Alphabet, Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is set to print its first-quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday. The stock has been consolidating mostly sideways since April 4.
When Alphabet printed its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 2, the stock gapped down the following day and closed 3.29% lower.
For that quarter, Alphabet printed earnings of $1.05 per share, which missed the consensus estimate by 0.11%. The Google parent company reported quarterly revenues of $76.05 billion, which missed the estimate by 0.01%.
For the first quarter, analysts on average expect Alphabet will print EPS of $1.06 on revenues of $68.83 billion.
Traders and investors are interested in hearing how far along Alphabet is in integrating AI into its search function to complete with Microsoft's ChatGPT. Read more here...
From a technical analysis perspective, Alphabet looks set to choose a direction for the longer-term following the print because the stock is trading in a triangle pattern, set to hit the apex on April 28. Of course, holding a stock or options through earnings is akin to gambling because a stock can fall on a positive print and soar on negative results.
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The Alphabet (GOOG) Chart: Alphabet started to trade above an ascending trendline on March 30 and under a descending trendline on April 14 after t
he stock formed a bearish double top pattern at the $109.63 level. Within the trendlines, Alphabet has developed a triangle pattern on the daily chart.
The pattern leans bullish because Alphabet was trading higher before entering into consolidation. The stock is also trading above the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) and if Alphabet can hold above that level, the 50-day SMA will eventually cross above the 200-day, which would cause a golden cross to form.
If Alphabet breaks up or down from the triangle pattern on higher-than-average volume, bullish and bearish traders will gain a sense of future direction. If the stock breaks down from the pattern, a longer-term downtrend could be on the horizon and the stock could back-test support at the 200-day SMA.
Alphabet has resistance above at $106.53 and near the $110 mark and support below at $101.08 and $97.79.
Read Next: No, There Will Not Be A Material Shift In Search Market Share - Analyst Says Google's ChatGPT-Like Feature Would Add To Search Volumes
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