Technical Setups: Research In Motion, Synovus

These stocks, including Research In Motion, that could be staging a technical move soon.
By Jonas Elmerraji ,

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BALTIMORE (

Stockpickr

) -- The broad market indexes put more distance between their current levels and their open prices yesterday, extending the market's rally into April's first full week. All told, the

S&P 500

has made investors nearly 12% since early February -- a sizable gain that could continue expanding now that the market has made it past key resistance levels. To take advantage of the best gain potential on the market right now, it's time once again to take a look at this week's technical set-ups.

Technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's chart patterns and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution.

Let's face it, though -- sometimes investors don't know where to start. That's why, every week, Stockpickr takes a look at stocks that could be staging a technical move soon and compiles a portfolio of promising

Technical Setups

.

Here's a look at this week's potential trades.

While iPhone maker

Apple

(AAPL) - Get Report

has been making the headlines this week with the introduction of the iPad on Saturday, investors should be well aware of what's going on with

Research in Motion

(RIMM)

, the Blackberry maker, right now. With a breakdown below support behind shares of this phone stock, short-side traders could be in for significant upside right now.

The reason for RIMM's drop was the poor reception that Wall Street gave the company's fourth-quarter 2010 earnings last week. With competition in the smartphone market fiercer than ever right now, the company's transition from a focus on the corporate market to the faster-paced consumer handset market is impacting top-line numbers.

Research in Motion had been on a sustained uptrend but broke below uptrending support as well at the 50 and 200-day moving averages yesterday. Expect shares to move lower with a bounce off of the moving averages. This stock's current downside price target is $60 right now.

On the other end of the spectrum is

Synovus Financial

(SNV) - Get Report

, a Georgia-based regional bank. An ascending triangle pattern in this stock could make for higher ground in April for shareholders, but we'll need to see a break past $3.80 resistance before that happens.

Unlike many of its high-margin regional banking peers, Synovus has suffered sizable losses since 2008's mortgage crisis sent financial stocks into a tailspin. Much of those losses have come at the hands of an investment portfolio deeply seeded in commercial real estate, but with rebounding financials nationwide, the company should be able to leverage some of its connections to fuel more profitable product lines in 2010.

In the short term, however, the thing to watch is the ascending triangle pattern that's currently forming in the stock. With a current resistance level at $3.80, a break above that level signals a strong buy signal for shares of Synovus. Like any ascending triangle, though, wait for a second consecutive open above that level before thinking about going long this stock.

Shares of for-profit education company

Apollo Group

(APOL)

got slammed in late October following the company's announcement that the SEC was beginning an informal probe into its revenue recognition practices. But since then, the company, which enjoys double-digit net margins, has rebounded, squeezing up against current resistance around $64 and prompting traders to take a second look.

For-profit education was a strong macroeconomic trend during the worst of the recession, as Americans sought to set themselves apart in the job market with degree programs. And it continues to thrive today - particularly because a relatively small portion of the company's revenues come from student loans.

Expect a squeeze above $64 resistance to push shares up to their next resistance level at $76. As with Synovus, wait for a second consecutive close above resistance before going long.

To see these plays in action, check out the promising

Technical Setups for the Week portfolio

on Stockpickr.

RELATED LINKS:

>>This Week's Rocket Stocks

>>Dividend-Boosting Stocks

>>Technical Analysis Forum

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Jonas Elmerraji is the editor and portfolio manager of the

Rhino Stock Report

, a free investment advisory that returned 15% in 2008. He is a contributor to numerous financial outlets, including

Forbes

and

Investopedia

, and has been featured in

Investor's Business Daily

, in

Consumer's Digest

and on

MSNBC.com

.

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