The biggest earnings week in tech is upon us, with names like Alphabet, Apple and Facebook gearing up to report quarterly numbers.
It has been a year to remember for the sector, with the XLK Technology ETF that tracks the space up nearly 35%. That's almost double the gains of the broader markets, and when Alphabet reports Monday afternoon, those gains could get even bigger. according to one top technical analyst.
"This is one of the few big, big, super-cap names left, and I would say this is going to be one of the good ones, rather than one of the poor ones," Cornerstone Macro's Carter Worth said Friday on CNBC's "Options Action."
Worth sees a bullish pattern developing over the last 12 months in Alphabet.
"If you wanted to, right, you can call this kind of thing a 'cup and handle,'" said Worth, "People like that setup, meaning that you approach a high, you can't do it, you back away, but you back away and make a shallower low, and then reapproach it. There's a lot of tension to that kind of setup for, ultimately, exceeding the high."
It's not just the technical setup that has Worth feeling bullish on Alphabet. After nearly a half-decade of underperformance relative to the broader tech space, there are signs that a breakout might be on the cards.
"It is one of the biggest constituents in the Nasdaq 100, and it is making relative lower lows, like this, for three years. I think this is at an end. Google is likely to catch up, to break out," said Worth.
So, if Alphabet does catch up by way of an earnings bounce, where could it end up? According to Worth, the next key level for the tech giant is its all-time high.
"This all-time high, which was in April is $1,296-$1,297. We closed at $1,264. A 2.5% move would get you there, and that's probably what an earnings beat, or a good outcome would do, which would get you a breakout above the tops that have been in effect for, basically, the last two years," said Worth.
Alphabet was trading about 1.5% higher Monday morning.
