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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.


XLV in -2.84% downward trend, sliding for three consecutive days on September 09, 2026

Moving lower for three straight days is viewed as a bearish sign. Keep an eye on this stock for future declines. Considering data from situations where XLV declined for three days, in of 302 cases, the price declined further within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bearish Trend Analysis

The 10-day RSI Indicator for XLV moved out of overbought territory on August 26, 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 36 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In of the 36 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at .

The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on September 04, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on XLV as a result. In of 96 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are .

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for XLV turned negative on August 28, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 48 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In of the 48 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at .

Bullish Trend Analysis

The Stochastic Oscillator is in the oversold zone. Keep an eye out for a move up in the foreseeable future.

Following a 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where XLV advanced for three days, in of 324 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are .

XLV may jump back above the lower band and head toward the middle band. Traders may consider buying the stock or exploring call options.

The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In of 267 cases where XLV Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are .

Notable companies

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

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 100.71B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 9.57B to 1T. LLY holds the highest valuation in this group at 1T. The lowest valued company is PODD at 9.57B.

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 126%, and the average quarterly price growth was 160%. UHS experienced the highest price growth at 5%, while SYK experienced the biggest fall at -12%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the State Street®HlthCrSelSectSPDR®ETF ETF was -6%. For the same stocks of the ETF, the average monthly volume growth was -16% and the average quarterly volume growth was -15%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

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

Valuation Rating: 38
P/E Growth Rating: 44
Price Growth Rating: 39
SMR Rating: 59
Profit Risk Rating: 76
Seasonality Score: -25 (-100 ... +100)
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Healthcare ETF trending lower and gets a bearish signal