All time high price of a stock, made in last bull mkt, is a big psychological barrier for any stock and need big determination from bulls to power through.

For instance, both #RALLIS and #Dhanuka are hesitant to take out previous ATH despite good results and sectoral tailwinds.

Compare that to #AARTIDRUGS and #GRANULES, both effortlessly moving across after taking out their previous ATH, just because of one reason:

Each one of current stockholders, be it from past or present, is sitting on a profit and has no psychological reason to be unhappy.

One more stock which is struggling at previous ATH is #FDC

Unlike #Dhanuka, volumes have not dried up around ATH, but have been consistently high

Low vols at ATH show that buyers are trying to get as much quantity as they can, high vols indicate sellers want to get out at ATH

Hesitation of a stock is usually displayed by presence of a large candle with unusually large upper shadow.

Clearly shows that some participants are working against the trend and need to be taken out by bigger force.