What happened today on the earnings announcement by PEP? Pro traders took profits against the retail crowd's buying on the news headlines that suggested an earnings "beat" for Q2. The retail buying causes the gap up at open, which is a prime cue to take profits on swing trades.
This was what we call a pre-earnings run. The earnings results don't matter as much as the technical setup a few weeks ahead of the earnings release. Swing trades were initiated at the reversal from the support at 155, confirmed by price and volume patterns at that time.
Now, with resistance overhead, where the initial target for this earnings play was, and the retail crowd causing a gap up at open on the earnings announcement, this is where professional short-term traders close long positions. This should not be construed as a good opportunity to short swing-style, however. It is an example of the execution of a long swing-style earnings strategy.
This is an example of TechniTrader's Relational Technical Analysis techniques for planning better trades.