Shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) opened today above their pivot of $46.21 and have already reached the first level of resistance at $46.56. Should the shares continue to rise, the resistance pivots of $46.78 and $47.35 will be of interest.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of Verizon Communications have traded between a low of $36.80 and a high of $48.77 and are now at $46.62, which is 27% above that low price. Over the last five market days, the 200-day moving average (MA) has gone up 0.2% while the 50-day MA has advanced 0.2%.

Potential upside of 2.0% exists for Verizon Communications, based on a current level of $46.62 and analysts' average consensus price target of $47.56. The stock should discover initial support at its 200-day moving average (MA) of $43.86 and subsequent support at its 50-day MA of $43.85.

SmarTrend recommended that subscribers consider buying shares of Verizon Communications on February 1st, 2013 as our proprietary SmarTrend analytics indicated a new Uptrend was in progress when shares hit $44.48. Since that recommendation, shares of Verizon Communications have risen 4.2%. We continue to monitor VZ for any potential shift so investors can protect gains and will alert SmarTrend subscribers immediately.