5 Biotech Stocks Poised for Breakouts

Cerus

Another stock trading within range of a near-term breakout trade is Cerus (CERS), a biomedical products company focused on commercializing the Intercept Blood System to enhance blood safety. This stock is off to a decent start in 2012, with shares up over 20%.

If you look at the chart for Cerus, you'll see that this stock has been uptrending strong since the start of August, with shares trending higher from a low of $3 to its recent high of $3.61 a share. During that uptrend, shares of CERS have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has also pushed CERS within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CERS if it can manage to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.54 to $3.60, and then $3.78 to $3.82 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 286,831 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then CERS will have a great chance to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.06 to $4.53 a share.

You could look to buy CERS off weakness and simply use a stop that sits just below its 50-day moving average of $3.26 a share. Or one could buy off strength once CERS starts to take $3.54 to $3.82 with volume, and simply use a stop just below its 200-day moving average of $3.39 a share.

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