Orange shares rebound 2.5% and return to contact with its 200-day moving average

A rebound that brings the stock back to contact with the MA200, despite bearish short-term averages

Orange shares advance 2.36% to €16.28 in trading, ranking among the strongest gains of the CAC 40 while the Paris index rises 0.66%. This rebound follows a decline of 6.47% over the past week, which had succeeded the 3.5% jump on July 28 triggered by half-year results. The technical situation remains nevertheless contrasted: the price is slightly below the MA20 at €16.42 (spread of -0.88%) and more markedly below the MA50 at €16.82 (spread of -3.24%), which testifies to a still fragile short-term dynamic.

The MA200 at €16.21 is conversely in contact with the current price, with a positive spread of only +0.40%: the stock is testing this long-term threshold, which had already served as a support point during the mid-July rebound. The RSI at 40 remains in neutral territory, without a marked oversold signal, and the negative MACD (-0.0146 histogram) confirms that the bearish pressure from the week has not yet been completely dissipated. The resistance to watch is located at €17.40, approximately 7% above the current price.

First-half accounts: solid growth but rising debt weighing on valuation

To understand the movement of recent days, one must return to the first-half results published on July 28: Orange had reported revenue of €20.9 billion up 3.5% and EBITDAaL up 5.0%, driven notably by double-digit growth in Africa and the Middle East as well as by the consolidation of MasOrange in Spain. These figures had propelled the stock to the head of the CAC 40 that day. But net debt had simultaneously soared to €35.7 billion, a direct consequence of these acquisitions, which had quickly tempered initial enthusiasm and triggered the profit-taking on July 30.

In this context, this Thursday's rebound brings the stock back to an equilibrium level: in contact with the MA200 at €16.21, with support at €15.70 as a reference floor in the event of another turnaround. The twelve-month performance remains solid at +18.15%, which puts into perspective the quarterly decline of 9.15% observed since the end of April.