By Doug Busch
A handful of our former stock ideas are back on the radar, creating buying opportunities. These stocks have broken out and are defending key technical levels as they retest former launch points. In each case, price action suggests buyers are stepping back in as selling pressure eases. If these patterns hold, the door opens for another advance. Let's look at three standouts that are featured in this week's column.
-- Sphere Entertainment was addressed by Andrew Bary in May. -- Vail Resorts was covered by Dan Victor in July. -- QXO was analyzed by Paul La Monica in August.
This is a weekly column. Read last week's edition here.
Sphere Entertainment
The entertainment and media leader is enjoying a strong 2025, up 117% year to date. That trounces the 20% return of one benchmark, the Communication Services Select SPDR Fund. From the early April lows, Sphere has jumped 266%. Gains have accelerated since the stock took out a triple top at the very round $50 number during the week ending Sept. 12. That week it jumped 19% in the best weekly volume in the last two years.
Leading stocks offer additional buy points on the way up. Sphere broke above a long cup with handle pivot of $47.58 on Sept. 3, rising more than 5% on more than double average daily volume. Following that, a bull flag took shape breaking above the round $70 number. This should see the stock touch $103 into the late first quarter which would represent an advance of 18% from today's prices. Look to enter on a pullback into the rising 21-day exponential moving average at $84, where the stock is likely to see some light weakness following the doji candles recorded last week. Remain bullish above $76.
Sphere Entertainment was trading around $87 Wednesday.
Vail Resorts, a ski resort operator, is having a rough 2025, down 16%. But it is coming to life with an advance of 13% over the last month, showing good relative strength as it has doubled the gain of the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund. It still has some work to do against the ETF as seen with the underperformance on the ratio chart.
Looking at the weekly chart, there is good reason for optimism. Notice how last week screamed higher by 12%, reclaiming the 50-week simple moving average for the first time in over one year, and it was accompanied by the strongest weekly volume in at least five years. That long term secular line provided stiff resistance as seen with two bearish evening stars in July and August. The current three week win streak, which has seen gains of 22%, started with a bullish morning star pattern. Look for the stock to travel toward the very round $200 number by mid 2026, which would be a rise of 29% from current prices. Remain bullish above $147.
Vail Resorts was trading around $155 Wednesday.
QXO, a distributor of building products, is 34% higher year to date. That is almost entirely because of the last month where it gained 25%. Last week completed a three-week win streak, its first in six months, starting with double digit weekly advances during the last week of November and first week of December.
The daily chart for the last six months demonstrates how candlesticks have played a vital role. The stock is higher in 12 of the last 17 sessions, dating to a bullish engulfing candle on Nov. 21. Just three days prior a doji candle formed, providing indication a near term low was being established. It is now approaching a double bottom pivot of $22.45, which should be bought once taken out, in a pattern that started with a bearish engulfing candle on June 24. Look for this stock to gravitate toward $30 by mid 2026, which would be an advance of 41% from current prices. Remain bullish above $19.50.
QXO was trading around $21.25 Wednesday.
For investors willing to revisit familiar names, the opportunity may be knocking again.
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 18, 2025 02:25 ET (07:25 GMT)
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