Mad Money

Cramer's charts show 'signs of life' for the struggling biotech sector

Key Points
  • "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer eyes the biotechnology sector with technician Carolyn Boroden so see if the troubled stock group can bounce back anytime soon.
  • Boroden, also known as the Fibonacci Queen, examines a biotech ETF and the stocks of Regeneron and Celgene to make her predictions.
Cramer: These charts show 'signs of life' for biotech
VIDEO0:5700:57
Cramer: These charts show 'signs of life' for biotech

With the biotechnology sector struggling to stay afloat in a more volatile market, CNBC's Jim Cramer turned to technician Carolyn Boroden to spot any potential opportunities.

"While Boroden admits that many of these charts look sloppy here, ... without a clear pattern, there are a couple of names that she's stalking in case they give us a nice buying opportunity in the near future," the "Mad Money" host said on Tuesday.

"She's not saying they're buys right now, right here, but if we see a few specific technical changes in the near term, she thinks you should be ready to pounce," he continued.

Boroden, who runs FibonacciQueen.com and works with Cramer at RealMoney.com, started her analysis by examining the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF, also known as the IBB.

She said that after the market-wide sell-off in early February, the exchange-traded fund found support from symmetry, a technical concept in which stock swings are supposed to end at levels similar or equal to past swings in the same direction.

In February, the IBB declined by $18.28 from peak to trough — almost the same as its last big decline in November 2016, when it fell a total of $18.36.

"By analyzing the size of the IBB's past swings, [Boroden] was able to identify an area of possible support for the ETF" at its February trough, Cramer said. "When those buy triggers started firing off in mid-February, she knew that buying the IBB was a very decent bet."

So, as long as the IBB manages to stay above its Feb. 9 low of $101, Boroden's analysis suggests it could head higher, possibly even past its $124 ceiling of resistance.

"In short, the biotech cohort appears to be cooling off a bit after a nice rebound from the lows, so the Fibonacci Queen is on the lookout for opportunities created by patterns that tend to repeat themselves," Cramer explained.

In the cohort, Boroden zoomed in on two stocks in particular: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Celgene Corp.

Looking at the daily chart of Regeneron, which makes macular degeneration treatment Eylea, Boroden thought the $333 stock could soon reach a "tradeable low," Cramer said.

Using her namesake methodology — running Regeneron's past swings through a series of Fibonacci sequences to determine when it will change course — Boroden found that Regeneron could bottom around the $310 level, near where it bottomed in February.

But for Regeneron to really gain momentum, Boroden thinks the stock needs to break out of its pattern of rallying between $33 and $50 after big declines.

"This may seem far away after yesterday's beating, but it's what Boroden's watching for long-term to judge whether Regeneron can snap out of its bearish funk," Cramer said. "If this stock can break into the mid-$360s, Boroden believes that it goes to $455. Mighty big if."

As for Celgene, another formerly red-hot biotech stock that has struggled since the fall, Boroden thought its daily chart still showed some promise.

Shares of Celgene seemed to have found a floor of support in the mid-$80s, just under where they were trading on Tuesday. Boroden argued that if they could break out into the mid-$90s, Celgene could be ready to run higher.

"The bottom line? The charts, as interpreted by Carolyn Boroden, are not looking that great for Regeneron or Celgene at the moment," Cramer concluded. "But with the biotech ETF showing some signs of life, she thinks it's worth watching these two former market darlings in case they start getting some traction. If Regeneron and Celgene can start breaking out to the upside, she'd get positive fast. Me? I think they're absolutely worth watching, especially Celgene, which has been punished far too harshly, but there are easier ways to make money."

WATCH: Cramer's charts show things looking up for biotech

Cramer's charts show 'signs of life' for the struggling biotech sector
VIDEO8:5508:55
Cramer's charts show 'signs of life' for the struggling biotech sector

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