Thursday, June 25, 2009

Stock Chart Pattern - Gayatri Projects Ltd

The stock chart pattern of Gayatri Projects Ltd has several interesting formations. But before I start discussing them, questions may arise. Why discuss Gayatri Projects? Why not IVRCL or Punj Lloyd?

Good questions. The short and simple answer? Cash flows from operations. Most of the construction and infrastructure companies generated more hype than cash. During the boom period between 2004 to 2008, IVRCL and Punj Lloyd had bloated order books but negative cash flows from operations.

Gayatri Projects created far less hype but not only booked good orders, they executed them and collected payments. It helped them to generate decent cash flows from operations. Taxes and dividends came out of this cash. The current downturn has dented their margins - but they are unlikely to go around with a begging bowl.

At the height of the bull market in Jan '08, this Rs 10 face value stock almost hit the Rs 700 mark. The dramatic drop all the way to Rs 40 in Mar '09 was way overdone. Let us look at the 6 months bar chart pattern of Gayatri Projects Ltd to see what happened:-

Gayatri Proj_Jun2509

Making a 'V' shaped bottom, the stock quickly ran up past the Rs 90 mark and then entered a bullish saucer-shaped consolidation pattern. The breakout from the pattern was stunning. 11 straight upper circuits took the stock past the Rs 160 mark!

After almost hitting Rs 200 - a 5-bagger within the space of less than 3 months - the stock reversed from a strong resistance zone, and has entered a downward sloping channel. In spite of the sharp run-up, the stock has barely retraced 25% of the massive fall from the Jan '08 top.

During the ongoing correction, the volumes on up days have been much stronger than those on down days. The OBV indicator is reflecting this accumulation by smart investors.

The RSI has moved down sharply from heavily overbought territory and is about to enter the oversold zone. The MACD is still positive but below its signal line. Both are moving downwards.

The slow stochastic reacted from the overbought zone, corrected briefly around the 50% mark and has once again resumed its downward journey towards the oversold region.

Today's trade has taken the stock below the 20 day EMA. This is short-term bearish. The technical indicators are hinting at a further correction to the Rs 140 level where the 50 day EMA may provide support. A breach of the 50 day EMA could set the next target at Rs 120 - which would be a 50% retracement of the recent rise.

Reaching the all-time high any time soon may be a tall order. After the correction runs its course, the stock may hit upside targets of Rs 225/250/320 before facing major resistance. That means a possible 50-100% rise from the current level.

Bottomline? Existing holders of IVRCL or Punj Lloyd may think about switching to this hidden gem. The stock chart pattern of Gayatri projects is encouraging enough for even new investors to get their feet wet in the infrastructure sector. But please do not forget to maintain stop-losses.

PS You can read more about Gayatri Projects at Rajeev's blog.

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How to Select Stocks within Infrastructure Sector

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