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First Bancorp (FBNC) Now Trades Above Golden Cross: Time to Buy?

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

Considered an important signifier for a bullish breakout, a golden cross is a technical chart pattern that's formed when a stock's short-term moving average breaks above a longer-term moving average; the most common crossover involves the 50-day and the 200-day, 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.

This kind of chart pattern is the opposite of a death cross, which is a technical event that suggests future bearish price movement.

FBNC has rallied 24.6% over the past four weeks, and the company is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank at the moment. This combination indicates FBNC could be poised for a breakout.

The bullish case solidifies once investors consider FBNC's positive earnings outlook. For the current quarter, no earnings estimate has been cut compared to 1 revisions higher in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased too.

Moving Average Chart for FBNC

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


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