Savvy stock investors often look for bargains using the Relative Strength Index (RSI). This technical tool evaluates a stock's performance over the last 14 days and assigns a value from 0 to 100. Compared to many other technical indicators out there, the RSI is easy to read: anything above 70 suggests a stock may be overbought, while one below 30 indicates oversold conditions. The more extreme the reading, the stronger the underlying conviction.
The past week has seen a strong rebound across equities. After a little wobble during the first half, investors were getting nervous. This uptick, reflecting a revived risk-on sentiment in the face of stubborn inflation readings, is drawing investors back.
But not all stocks are rallying -- at least not yet. The sudden divergence has made it particularly clear that some laggards, those with ultra-low RSI readings, might just be too good to ignore. Let's take a look at three such companies.
1. CVS Health Corporation
As a big and bulky defensive stock, shares of healthcare titan CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) will never have the agility or speed that their peers in the tech space do. Because shares had been trending down through much of April, their earnings-inspired 20% plunge last week was unexpected.
The stock's biggest one-day drop for more than a decade came about after the company reported dismal earnings that missed analyst expectations across the board. It didn't help that management's forward guidance for the year ahead was cut in the face of rising medical costs.
However, with an RSI that dropped as low as 13 at one point in the past week, there's a case to be made that this initial drop is way overextended. With CVS shares continuing to consolidate above last week's low and the RSI starting to rise, it's starting to feel like the bears might be running out of steam. This might not be a stock to be backing for the long term, at least not yet, but we could be looking at a near-term bounce back from the depths.
2. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Another stock that will never light investors' imaginations on fire, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) shares touched off multi-year lows last week. The pharmaceutical manufacturer has been trending down since 2022's all-time high, but the most recent leg down took it into way oversold territory.
Like with CVS, Bristol-Myers shares continue to consolidate above last week's low, with a solid up day on Thursday boding well for the coming weeks. The stock's RSI has already moved up from 22 to the low 30s, and while it's technically out of oversold territory, that doesn't take away from its bounce potential.
Investors should watch for shares to hold onto yesterday's gains going into the weekend, with an open above $45 likely the precursor to a strong bounce in a northerly direction.
3. TripAdvisor, Inc.
Travel service company TripAdvisor, Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP) saw its shares rally all through the end of 2023 and through much of March as well. But a 35% plunge over the past few days turned what was a promising start to the year into a nightmare. Making the drop an even more bitter pill for investors to swallow, TripAdvisor managed to beat expectations for its Q1 earnings on Wednesday. As is often the case, the devil was in the details, and the lack of any progress on a potential sale of the business was enough to send investors running for the exit.
But with an RSI that's currently just above 16 and a stock that's well off its low from Wednesday, there's some serious bounce potential at play here. To be sure, TripAdvisor is not without its risks, and it has arguably the most volatile short-term prospects of the three stocks listed here but arguably the greatest reward.
Just yesterday, Goldman Sachs reiterated their Buy rating and gave shares a fresh price target of $27. From the $17 they were trading at on Friday morning, that's pointing to more than 50% in potential upside.
