5 Big Blue-Chip Stocks, with way through important price levels, to Buy

The retail sector may have dragged the S&P 500 down. More important, that it doesn't tell the whole story about what's happening in the individual stocks right now. Just owning "the right stocks" right now is the key to materially outperforming the rest of the market. To find the next batch of outperformers, we're turning to the charts for a look at five blue chip stocks that are entering breakout mode in May.

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's look at five big stocks to trade.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals  (ALXN) - One industry that's taken things pretty hard this year has been pharmaceuticals -- and ALXN has been no exception to that rule; After the selloff this stock has seen year-to-date, it's not hard to see why sellers are finally getting winded. You can spot the pattern by looking for two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a bigger trough called the head; the buy signal comes on the breakout above the pattern's "neckline". For Alexion, that neckline breakout level is currently up at $160.

Boeing  (BA )  may have started off the year with a stumble, but shares have been quickly making up for lost time since this big aerospace stock bottomed in the middle of February. In that stretch, Boeing has rebounded nearly 23%, logging double the upside of the rest of the S&P 500. And the good news for Boeing bulls is that this stock could be about to head even higher in May. Boeing is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish continuation setup that's formed by horizontal resistance up above shares (at $135 in this case), and uptrending support to the downside.

British American Tobacco  (BTI)  is another textbook ascending triangle setup to put on your radar this week. The $24 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a spot where sellers have previously been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. When shares are able to sustain a bid above $24, then it's time to join the buyers in British American Tobacco.

BHP Billiton  (BHP) -  commodity prices have rebounded this year, BHP Billiton has been one of the big beneficiaries of the change in trend.

Comcast  (CMCSA )  - shares have rallied nearly 11% on a total returns basis since the beginning of 2016. The key breakout level to watch in Comcast right now is resistance up at $63. But even though Comcast's price setup isn't textbook, it's still very tradable right now. If $63 gets taken out, it's time to join the buyers.