IBM shares close lower on Tuesday, former HR executive Lindsay-Rae McIntyre sued over non-competitive agreement violation

IBMs former HR executive Lindsay-Rae McIntyre was sued by the tech company over alleged violation of a 1-year non-competitive agreement. McIntyre was appointed as Chief Diversity Officer at Microsoft during the past weekend. Previously, at IBM, she served as human resources VP and Chief Diversity Officer.

IBM shares closed lower for the third time in the past five trading sessions on Tuesday. The stock went down 0.43% ($0.65) to $150.75, after touching an intraday low at $149.65, or a price level not seen since February 9th ($144.40).

In the week ended on February 11th the shares of the tech giant lost 5.99% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of decrease.

The stock has extended its loss to 7.91% so far during the current month, following a 6.70% surge in January. The latter has been the best monthly performance since March 2016.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed tech company retreated 7.57% following a 20.61% surge in 2016.

In a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court earlier this week, IBM said that Lindsay-Rae McIntyre “abruptly resigned to compete against IBM” and had highly confidential and sensitive data regarding the companys technologies, hiring objectives, diversity strategies and innovations.

According to IBM, if McIntyre was to use or disclose, intentionally or not, some of that confidential and sensitive information, it would put the tech giant at a competitive disadvantage.

On Tuesday McIntyre opposed the lawsuit, while saying that the company cannot claim irreparable harm due to the lack of evidence that she has used or will use any of its confidential or sensitive information in an inappropriate manner.

Additionally, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre stated that IBM was under complete protection by an ongoing non-disclosure agreement.

According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding IBM’s stock price, have a median target of $170.00, with a high estimate of $200.00 and a low estimate of $125.00. The median estimate is a 12.77% surge compared to the closing price of $150.75 on February 13th.

The same media also reported that 15 out of 25 surveyed investment analysts had rated IBM’s stock as “Hold”, while 7 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the IBM stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $150.89
R2 – $151.03
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $151.17
R4 (Long Breakout) – $151.59
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $152.08
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $152.29

S1 – $150.61
S2 – $150.47
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $150.33
S4 (Short Breakout) – $149.91
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $149.42
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $149.21

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for International Business Machines (IBM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $150.80
R1 – $157.21
R2 – $164.90
R3 – $171.31
R4 – $177.71

S1 – $143.11
S2 – $136.70
S3 – $129.01
S4 – $121.31