Align Technology is a medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign® clear aligners and iTero® intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, restorative and aesthetic dentistry. Co.'s segments are: Clear Aligner, which includes the Invisalign System, a method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners; and Scanners and Services, which includes Intraoral scanning that enables the dental practitioner to create a 3D image of the patient's teeth (digital scan) using a handheld intraoral scanner.
When researching a stock like Align Technology, many investors are the most familiar with Fundamental Analysis — looking at a company's balance sheet, earnings, revenues, and what's happening in that company's underlying business. Investors who use Fundamental Analysis to identify good stocks to buy or sell can also benefit from ALGN Technical Analysis to help find a good entry or exit point. Technical Analysis is blind to the fundamentals and looks only at the trading data for ALGN stock — the real life supply and demand for the stock over time — and examines that data in different ways. One of those ways is to calculate a Simpe Moving Average ("SMA") by looking back a certain number of days. One of the most popular "longer look-backs" is the ALGN 200 day moving average ("ALGN 200 DMA"), while one of the most popular "shorter look-backs" is the ALGN 50 day moving average ("ALGN 50 DMA"). A chart showing both of these popular moving averages is shown on this page for Align Technology. Comparing two moving averages against each other can be a useful visualization tool: by calculating the difference between the ALGN 200 DMA and the ALGN 50 DMA, we get a moving average convergence divergence indicator ("ALGN MACD"). The ALGN MACD chart, in conjunction with the chart of the moving averages, basically helps in visualizing how the moving averages are showing convergence (moving closer together), or divergence (moving farther apart). |
Video: Technical Analysis