NIKE, Inc. (NKE) shares are consolidating on Friday after a strong run fueled by news of significant insider buying. But there's something more interesting happening here from a technical perspective: Nike is refilling a gap, and that could be your signal that this rally has legs.

The Psychology Behind Resistance

Before we get to gaps, let's talk about why stocks hit resistance in the first place. It mostly comes down to buyers' remorse.

Here's how it works: Someone buys a stock, the price drops, and suddenly they're questioning their life choices. Many of these regretful buyers tell themselves they'll sell if they can just get back to breakeven. So when the stock climbs back to their purchase price, they dump their shares. If enough people do this, you get resistance at that level.

This is why former peaks often become resistance zones. People who bought at the top feel burned when the price falls. If the stock eventually climbs back to that old peak, they're ready with their sell orders. Enough of them, and the stock stalls out.

When Support Becomes Resistance

The same psychology applies when a stock breaks through support. Buyers who purchased at what they thought was a solid support level regret it when the price crashes through. When the stock climbs back to that old support, those remorseful buyers become sellers, flipping what was once a floor into a ceiling.

Why Gaps Are Different

Now here's where Nike gets interesting. The stock gapped down from around $65.50 to roughly $59.20. That means it closed at the higher price one day and opened at the lower price the next day.

No trading happened between those two levels. And if there was no trading, there were no buyers at those prices. Which means there are no regretful holders waiting to sell at breakeven as the stock climbs back up.

Without those sell orders creating resistance, buyers have to outbid each other and pay premiums to get shares. This can push the stock higher rapidly. That's exactly what's happening with Nike right now.

If the gap continues to refill, technical analysis suggests the rally should continue. The combination of insider buying providing fundamental support and the gap structure reducing technical resistance makes for an interesting setup. We'll see if Nike can complete the journey back to $65.50.