Major health insurers were sent into a frenzy Monday evening (1/26) after the Medicare Advantage Plan rates for 2026 were set at an average of 0.09% increase in payments to private insurance companies, while the expectation was for an increase was close to the 4% to 5% range. While the final rate announcement is scheduled for April 6^th, 2026, shares of some of the major insurance companies moved notably south after Monday’s, which coincided with the announcement for earnings for at least one of those major insurance companies – UnitedHealth (UNH).

While earnings provided mixed results including a slight profit and soft guidance for UNH, much of the downside action can be attributed to the reaction from the underwhelming Medicare rate increase. Tuesday’s intraday action saw UNH drop nearly 20%, sending the chart into Os and returning to stock to a sell signal while violating multiple levels of support. Additionally, the market and peer relative strength charts have shifted back into Os after having been in Xs since August, which will cause the stock to drop to a 0 for 5’er. Tuesday’s downside action negates the technical improvement that had occurred for UNH, but it was not the only stock to see its technical picture deteriorate.

Along with UNH, CVS Health Corporation (CVS) and Humana (HUM) were among the major downside movers in reaction to the initial Medicare rate announcement. Prior to Tuesday’s action, CVS had improved to a 3 for 5’er and recently rallied to within one box of its 52-week high from October 2025. Tuesday’s downside drove the trend chart in Os and back to a sell signal by breaking a double bottom at $77 as shares fell to $71, violating the bullish support line in the process. The trendline violation, along with a reversal into Os on its market RS chart, will drop CVS down to a 1 for 5’er.

Humana (HUM) witnessed similar downside to UNH as it fell roughly 20% intraday, sending the chart of HUM into Os and returning the stock to a negative trend as shares fell to $208, matching the 2025 and multi-year chart low. Along with the shift into a negative trend, the peer RS chart appears it will move to an RS sell signal, which will drop the stock down to a 0 for 5’er.

While the three aforementioned names were the notable breakdowns among the major healthcare insurance companies, there were other, smaller cap insurers that witnessed downside and technical breakdowns. There are also a small number that maintained their technical picture despite Tuesday’s action, an example of which is Molina Healthcare (MOH). While the chart did reverse into Os down to $190 from the recent rally high at $200, MOH continues to maintain a buy signal and positive trend. The stock also maintains above notable support in the mid $180s and upper $170s.

Though the Medicare Advantage Plan rates aren’t finalized until April, investors have seen the technical pictures of those potentially impacted most already see changes and, in some cases, negate improvement that had occurred in the back-half of 2025. Those names maintaining recent technical improvements despite Tuesday’s action will be ones to monitor.

Earnings season kicks into high gear this week, with over 100 companies from the S&P 500 Index set to report earnings. This includes many of the largest and most followed stocks in the index, such as four of the “Magnificent 7” names. While the Magnificent 7 has been anything but magnificent so far this year, most investors have high exposure to those stocks given their heavy weighting in most major market benchmarks. Other important stocks to report this week include Visa V and Mastercard MA. Even though these names are included in the financial sector, some would argue that these stocks show a truer perspective on the modern consumer as their credit cards represent over 77% of all credit card activity in the US (source: WalletHub). Today, we will review the current technical picture of these stocks, highlighting key support and resistance areas to monitory heading into each earnings report.

Magnificent 7 Names Reporting this Week:

Meta Platform Inc. (META) – Earnings Expected 1/28 PM – META has shown technical deterioration over the past few months, falling from a 5 to a 3 TA rating. The stock saw a sharp drop to kick off the year, moving to a sell signal before ultimately reversing back up into a column of Xs to initiate a shakeout pattern. The weight of the technical evidence is mixed; the long-term picture remains intact while the near-term picture has shown weakness. The shakeout pattern would be completed with a potential triple top pattern just one box higher at $680. Further resistance from there can be seen at $752, near the top of the current trading band. Initial support can be seen at $600 with further support at $584.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) – Earnings Expected 1/28 PM – TSLA has been one of the few mega-cap names to show notable technical improvement in recent months. It ticked up to a 5 for 5 TA rating at the end of November when it pushed back to a positive trend. We did see a pullback after that sharp move higher, but the stock seems to be consolidating around the middle of its trading band ahead of earnings. Initial support is seen at $424 with further support seen at $396, the current location of the positive trend line, and $384. Overhead resistance may be seen at the all-time chart high of $496.

Microsoft Corportation (MSFT) – Earnings Expected 1/28 PM – MSFT has been one of the more resilient members of the Mag 7, but did get downgraded two weeks ago to a 4 for 5 TA rating. Still, this stock has maintained an RS buy signal against the market since 2015 and been in a positive trend since last April. The recent market action saw MSFT fall to a sell signal and drop another seven Os, negating the shakeout pattern set-up. The stock then reversed back into a column of Xs to be positioned directly in-line with the middle of its trading band ahead of earnings. Initial support can be seen at $440. Overhead resistance can be seen at the all-time chart highs of $552, seen last July and October.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) – Earnings expected 1/29 PM – While Apple has come under fire as a corporation for not fully embracing the AI wave, AAPL the stock has maintained a very consistent technical picture since pushing back to a positive trend last July. The stock has rattled off five consecutive buy signals and possess a 5 for 5 TA rating. Recent chart action saw AAPL reverse back up into a column of Xs at $260, just below the middle of its trading band. Initial support can be seen at $244 with further support seen at $228 and $212, the current location of the positive trend line. Overhead resistance may be seen initially at $288, the all-time highs reached last December.

Major Credit Cards:

Mastercard Incorporated Class A (MA) – Earnings Expected 1/29 AM – MA has seen some weakness over the past few weeks to currently be positioned at a spread triple bottom formation at $528. This is also testing the positive trend line that has been in place since December 2024. That puts the 3 for 5’er in danger of falling into weak attribute territory for the first time since January 2022. Further support past the current level can be seen at $488 and $472. Overhead resistance may be seen initially at $584 and at the all-time highs of $600.

Visa Inc. (V) – Earnings Expected 1/29 PM – Visa represents approximately twice the credit card users as Mastercard, representing over half of the credit cards in the US. The stock V has essentially been consolidating since the beginning of 2025. The stock peaked at $372 in June began to trend lower until December. The past several weeks have seen some back and forth action that recently led the stock to move back to a negative trend two weeks ago. The technical picture is mixed; the near-term picture has shown uncertainty while the long-term relative strength picture still remains intact. V is close to support at $320, with further support seen at $316 and $300. Overhead resistance may be seen initially at $356.

Daily Option Ideas for January 27, 2026