Abbott Labs Outpacing the Sector

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- This article is the first of a series that will give you further information on stocks that are highly rated by TheStreet staff. During the last 40 years I have reviewed many rating systems, some which led me to follow stocks I might have otherwise overlooked. Most lists cannot address the widely different investment needs and risk tolerances of the individual investor.

Before you start using any rating list you need to first identify whether you are a growth, value, income or momentum investor. A stock that might be suitable for your tax-deferred IRA may be totally unsuitable for your taxable accounts. Here is a link to a video I made that further explains some investment issues: The 3 Stages of Investing.

This series is designed to expand on each highly rated issue to give you additional information to make an informed decision whether this highly rated stock might be suitable for your own portfolio.

Abbott Laboratories(ABT) has been given an A+ rating by the staff of TheStreet. Recently the stock has been a little flat and about a month ago was trading at close to the same price it trades today.

The good news is that over the past six months Abbot Labs has outpaced the overall market as measured by the Value Line Index. While the Index is down 2% of the period Abbott Labs is up 9%:

Abbott engages in the discovery, development, manufacture and sale of health care products worldwide. The company primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, health care facilities, laboratories, physicians' offices, and government agencies. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill.

Factors to Consider

Barchart technical indicators: The stock rates a 56% Barchart technical buy signal as well as a Trend Spotter buy signal. It trades above its 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages.

Although the stock had six up days in the last month, it is trading up .81% for the period. During the last quarter it hit 18 new highs and is up 5.93% for that period. The stock price increased by 31.45% over the past year and has a Relative Index of 53.66%.

Barchart computes a technical support level at 65.17 and the stock recently traded at 65.42 which is above its 50 day moving average of 64.61.

Fundamental Factors