After reaching an important support level, Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD) could be a good stock pick from a technical perspective. RGLD recently experienced a "golden cross" event, which saw its 50-day simple moving average breaking out above its 200-day simple moving average.

There's a reason traders love a golden cross -- it's a technical chart pattern that can indicate a bullish breakout is on the horizon. This kind of crossover is formed when a stock's short-term moving average breaks above a longer-term moving average. Typically, a golden cross involves the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages, since bigger time periods tend to form stronger breakouts.

There are three stages to a golden cross. First, there must be a downtrend in a stock's price that eventually bottoms out. Then, the stock's shorter moving average crosses over its longer moving average, triggering a positive trend reversal. The third stage is when a stock continues the upward momentum to higher prices.

A golden cross contrasts with a death cross, another widely-followed chart pattern that suggests bearish momentum could be on the horizon.

Over the past four weeks, RGLD has gained 7.1%. The company currently sits at a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, also indicating that the stock could be poised for a breakout.

The bullish case solidifies once investors consider RGLD's positive earnings outlook. For the current quarter, no earnings estimate has been cut compared to 1 revisions higher in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased too.

Given this move in earnings estimates and the positive technical factor, investors may want to keep their eye on RGLD for more gains in the near future.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD):Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research