Healthy stocks that are within close striking distance of new highs are often great buy candidates for investors to keep on their watch lists, especially when the companies match favorably with all of the investment system's criteria. When a stock is more than -10% off its 52-week high, and if it has violated its 50-day moving average (DMA) line, then the outlook only gets worse and worse as it spends a greater period of time trading deeper under that important short-term average line. By the time a stock's 50 DMA line starts sloping downward it should also be acknowledged that the stock has been struggling for a long while, in which case it might be time to reduce exposure and look for places to put that money to work in stronger buy candidates.

Chart Industries Inc. (GTLS +$1.88 or +4.04% to $48.43) rallied on suspiciously light volume and has recently been consolidating above support at its 50 DMA line. The stock survived a steep pullback and test of its 50 DMA on 5/01/08 then went on to steadily advance since appearing in "yellow" in the Tuesday, April 15, 2008 edition of the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here) with a new $38.07 pivot point and a $39.97 maximum buy price. The company sports a very strong Earnings Per Share (EPS) rating of 92. It is also encouraging to see the company earn a healthy Relative Strength (RS) rating of 97. The company has managed to increase its earnings by well over the +25% guideline in each of the past four quarterly comparisons versus the year earlier, helping satisfy the "C" criteria. However, it should be noted that earnings growth has been decelerating in recent quarterly comparisons versus the year earlier periods. The number of top-rated funds owning an interest rose from 55 in Sep '07 to 89 in Jun '08, which shows increasing institutional demand (the I criteria). Concerns would be raised by any weakness leading to a close under its 50 DMA line, and deterioration under prior chart highs near $42.would trigger a more worrisome technical sell signal. Always limit losses per the 7-8% sell rule, and never hold a stock if it falls more than that from your purchase price. GTLS is currently trading above its 50 DMA line and less than -8% below its 52-week high, making it a prime candidate for an active watchlist in the event a new follow-through day emerges. Remember that market conditions (the M criteria) still argue against new buying efforts until at least one of the major averages produces a follow-through day due to the fact that 3 out of 4 growth stocks follow the direction of the major averages.

This stock has rallied nearly +70% since it was first featured on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 in the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here). The report identified a $31.47 pivot point and a $33.04 maximum buy price. A few days later, on 9/24/07 the stock gapped up and triggered a technical buy signal when it traded above its pivot point with a gain on more than +50% above average volume. During the first few days before a technical buy signal was triggered, the stock gave CANSLIM.net members ample time to do their own research and be ready to accumulate a position as soon as this high-ranked leader charged to new highs. On November 19, 2007 the stock was dropped from the CANSLIM.net Featured Stocks List (read here) as it spent the next several months building a long and deep base as the market pulled back.

Volume is a vital component of technical analysis. Prudent investors that incorporate volume into their stock analysis have often benefited several fold. Ideally, healthy stocks will more often tend to rise on higher volume and pullback on lighter volume. Volume is a great proxy for institutional sponsorship. Conversely, high volume declines can be ominous, as this usually signals distribution and further price deterioration are more likely to follow.

Chart Industries Inc. (GTLS UP $2.82 or 7.87% to $38.63) triggered a fresh technical buy signal as it vaulted above its pivot point on over double its normal volume. The healthy action helped this issue appear in "yellow" in the Tuesday, April 15, 2008 edition of the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here) with a new $38.07 pivot point and a $39.97 maximum buy price. The company sports a very strong Earnings Per Share (EPS) rating of 93. It is also encouraging to see the company earn a healthy Relative Strength (RS) rating of 97. The company has managed to increase its earnings by well over the +25% guideline in each of the past four quarterly comparisons versus the year earlier, helping satisfy the "C" criteria. The number of top-rated funds owning an interest rose from 48 in Jun '07 to 74 in Mar '08, which shows increasing institutional demand (the I criteria). Concerns would be raised by any weakness leading to a close under its prior chart highs ($35-37) negating its breakout. Always limit losses per the 7-8% sell rule, and never hold a stock if it falls more than that from your purchase price.

This stock has rallied over +22% since it was first featured on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 in the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here). The report identified a $31.47 pivot point and a $33.04 maximum buy price. A few days later, on 9/24/07 the stock gapped up and triggered a technical buy signal when it traded above its pivot point with a gain on more than +50% above average volume. During the first few days before a technical buy signal was triggered, the stock gave CANSLIM.net members ample time to do their own research and be ready to accumulate a position as soon as this high-ranked leader charged to new highs. On November 19, 2007 the stock was dropped from the CANSLIM.net Featured Stocks List (read here) as it spent the next several months building a long and deep base as the market pulled back. GTLS is currently triggering a fresh technical buy signal and enjoyed a new 52-week high close on Tuesday.

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