On Wednesday, Barclays earned an upgrade to its Relative Strength (RS) Rating, from 79 to 82.

When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.

This unique rating identifies market leadership by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that identifies how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks matches up against the rest of the market.

Over 100 years of market history shows that the market's biggest winners typically have an RS Rating of over 80 in the early stages of their moves.

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Barclays is building a cup with handle with a 10.64 entry. See if it can break out in heavy volume.

In terms of fundamentals, the company has posted two quarters of increasing earnings growth. Top line growth has also moved higher during the same period.

Barclays earns the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Banks-Money Centers industry group. Barclays and Morgan Stanley are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.