A bullish breakout from a 60 day ascending triangle in HCA occurred today. A short-term trade can take advantage from a breakout above the $32 level. I’m not sure for the exact reason behind the breakout, but there are a few possible bullish factors: (1) JPM healthcare conference going on this week, which may be encouraging analyst interest in select healthcare companies like HCA, (2) Nationwide flu epidemic is bringing attention to the health sector, and some investors could be betting that hospital operators like HCA will benefit by reaching higher utilization rates with more patients needing to be attended to this winter. (more…)