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ICF International (ICFI)'s Technical Outlook is Bright After Key Golden Cross

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ICF International, Inc. (ICFI - Free Report) reached a significant support level, and could be a good pick for investors from a technical perspective. Recently, ICFI'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.

A golden cross contrasts with a death cross, another widely-followed chart pattern that suggests bearish momentum could be on the horizon.

Shares of ICFI have been moving higher over the past four weeks, up 19.9%. Plus, the company is currently a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, suggesting that ICFI could be poised for a breakout.

Once investors consider ICFI's positive earnings outlook for the current quarter, the bullish case only solidifies. No earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months compared to 2 revisions higher, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased as well.

Moving Average Chart for ICFI

Investors should think about putting ICFI on their watchlist given the ultra-important technical indicator and positive move in earnings estimates.

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