5 Stocks Poised for Major Breakouts -- Gold, Pharma and Tech

Trading stocks that trigger major breakouts can lead to massive profits. Once a stock trends to a new high or takes out a prior overhead resistance point, it's free to find new buyers and momentum players which can ultimately push the stock significantly higher.

Breakout candidates are something that I tweet about on a daily basis. These are also the exact type of stocks I love to trade.

I frequently flag high-probability setups, breakout plays and stocks that are acting technically bullish. These are the ones that often go on to make monster moves to the upside. What's great about breakout trading is that you focus on trend, price and volume. You don't have to concern yourself with anything else. The charts do all the talking.

Trading breakouts is not a new game on Wall Street. This strategy has been mastered by legendary traders such as William O'Neal, Stan Weinstein and Nicolas Darvas. These pros know that once a stock starts to break out above past resistance levels and hold above those breakout prices, it can easily trend significantly higher.

With that in mind, here's a look at five stocks that are setting up to break out and possibly trade higher from current levels.

Golden Minerals

One basic materials player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Golden Minerals (AUMN) , which engages in mining, construction and exploration of mineral properties. This stock has been on fire over the last six months, with shares exploding higher by 123.4%.

If you take a look at the chart for Golden Minerals, you'll notice that this stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern, after shares found some buying interest at 60 to 62 cents per share over the last month. Following that potential bottom, shares of Golden Minerals have now started to spike higher and move back above both the 20-day and 50-day moving averages. This spike is now beginning to push this stock within range of triggering a big breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in Golden Minerals if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at 75 to 79 cents per share and then above 80 cents per share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 411,029 shares. If that breakout fires off soon, then this stock will set up to retest or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at 87 to 90 cents, or even $1.10 to its 52-week high of $1.16 a share.

Traders can look to buy Golden Minerals off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around those recent double bottom support levels. One can also buy this stock off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.