First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (FCNCA Quick QuoteFCNCA - Free Report) reached a significant support level, and could be a good pick for investors from a technical perspective. Recently, FCNCA's 50-day simple moving average broke out above its 200-day moving average; this is known as a "golden cross."

There's a reason traders love a golden cross -- it's a technical chart pattern that can indicate a bullish breakout is on the horizon. This kind of crossover is formed when a stock's short-term moving average breaks above a longer-term moving average. Typically, a golden cross involves the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages, since bigger time periods tend to form stronger breakouts.

There are three stages to a golden cross. First, there must be a downtrend in a stock's price that eventually bottoms out. Then, the stock's shorter moving average crosses over its longer moving average, triggering a positive trend reversal. The third stage is when a stock continues the upward momentum to higher prices.

A golden cross is the opposite of a death cross, another technical event that indicates bearish price movement may be on the horizon.

FCNCA could be on the verge of a breakout after moving 6.3% higher over the last four weeks. Plus, the company is currently a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank.

The bullish case only gets stronger once investors take into account FCNCA's positive earnings outlook for the current quarter. There have been 2 upwards revisions compared to none lower over the past 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved up as well.

With a winning combination of earnings estimate revisions and hitting a key technical level, investors should keep their eye on FCNCA for more gains in the near future.