healthcare ETF trending lower and gets a bearish signal

The healthcare sector has been lagging the nine other main sectors since the beginning of 2019. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLV) gained 9.24% from the beginning of the year through July 5 and it is the only sector SPDR that has gained less than 10%. The sector has been in the political spotlight to some degree as politicians on both sides of the aisle have been pointing at drug costs as a problem.

One particular exchange-traded fund that caught my eye was the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (Nasdaq: IBB). The fund has been trending lower since last September and there is a trend line that connects the highs from then with highs from March and April. The fund just hit the trend line last week and then turned lower.

The ETF saw its 10-day RSI and its daily stochastic readings hit overbought levels last week before turning lower. The stochastic readings just made a bearish crossover on July 5.

The Tickeron Trend Prediction Engine generated a bearish signal for the IBB on July 5 and it calls for a decline of at least 4% within the next month. The signal showed a confidence level of 75% and past predictions on the fund have been successful 85% of the time.

Related Ticker: XLV

Contributor

Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.


Momentum Indicator for XLV turns positive, indicating new upward trend

XLV saw its Momentum Indicator move above the 0 level on July 24, 2026. This is an indication that the stock could be shifting in to a new upward move. Traders may want to consider buying the stock or buying call options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 96 similar instances where the indicator turned positive. In of the 96 cases, the stock moved higher in the following days. The odds of a move higher are at .

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for XLV just turned positive on August 10, 2026. Looking at past instances where XLV's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in of 48 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLV advanced for three days, in of 328 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 261 cases where XLV Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .

Bearish Trend Analysis

The 10-day RSI Indicator for XLV moved out of overbought territory on July 29, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 34 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 34 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .

The Stochastic Oscillator has been in the overbought zone for 1 day. Expect a price pull-back in the near future.

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where XLV declined for three days, the price rose further in of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

XLV broke above its upper Bollinger Band on July 28, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), ABBVIE (NYSE:ABBV), Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH), Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG).

Industry description

The investment seeks investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Health Care Select Sector Index. In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes companies from the following industries: pharmaceuticals; health care equipment & supplies; health care providers & services; biotechnology; life sciences tools & services; and health care technology. The fund is non-diversified.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the State Street®HlthCrSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF is 102.11B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 10.05B to 1.09T. LLY holds the highest valuation in this group at 1.09T. The lowest valued company is PODD at 10.05B.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the State Street®HlthCrSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF was 3%. For the same ETF, the average monthly price growth was 4%, and the average quarterly price growth was 8%. MRNA experienced the highest price growth at 13%, while VTRS experienced the biggest fall at -9%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the State Street®HlthCrSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF was -29%. For the same stocks of the ETF, the average monthly volume growth was -4% and the average quarterly volume growth was -34%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 41
P/E Growth Rating: 44
Price Growth Rating: 34
SMR Rating: 58
Profit Risk Rating: 75
Seasonality Score: -27 (-100 ... +100)
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