Mo-Trader

Special Announcement

2008-03-02T15:15:00.004-06:00

Hello Everyone

I am moving the blog to a new site. The URL is:

I will be posting my nightly research there. The blog will be less personal, but I wasn’t sharing much personal information about myself here anyway. I want to keep the blog focused on trading. I will still be preparing the nightly research in a post called the ‘Momentum-Trader Report’ (MTR).

Please redirect your bookmarks, RSS readers and blogrolls to the new site. If you have a trading site and would like to exchange links, please email me: motradr@gmail.com, or just link to the site. I will see it in WordPress and will link back ASAP.

A few things about the old blog:

The original purpose of this blogspot blog was to record my trades, in the hopes becoming a better trader by making them public, and getting insight from other traders. Not only didn’t it help my trading, it may have made my trading worse, by adding pressure of revealing my trading weaknesses. Toward the end of ’07, I was mostly churning money, as my account size remained static.

I was following stock newsletters for most of 2007. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact, it can be great help learning from more experienced traders. Even with great picks though, I as not trading well. I was lazy in my trading, not paying attention to what the market was doing, and either getting out of winners too early, or holding on too long. I figured there was no sense in subscribing to newsletters if they didn’t help me make money. I can do just as well on my own. So I canceled all my paid subscriptions and decided to do this on my own.

For the last few weeks, I have been posting nightly stock picks. The results so far have been very good for my account. I had one of my best months ever in February. Sure, it helped that the market rallied, and one good month doesn’t make a great trader, but doing research every night and preparing picks really seems to help. By sharing my research, I feel obligated to put in the time to do the research well. I hope in the process I will become a better trader, and perhaps help some traders who are just starting out.

So I’ve decided expand this operation, that's the reason behind the new site.

Thanks everyone for visiting here, it’s been fun. See you at the new site.

-Mo-Trader

Trading for 2/29/08

2008-02-28T19:01:00.021-06:00

I had one trigger today from last nights post. It was TNH. In reading the post from last night, it may have seemed a bit cryptic. I wasn't sure if this stock would be affected by SEED, which gapped down over 30% today,but it was unaffected. I got in TNH with a limit order at 140 after it broke out this morning.

As you can see, it sold off like many picks this week. I closed the entire position with a gain $3.28 per share. I'll happily take it.

Gold did well today, as did my previous pick, KGC:

After Tuesdays action, which saw many of my picks breakout and then retrace below the buy point, I have been considering sticking to day trades, and taking $1, $2 or $3 per share moves, which are not bad at all. I am usually out of at least half of my position at the end of break out day or the day after, But I don't usually like closing the entire position, lest I miss out on moves like these:

WLT, a pick from 2/11:

CALM, a pick posted on 2/18:

MTL, a pick posted on 2/18 (a pick I passed on by the way)

DAR, a pick posted on 2/11:

JRCC, a pick posted on 2/6 and on 2/24:

Here are some stocks I will be watching tomorrow:

Speaking of past picks that have had good runs, past pick AKS is showing a small, high bull pennant:

Would try BRMN at new highs with heavy volume.

CNX:

If PCLN breaks out, it could be huge. I thought this would move with CTRP today, which closed up +14%. Maybe tomorrow:

PTEC was also a past pick which I didn't hold long. Since breaking out, it has given back all of its gains. Not a good sign. But it has some overhead resistance at 17, and if it can break that with heavy volume, it's worth a try:

RRC is worth a try when it breaks into new highs:

Although I day traded this today, I would try again, TNH:

Not a great chart, but would try under the right market conditions, TRA:

VIP is at support, which is 36, which is not far from 38, which is where I would try a few.

I have some big news concerning this blog, which will be posted in this coming Sunday evening's post. Please check back then.

Good luck and good trading!

Trading for 2/28/08

2008-02-27T19:49:00.009-06:00

Today was a volatile day that ended basically flat. None of last nights picks triggered My recent picks had a mixed day. Some like JRCC rested, others like CF gave back their gains, and others like OI continued their ascent. I am still keeping tight stops and peeling shares off as these go higher. In fact, I was thankful my stops took me out of ACI and CNX yesterday, as I most certainly would have been stopped out of both today for a greater loss. Both of these stocks still look bullish though, and may offer another buying opportunity soon.

The flat day today is actually a good sign that stocks could move higher from here, and it is the end of the month, so it’s possible.

I posted a chart of GLD on February 18, mentioning that it looked like it could break out, and it did. For those holding GLD, you had a good day.

This move doesn’t look quite as strong as the move it made at the end of ’07, but it does appear that GLD may continue moving higher, which is also good for my recent pick, KGC.

In fact, many metal stocks are doing well, like MTL, which I also had as a pick on the 18^th.

Here are some stocks that I will be watching tomorrow.

Yes, I just got stopped out of this, but it could offer another buy when ACI breaks out on heavy volume.

Ideally, it should really rest a little before breaking out.

CNX could be worth another try.

CPHD came very close to my point again today, which is at 33.

PCLN has one of the nicest charts out there right now.

AG stocks like TNH could get crushed tomorrow due to a poor earnings report by SEED after hours today. This one could go either way.

Good luck and good trading.

Trading for 2/27/08

2008-02-26T18:43:00.016-06:00

In my Sunday night post, I posted a chart of SPY, and mentioned that this week, the market should break out of its consolidation pattern and move one way or the other. Today it broke out. As you can see, the SPY broke resistance and went much higher, indicating that the market should continue to move higher.

The market looked very weak at the open today, but a strong intra-day rally that sent almost all of last nights picks past their buy points. The pull back in the afternoon pulled some of these stocks well below their buy points though. I don’t like to let stocks that broke out strong to return too far below their buy point. I’d rather get my money back at break even and try something else. This is why I advocate taking some profits before moving stops. Today offered some great picks for day trades though, and with the market poised to move higher, these stocks could very well move with it.

Here's how they did.

KGC broke out and closed above the breakout point as gold moved well today.

JRCC had a very big move this moving around 10:30EST, but ended the day up +.99%. Not bad on this stock, which has been very good to me.

ACI broke resistance. I got stopped out of this one, but would try again:

CNX broke out and pulled back under the break out point. Could be worth a try again:

ILMN sits above my stop. It deserved a rest after yesterdays move. A strong move above the upper blue line could be another buying opportunity.

I had been watching YTEC for awhile, and putting it in every post the last couple of weeks, but didn't last night. Wouldn't you know it, it broke out today. Volume was very strong, but it to sold off.

AKS was a previous pick that had a great day today.

Since nearly my entire watch list fired off today, I don't have much for tomorrow. CNX and ACI could certainly offer opportunities again tomorrow. Here are some other stocks I will be watching:

CPHD came very close to my buy point today. Maybe we'll see another attempt tomorrow.

I really like the chart on PCLN:

Not a great chart, but VIP is right at the 50 EMA and very close to the upper trend line. If it can break that, it could move much higher. I will risk less if I choose to play this at all.

Good luck and good trading.

Trading for 2/26/08

2008-02-25T20:41:00.015-06:00

The market had a good day today, rallying late in the day. IBD has just changed their outlook back to a confirmed rally. So do we go higher? Who knows. But a few of my picks broke out today, but some just barely. Let's look at them:

CMED was a pick from last week that broke out on Friday. It had a nice follow through today.

CF was a pick from last night, and it broke out today and finished strong.

JRCC also broke out. It was apparently downgraded in the morning, and gapped down. I wrote it off then. But it rallied hard all day long and broke the buy point on good volume.

I had two buy points for ILMN, and it broke through both of them, resting just above the top one. I have a stop at the first buy point.

BZP was also a pick from last night, and had a similar day to JRCC. It gapped down then rallied hard. It broke the buy point slightly, then pulled back. Volume was weak though. I would try a breakout tomorrow if volume is there.

I didn't have HES on last nights list, but I did post it last week. It broke out today.

Here are some of the stocks I will be watching tomorrow. Remember, volume is needed to confirm these buy points:

ACI:

A previous pick, CNX:

CPHD:

KGC is a gold stock, and gold broke out last week. If gold goes higher, this stock should do the same.

PCLN looks like it's building a base, which could launch it higher.

Good luck and good trading!

Trading for 2/25/08

2008-02-24T18:42:00.018-06:00

It didn't look like any picks were going to trigger on Friday, as the market grinded lower, only to rally sharply in the last 30 minutes of trading. This rally sent CMED, a pick from Thursday, past it's buy point.

It finished the day +6.10%.

Another pick from last week ended the week well. It was one I missed. Hopefully some of you bought it last Monday. MTL:

Last week, I mentioned that the market is in tight consolidation and should break hard one way or another. That has not changed. As you can see from this chart of SPY, the ETF which tracks the S&P 500, it touched a support level on Friday, even piercing it, but closed above it.

This week we should see the market break out of consolidation. Should the market move lower, I may consider QID, which corresponds to twice the inverse of the Nasdaq. I think it's the best looking inverse ETF right now:

Should the market move higher, I will be watching these stocks, and will consider buying as they break the upper blue line on heavy volume.

BZP, a past pick which is still doing well.

Also a past pick, CCC:

Another past pick offering another buy point, CF:

CPHD:

IMLN, which is showing a pattern similar to a cup and handle.

JRCC has been a good stock. It broke out from 2 buy points I posed, and now is showing a third.

YTEC is still holding up.

I removed OI because of a bearish stochastic crossover, but I will watch that too just in case. See last weeks post for the buy point.

Good luck and good trading!

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 2/25/08

2008-02-24T18:37:00.001-06:00

There are 2 stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

They are WDC & NOK

Trading for 2/22/08

2008-02-21T18:48:00.022-06:00

A light volume down day today, but that didn't stop a couple of my picks from last night performing well today.

PTEC was the big performer. I told you it had to do something. Today it broke out and rallied +7.47%.

DAR also broke out nicely.

I didn't have this stock on last nights picks, but I posted the chart on Monday. It's VNUS and it moved nicely today. If you missed it, don't feel bad; so did I.

MON broke above the 120 mark that I was watching. In fact, it gapped over it right at the open, and again later in the day, but it ended up being a disappointment. That's ok. Can't win them all. Maybe tomorrow.

BUCY gapped up over the buy point, but quickly sold off. I don't buy gap ups if I can help it, and fortunately, I didn't have a buy stop for BUCY. It closed down -1.3%.

I still think the market will go much lower at some point soon. But as long as stocks are breaking out, I plan to trade them. Until then, I'll just keep playing the stocks with the most mo'.

Here are some stock's I'll be watching.

BZP was a past winner, could be a future one too.

CMED, come on, I'm pulling for you!

CPHD:

ILMN. Looks kind of like a cup and handle.

OI is another past winning trade, and is holding up after 4 down days in a row. I will need to see some heavy volume with a breakout on this though. I am skeptical.

Still waiting for YTEC.

Thanks for those who commented last week. Nice to hear your feedback.

Good luck and good trading!

Trading for 2/21/08

2008-02-20T19:00:00.023-06:00

It didn't look like much was going to happen today, but the market took off around noon, and took some of last nights picks with it. Most of which were stocks that broke out yesterday but then pulled back under the breakout point.

CALM was a pick from Monday night which broke out yesterday, and had a fantastic day today.

I have been watching AKS for awhile. It broke yesterday but pulled back under the breakout point, and I said I would try again if it broke the blue line, and it did...nicely.

RRC also broke out yesterday but pulled back, and was worthy of a try again today.

The same goes for MOS

And one of my favorite stocks, CMO, offered a a buying opportunity today.

WLT was a pick from last week. It offered a profitable trade then, and I am not longer in it. But congrats to anyone who bought and held, you had a good day.

Here are some stocks I will be watching tomorrow.

ALC: Volume on the recent down day is a bit concerning though.

BUCY:

BZP:

CMED:

CPHD:

DAR: A past winner, may try again.

IMLN has two buy points, depending on how conservative you are:

JRCC: Another past winner, consolidating here.

MON handing out under 120

OI:

PTEC has to do something very soon.

As does YTEC:

Good luck and good trading.

Trading for 2/20/08

2008-02-19T18:35:00.028-06:00

I threw out my rule yesterday about not trading the first hour, after a buy stop I had from last week triggered at the open. I also saw two other picks from last night acting very frisky, so I tried to go with it. Here's how some of the picks did:

The biggest was performed was MTL. My caution kept me out of this one though. What a breakout! It even closed strong.

CLF was also a pick from last night that started quick and ran until later in the day where it started to sell off. It reports earnings on 2/21, so be careful if you are holding this. As a general rule, I try to be out before earnings.

GLD also broke the shoulder I mentioned last night, so it looks like it will go higher from here.

POT broke out today, I did take this one for a day trade. Will try again later if it looks good.

I didn't post CF last night, but I did have it as a pick last Wednesday, and I had a buy stop order in for this one, which was triggered right at the open. I didn't expect it to trigger. or I probably would have canceled the order. Good thing! This was why I threw out yesterdays plan to not trade the first hour. I left this order open and was in it, so what the heck. May as well trade.

AKS also broke out finally, but sold off. Would try again if conditions are right.

Here are some picks I will be watching tomorrow:

Waiting for CMED

I like CREE , but not if it goes any lower.

There is some resistance just above 85. If HES can break that, then it could go higher.

I mentioned last night that MON could be a buy after it breaks 120. Today it reached 119.99. There is clearly some resistance there. Let's see if it can break it tomorrow. Would try just above 120.

May try MOS if is breaks into new highs tomorrow.

OI

PTEC looks ready to move.

RRC. Technically, this previous winner broke my buy point today, but volume was average. It could try again tomorrow.

YTEC needs to hold support at 17.

I am not posting charts for BMRN and CMO, but they are still on my list. See last nights post.

Good trading.

EDIT: I removed KGC. Earnings are due out on Thursday, so I'll pass.

Update

2008-02-19T08:46:00.000-06:00

I have ignored by plan " I don't plan to buy anything during at least the first hour of trading on Tuesday.", this action is too good.

Trading for 2/19/08

2008-02-18T19:58:00.030-06:00

I didn't trade on Friday, as I had mentioned last Thursday. However, one of my picks from last week broke out on very strong earnings. Although it gapped up, it would have provided a nice profit to anyone who bought at the open.

I really don't know where the market goes from here. The SPY has formed a symmetrical triangle.

What this chart doesn't show is the tight consolidation going on right now. The Bollinger bands are inside the Keltner channels, which signifies extreme consolidation. This is usually a good indicator that a big move is about to take place (See Chapter 10 of Mastering the Trade by John Carter). So it appears a big move is coming, but which way, who knows? Buying a breakout or shorting once the SPY breaks the poorly drawn support line I made, could be good trades.

I prefer playing the inverse ETF's, so I am looking at buying SDS if the market makes another downward move:

In addition to SDS, the DXD, QID and TWM all look similar. TWM is closer to the 50 day EMA, so a breakout in TWM could also be a good opportunity too.

I missed a great breakout of GLD, the gold ETF, around Christmas. It made a huge run after breaking out of a symmetrical triangle.

It has formed another one, but not as clean. It could also be a bearish Head and Shoulders pattern. So I would only buy if it broke the right shoulder.

If the market doesn't sell off, then I will be looking for opportunities to buy these stocks. I am going to enter this week with some caution though. I don't plan to buy anything during at least the first hour of trading on Tuesday. Then, I will need to see these stocks break above their buy point on heavy volume. THIS IS A MUST. So just because a stock is listed here, doesn't mean that I will buy it. I will continue to be early in taking profits, scaling out as the stock moves higher, and being aggressive with my stops.

Here's the watch list:

Still waiting for AKS to breakout.

I will only add to this on very heavy volume.

Nice bull flag on CALM.

CLF was first mentioned here on 2/4, and it broke out and ran strong the following day. It looks like it could go higher, but earnings are due on Thursday. I won't hold into earnings.

A lot of medical stocks are doing well, and I like CMED the best. A previous breakout that I am looking to try again.

As I mentioned in previous post, I am fascinated by how well CMO is doing, a mortgage stock. I may have an emotional attachment to it, so realizing that, I may pass.

CREE was an earlier pick that broke out strong. I am no longer in this, but would try again at new highs.

ISRG is consolidating at the 50 day MA.

I would try MON for a quick trade if it breaks 120

Would like to see MTL build a fuller bull flag before ot breaks out.

OI is another previous breakout I had. I am no longer in this either, but could try again at new highs.

As you can see by the lines, I really don't know what to do with POT here, but I will be watching it.

RRC is another previous breakout. It held support on Friday.

Another medical stock, and nice bull flag.

And finally YTEC

Be careful out there and good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 2/19/08

2008-02-17T10:58:00.003-06:00

There are 3 stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

IBD Current Outlook: Selling threatens market's follow-through

Trading for 2/15/08

2008-02-14T21:26:00.012-06:00

A pullback from this rally had to come, and today was the day. Four of my picks barely broke my buy points from last night, but 3 were on pitiful volume, and of course the market pressure early on was a sign it would not be a good day for breakouts. Of the 4 picks that "broke out", CNX, RRC, BMRN and INCY, only INCY had confirming volume. But it sold off quickly after touching the buy point, stopping me out.

EDIT: I also bought BMRN in the morning.

All of these stock could offer new buy points. Volume is key though. As always, I am keeping stops tight on every trade. If it's obvious the trade is not going to work out, I will pass or cut losses quickly.

Because tomorrow is options expiration, and Monday is a holiday, I am planning on taking any new positions tomorrow. I want to go into the long weekend holding my gains. However, if tomorrow is a strong uptrending day, I will be watching these stocks:

AKS, BMRN, CF, CLF, CNX, CMED, CMO, CPHD, PTEC, RRC, YTEC.

Good trading. I will be back on Monday night with some more picks for the coming week.

IBD Market Pulse: Confirmed Rally

2008-02-13T21:48:00.003-06:00

By the way, today the Nasdaq met IBD's standards for a rally confirmation, closing up 2.3% on slightly higher volume.

Trading for 2/14/08

2008-02-13T20:19:00.008-06:00

Ok, I'm going to get right to it. I had three big breakouts from my picks last night. They were:

CMED. I have been stalking this one awhile. Patience paid off, it broke out huge. Up 8% for the day, and offering another buy point to add to the position once it breaks the upper blue line.

WLT broke out nicely:

CEDC broke out, then gave much of it back. I got stopped out after trailing my stop.

Also doing well was a stock mentioned here earlier, JRCC:

DAR was another stock I had been stalking. It moved high today after breaking out yesterday:

Here are some stocks I will be watching tomorrow. A couple of these were stocks I had bought before, and are now offering new buy points after basing a bit. Buy point is when stock break upper blue line on heavy volume:

AKS:

BMRN, a hot stock picks from a few days ago:

CF:

CNX:

CPHD:

CXO, would like to see this base a bit:

INCY:

PCLN:

RRC:

YTEC:

Also, keep an eye on AUXL tomorrow morning. They report earnings at 10 EST. MAY POP!

Good trading.

Trading for 2/13/08

2008-02-12T21:58:00.008-06:00

I don't know if anyone else is reading this blog. Judging by the comments and ad clicks, then I am talking to myself. But no matter, this has been doing my trading wonders! Another big day for my account. That's three in a row. Of course, it's a lot easier when the market moves like this in your favor. I had some breakouts from yesterdays picks, and a few continue to do well. I am being aggressive with stops and with scaling out of positions quickly as the stocks moves up. I am holding very little from yesterday and today.

Here's how some of my stocks did, then I'll post what I will be watching for tomorrow:

BMRN was a pick from last night that had a huge day:

MOS also has a great day, but sold off later in the day, showing some indecision.

COIN was good for a day trade, could be tomorrow as well:

DAR broke though both buy points posted last night:

AUXL has been a nice mover. It broke my buy point posted this weekend. Earnings are due out on Thursday, so I will not hold this overnight. I may try again tomorrow if it breaks the blue line again:

This stock fascinates me. It's a mortgage company! I need to learn more about this company.

They haven't all been winners. I lost money on this one using a 1% stop.

Judging by some of the toppy looking tails on the stocks above, we could be due for a rest. I will be watching these stocks tomorrow though, just in case.

Good trading

Trading for 2/12/08

2008-02-11T19:28:00.000-06:00

Like Friday, today was a good day for me in the market. Actually, a great day for me in the market! I made some good money today. I had some picks from yesterday that broke out, and breakouts some from last Friday that continued to run. Here's how my picks did:

I mentioned yesterday that CREE "could offer another buy opportunity this week". It offered that opportunity today.

CNX was a pick from yesterday. I was hoping it would pull back slightly in the morning. Instead, it took off an ran all day.

BZP broke out in the morning and held strong.

OI, a pick from yesterday, did well today.

CLF was a pick from last week that broke out in Friday and did very well today.

PTEC broke out today as well. Also a pick from yesterday.

JRCC was a also pick from last week that broke out on Friday. I mentioned yesterday that "looks like it wants to go higher from here". It did move higher today.

RRC, another pick from last week that did very well today.

MOS was a pick from yesterday, which barely broke out toward the end of the day. Finished strong though.

Now here are my picks for tomorrow. The buy point is when the stock passes the upper blue line on heavy volume. In alphabetical order by ticker symbol:

AKS

BMRN

CMED

COIN

DAR

FCL

INCY

WLT

Trading for 2/11/08

2008-02-10T10:12:00.000-06:00

Six of my stock picks from last week triggered this past Friday. With the market as volatile as it is, I am taking partial, if not all profits quickly, even with short positions. If I can pull any money out of this market, then it is a victory.

Before I get to my stock picks for this week, lets take a look at Fridays breakouts:

I mentioned CMO on Monday. All I know about this company is that it's a mortgage company. I wouldn't expect a mortgage company to have a chart this nice.

JRCC was mentioned on Wednesday. It had a nice breakout on good volume and looks like it wants to go higher from here.

Although I didn't post the chart, I mentioned on Monday that CLF was on my list. It broke out on Friday with good volume.

RRC was mentioned here on Thursday. Volume was not impressive, but did offer a small profit.

MEE has been a good performed since first mentioned here on January 27. I had it listed as a buy again on Thursday. It broke again out on Friday, but retraced. Nice for a day trade.

CREE was also mentioned on Thursday. It barely broke out. It could offer another buy opportunity this week.

Now on to the stocks I will be watching for this coming week. I have a lot of them. My buy point is when the stock crosses the upper blue line on heavy volume. These are listed in alphabetical order by ticker symbol.

The first two have earnings due this week. Because of that, I will probably pass on these unless the setup is perfect and I have time to watch them. I will not be holding into earnings.

ANR:

AUXL:

BMRN:

BZP:

CMED:

CNX:

DAR:

ELN:

KGC:

MOS:

OI:

PTEC:

INCY is still on my list as well.

I am out of my TWM trade for +$2 per share. I didn't have the guts to hold it longer. Any profits is a good profit in this market.

Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 2/11/08

2008-02-10T10:01:00.001-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

IBD Market Pulse: Market is in a correction.

Trading for 2/08/08

2008-02-07T21:45:00.000-06:00

Stocks had a decent day today, fighting off the bears on better than average volume. The market is pausing right now, trying to decide where to go. I think it will go down, but I could be wrong.

As mentioned last night, I was looking to short BIDU if I got a good price, and it offered (what I think is) a great entry.

Noen of my stocks from last night broke out, but they held up and I still like them for short term trades if the market does well.

Here are some other momentum stocks that are a bit more risky, but could move:

Trading for 2/07/08

2008-02-06T18:46:00.000-06:00

Here we go, the next leg down. From here we should test the January lows, if not move lower.

I entered TWM prematurely this morning. It is my favorite short inverse ETF, and I believe it will go higher.

BIDU broke its 200 EMA and broke a bear flag like pattern. This spells doom for BIDU. I may short this if I can get a good price.

Believe it or not, I found a couple of stocks that look good on the long side. I am sure these will be taken down soon, but if they show some strength, I may try for $1 or $2.

JRCC:

DAR:

CMED:

I will try these only if they breakout on heavy volume, and if the market is moving with them.

I will be keeping stops tight and taking profits early.

Good trading.

Trading for 2/06/08

2008-02-05T23:07:00.000-06:00

Well, today was a terrible day for longs in the market. Needless to say, none of my long picks from last night triggered. FSLR though, which I mentioned was looking bearish, proved to be a great short today. DEPO showed why low volume breakouts should not be bought.

I think this is the start of another downward thrust which will test the previous lows. But hey, thats what everyone is saying. I will look to get positioned in TWM or DXD, which are double the inverse of the Russell and Dow.

My buy signal will be when the %K and %D lines of the slow stochastic cross 20.

Stock Picks

2008-02-04T22:18:00.000-06:00

Low volume down day in the market, except for Chinese stocks. Some of the stocks I posted here last night broke out today. They were:

PTEC broke out on heavy volume:

DEPO broke out as well, but volume was normal:

COIN ran huge at the open, but sold off the rest of the day. I passed.

Some picks from last week also did well today.

MEE continues to move on nice volume:

As mentioned last night, AZZ broke out on Friday, but gave it back. However, it did nicely today.

Here are some other stocks I am adding to my watch list this week:

Here's a mortgage stock that is up 20% so far this year. Go figure? It looks like it could go higher:

PCLN looks good over 110:

May try CMED at 51:

I like INCY at new highs:

CCC, CLF and LNN are also on the list.

Also, did DRYS get rejected at the 50 EMA?

FSLR is running into resistance in the 200 area, and is forming a bear flag-like pattern.

Good trading.

Watch List

2008-02-03T20:44:00.000-06:00

From my picks last week, the best performer has been AUXL:

Another pick from last week broke out on Friday, it was MEE:

AZZ also broke out, but retraced.

A stock I missed, but also broke out last week was MA:

It might be worth a try over $220.

I didn't find many good charts, but here are a few I'll be watching. I will be looking to buy breakouts on heavy volume.

Nice symmetrical triangle on DEPO:

PDGI may be a buy when it breaks into new highs:

I may try PTEC over $15.50, but heavy volume is a must:

The symmetrical triangle on COIN may not be as nice as the one for DEPO, but it has to break one direction or another, and this stock is a mover:

Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 2/04/08

2008-02-03T20:01:00.000-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

IBD Market Pulse: Market is in a correction.

Trading on 01/29/08

2008-01-29T19:12:00.001-06:00

Last night, I posted a chart of CPLA, and also mentioned:

FSLR looks a little similar, I will consider that too.

Well, CPLA didn't do anything, but FSLR did. My buy point was conservative at 186.

If anyone took AUXL from my pick this weekend, you did very well today:

I have no picks tonight because I won't be trading tomorrow due to the Fed meeting.

By the way, does anyone know how I place comments on the StockCharts.com charts like over at tradermike.net?

Good trading.

AUXL

2008-01-28T22:22:00.000-06:00

AUXL from last night's post broke out today on heavy volume, and gave $1, which was all I was looking for:

There isn't much that interests me right now on either side. I may consider a nibble on this if it breaks resistance with heavy volume; just for $1 or $2.

FSLR looks a little similar, I will consider that too.

I prefer to stay mostly in cash for what will likely be a wild week.

One More Chart

2008-01-27T22:07:00.001-06:00

One more chart to add to the watch list tomorrow:

Trading Plan For This Week

2008-01-27T16:23:00.000-06:00

We did hit a temporary bottom last week from oversold conditions. The market could still go higher from its oversold state. I think we will retest last weeks lows at some point soon though.

I was watching CPHD last week, and it did breakout on good volume, but gave it all back. I am being very aggressive with my stops, and was stopped out at breakeven.

Here are a few stocks that I will be watching tomorrow.

OTEX is in a bearish channel. It could be a good short here, with stops at 31.

PDGI has found support at its 50 MA. I would consider buying when it breaks $43

Woud consider VIVO at $34.50

May buy AZZ at $35.20

MEE needs some time to work, but would consider it at $38

Since I think we will retest last weeks lows at some point, I will not hold these positions very long. Maybe just for $1 or $2 with tight stops. Will only consider breakouts if they are accompanied with volume, and are moving with the market.

Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 1/28/08

2008-01-27T16:22:00.000-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

IBD Market Pulse: Market is in a correction.

Is This a Temporary Bottom?

2008-01-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

So we finally got an oversold bounce, and what a bounce it was! There's no telling how oversold we can get in a bear market. But I do think today was capitulation. Anyone who got long yesterday took a lot of heat, and probably got stopped out. Only one way to go after that, and that is up. I think we'll see some momentum to the upside, but I don't think it will last long. But bear market rallies can be quit sharp. Here's an interesting fact from todays IBD:

"The nine biggest up days in Wall Street history all occurred during the bear market of 2000-02."

In looking for some clean charts to trade, I only saw one I liked. It is CPHD:

I may consider buying this stock as it breaks $32.50. I would only look for a couple of points. Otherwise, I want to stay in cash and look to get positioned for what I suspect could be another leg down.

Wild Ride

2008-01-22T23:12:00.000-06:00

What a ride today. My inverse ETF positions (TWM,DXD) were stopped out for a profit after aggressively moving my stops this morning. I am only long bonds via TLT, which had a technical breakout this morning, but am keeping stops tight. At this point, my plan is to step aside until the market settles a bit, because things could be very choppy. A sharp bear market rally is in order, but so many charts are beaten up right now. There are very few that have held up, so I have no charts to post tonight. However, I do like how HWAY held up. I would buy it over 70 for a couple of points IF the market rallies with it.

Right now, capital preservation is key until the market finds its way. Good luck.

Brutal

2008-01-16T22:28:00.000-06:00

Unless you're short the former leaders, cash is the best place to be right now. Today was simply brutal. It's clear that the institutions want out.

Of the stocks I listed yesterday as potential short term long plays, three broke out and moved higher. They were SONO, APOL and GENZ. But you would have needed to have taken profits quickly, and with the market as it was today, going long was a trap. I also listed SLB as a short, which was down 3.41% today, but thats nothing compared to the bleeding in the market today.

The market could turn around, and believe it or not, there are some stocks holding up well. So if the market does begin to turn, keep an eye on these stocks, as they are showing strength:

GILD, HUM, GENZ, SONO, HWAY, MATK, MCF, PRXL

The week has been wild, and I think it will probably stay that way. I don't see many good short setups right now, but I think any rally would be shortable. Good trading.

Mid-Week Plan

2008-01-15T23:13:00.000-06:00

Since the beginning of the year, I have been going through about 200-300 charts a night, looking for some good stocks to watch. I find this has really helped to get a better idea of what’s going on, and have been happy with some of the picks I’ve made so far, even if I haven’t taken some.

For example, on Sunday I posted: “I like CHL when it moves out of its symmetrical triangle at 90. Would short it if closes beneath it.”

I should have stuck with that analysis; I would have made some money today with that trade. I also posted that I liked FSLR, ABB and SPWR as swing shorts. Those would have all paid well. Of course, calling shorts in this market isn’t too hard, but I am going to play more of these calls. Like SLB, which looks like a good short here.

It seems we still have lower to go, but we should see some bounces before then. If we see a bounce this week, I will be all over these:

APOL, GENZ, HUMM, CHTT, SONO, IVGN, AZZ, GMCR

I am only looking for a couple of points on these trades, and don’t plan to hold for more than a day or two. I want to see these stocks break out of consolidation with high volume before I will consider them.

I will also be watching SPN, TNE, CZZ and CAA for day trade opportunities.

Currently, I am long TLT and plan to add to double-inverse ETF positions on every bounce (TWM, DXD) and get long QID.

Yesterdays Stock Picks Do Well

2008-01-14T21:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first time I listed all the stocks I would be watching going into the next trading day. I had some winners. Remember, I was only looked for a couple of points.

MOS kicked a$$!

Made some money with MON

hummm...not bad

I passed on CHTT, but may try again tomorrow. I am no longer bullish on CHL, but not going to short it either. Will pass.

Todays volume was lower than Friday. If you're an IBD fan, then you know today does not count as a follow through. Trade safe.

EDIT: Some of the stocks I'll be watching on Tuesday: GMCR, CHTT, APOL, KWK, CZZ

Trade Ideas

2008-01-13T14:24:00.000-06:00

I am going to start posting the trades I am considering for the next trading week. Maybe at the end of the week, I will post what I took.

The market should attempt a rally early this week, but that’s certainly not a sure thing. These are stocks I plan to watch and buy on strength. These will be short term trades. I'm only looking for a couple of points. Just because they are posted here doesn’t mean I will buy them. Conditions have to be met, and even then, I may pass.

Short term trade ideas, in no particular order:

I like GMCR once it breaks 42 with volume:

I like MON once it breaks 125 with volume:

I like MOS once it breaks 100 with volume:

I like CHL when it moves out of its symmetrical triangle at 90. Would short it if closes beneath it.

I like AET once it breaks 60 with volume:

I like CHTT once it breaks 78.25 with volume:

I like HUM once it at 86.30 with volume:

Will also consider GGB and HOLX.

Day trades ideas:

Will be watching volume on SPN, SONO and TNE

Long term ideas:

I am watching TLT, and would consider shorting MA, ABB, NDAQ, GOOG and SPWR

Again, I won't be taking all of these positions, or even any. This is what I will be watching early this week.

Good trading!

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 1/14/08

2008-01-12T15:27:00.000-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Watch List

2008-01-09T23:25:00.001-06:00

Will be looking at these stocks for short term trade opportunities:

CHL, DE, DLB, HDB, SID

Stock List for Oversold Rally

2008-01-07T19:59:00.000-06:00

I’ve decided to keep this site going, but it is going to be much different and updated much more frequently, with useful information for momentum and breakout traders. The IBD blackbox selections will also be back, and much more. I will be collaborating with others, so it should be good. I’m excited about it, but it won’t be coming soon enough. Hopefully in a few weeks, you’ll see some great changes….including a new URL.

Now onto trading: I’ve had four trades so far this year. A swing trade in CMED last week for +$2, and day traded IRIS today for +$1.30. My two other trades were in SID and MA last week for breakeven.

In looking at charts last week, so many of them were exhibiting symmetrical triangles; it was obvious the market was going to move big on way or another, and Friday it did. Looking at the charts today, they look so beautiful, so textbook. I am tempted to swing short, but we could see an oversold rally before we go much lower. If we see strength tomorrow, I will be looking for opportunities to day trade these stocks:

CHL, CTRP, EDU, FTI, GILD, ICLR, KNDL, MBT, MOS, SLT, XTO

As for swing short candidates, there are many to consider. I would like to see a rally first. I will especially be watching FSLR, GOOG and BIDU.

Three Time Loser

2007-11-26T20:03:00.000-06:00

I had some buy stops in place this morning, because I was expecting an oversold, end-of-month rally this week. All of them were triggered this morning, and I found myself in several positions, most moving strongly. I should have known what was going to happen next. This happened twice last month, and both times the market sold off hard in the afternoon, turning paper gains into realized losses, and that's what happened today. Here were my results:

FSLR: -$2
PCLN: -$2.30
GOOG: b/e

I also entered MA, and gave it a wider stop. I am still in. I sold half of my RIG position; should have sold it all.

I wasn't able to watch the market much, but I should have stuck to day trading, I would have done much better.

Holding: USO, GLD, FXE, RIG, MA

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/26/07

2007-11-25T19:22:00.001-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Weekly Review

2007-11-23T19:03:00.000-06:00

So much for the rally I expected this week. I had a Buy Stop in RIG that triggered today, otherwise I did'nt do any additional trading on Friday. Here's what I'm holding:

USO, FXE, GLD, RIG

It was nice to see gold move today. Some are saying gold will go to $1,000. If it does, I'm sure it will be volatile, which will probably shake me out before it happens.

Where's The Rally?

2007-11-21T19:15:00.000-06:00

Well, so much for the rally I was expecting this week. We have got to bounce sometime soon, right?

I did get filled on my FXE buy stop order yesterday, and I also entered GLD, and am still in USO. I don't know of anything else that's working well right now, except perhaps the double-inverse ETF's like QID or SDS. Wish I could have gotten in those earlier. There's a new fund that I've been watching, ticker symbol FXP, that is a double-inverse China fund. I would like to own a few of these, but don't think I can stomach the wild swings it has. Check it out.

Good trading to everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Anatomy of a Day Trade

2007-11-19T18:40:00.000-06:00

I was able to make a day trade this morning.

OSIP: +$.76

I have been swing trading these last couple of months. But I will probably be day trading more in this market. So I thought I would share how I day trade. I am be no means a good trader, but I use a system that makes money more times than not. Here's what I do.

When day trading, I basically use the same system as the HCP Group, whose newsletter I used to subscribe to. I have a list of about 120 stocks that I watch, which I am constantly updating. These are mostly market leaders and momentum stocks. For the last couple of months, I haven't been looking at these charts much. I've been trading lazy. But last night, I went through each stock, looking for some setups. I added both the 50 SMA and the 200 SMA to my charts, and I was very surprised to see how many stocks, which were leaders just a few weeks ago, are now trading near or below their 200 SMA. This obviously does not bode well for the market. I saw a lot of sloppy and bearish charts. Two stocks that were showing some strength were ICE and OSIP. Zanger also had ICE in his newsletter last night, so I had these on my list this morning.

When I am planning to day trade, I sort all of my stocks in QuoteTracker by VOL%. This shows me all the stocks that are trading at higher than average volume from top to bottom. I only want to focus on the top 10 stocks or so. This morning, ICE was in the top 10, and moving fast. As I was setting up an order, it blew through my buy point before I even finished setting up. So I just sat there and watched it mover higher and higher without me. Then OSIP started moving up the list, so I put in a Buy Stop at $42.01, just a penny above what I had selected as a good breakout point. I had a stop at .05% below my buy point. After it cleared $42.50, I moved my top to b/e, then trailed it as it moved higher. I was stopped just below my last stop at $42.80 for a gain of +$.76 per share.

Not a huge trade, but I was able to catch a good part of the move. If they were all that easy, I could make a living doing this, but they’re not.

I am still holding USO; otherwise I am in cash. I know I won’t have time to trade tomorrow, and Wednesday may not be worth it. Also watching FXE.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/19/07

2007-11-18T17:18:00.001-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Weekly Results and Thoughts

2007-11-17T16:24:00.000-06:00

I didnt do much trading or watching of the markets. I did take a position in USO, for what I hope is a pull-back in oil. I am also watching for an entry in FXE, for what I expect is a pull-back in the Euro. However, when I read this week that Jay-Z was flashing Euro's in his new video, I was wondering if perhaps the Dollar decline might be close to a bottom. Then I read this article, linked from the Kirk Report, which wondered the same thing. As the article says:

When people who know nothing about an investment start buying it, that's a good time to start selling it.

The Euro is stalling at the moment, and will probably pull-back, but I think it will be temporary. At least thats how I plan to invest for now. Or perhaps I am one of know-nothings jumping in?

As for stocks, I was watching, but passed TWICE on FSLR on Friday for a day trade. Too bad for me, would have been a great trade. I just froze, and saw it move higher.

I also watched a Momentum Trading DVD by Pristine. I have heard good things about them, but they just seemed too slick. The DVD is ok, but without the constant stream of cliches and over-reptition, the actual content could be posted in a small article. In summary, they advise buying pull-backs or breakouts near the 20 SMA that is rising in parallel with the 40 SMA.

I suspect there will be a low volume rally next week. I may look for some day trades. Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/12/07

2007-11-11T16:31:00.000-06:00

There are no stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points.

Back In Cash

2007-11-10T20:32:00.000-06:00

I was pretty aggressive with my stops this week. Usually when that happens, I end up regretting it, but this week, it helped me. I was stopped out of my remaining two positions on Thursday and am now in cash.

NOV: -$1.27
PCZ: +$.50

So I lost some money again this week, but not too bad considering what the market did.
I have been a bit lazy in my trading, and not doing much homework. I plan to change that this week, although I don't think I will be taking any new positions because of OE. I may look to daytrade from the office if my schedule permits.

Almost Back Out

2007-11-07T19:58:00.000-06:00

I am out MA (which actually held up well) at b/e and PCP for a small loss after raising my stop. Still holding PCZ and NOV, but am not hopeful. Momentum is to the down side with support on the S&P broken. I should not have been so quick to dive back into the market, but I was hopeful for an end of year rally.

Back In

2007-11-06T19:24:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post tonight. I took three new positions today:

NOV, MA, PCP

Currently holding: PCZ, NOV, MA, PCP

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 11/05/07

2007-11-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

There are six stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#14, NOV:

#33, CMED:

#34, CNH:

#36, FCX:

#39, GME:

#53, LIFC:

Could Have Been Worse

2007-11-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

I sold BIDU today. I moved my stop up to $390 after market open, and was hoping for $400. I was stopped out before it reached me target. My results were:

BIDU: +$40

Because it was a $350 stock, I didn't buy the normal amount of shares, but it was enough to cover most of my losses for the week. I am ending the week -.54%, whereas the DOW ended the week -1.53%, the S&P -1.67% and the NASDAQ -.22%. With the 2 big gap downs in my account this week, I will consider myself lucky. I am also grateful I passed on CROX earlier this week. It was on my screen on Sunday night, but I didnt put in a bid. Had I bought it, I most certainly would have been holding it during its 20% gap down this week.

I was stopped out of RIO on Thursday after moving my stop to break even, which just happened to be the dead nuts low of the day:

RIO: b/e

That's what I get for using an obvious stop. I entered PCZ today and am still holding. A Zanger pick, although he pointed it that it is not a momentum play. Otherwise, I am in cash. So much for me saying "I want to be in stocks right now" on Monday. Blogging keeps me honest.

There was an interesting discussion at Boogster's Blog on momentum trading earlier this week. I didn't participate, but I do have some thoughts. I may share them this weekend if I have time.

I'm out.

The Damage Done

2007-10-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

When the market makes big moves, I like to check out other blogs and see how other traders reacted, and perhaps learn something. For the readers who came here yesterday, sorry I didn't have much to share. I had a very long workday, got a speeding ticket coming home, then saw that my account suffered a killshot during the day. I really didn't feel like writing about it. But now I have assessed the damage, and here's what went down yesterday:

CTRP: -$1.50

DRYS: -$2
Could have been much worse.

X: -$5.79
Gapped down below my stop on Tuesday morning. I shouldn't have bought so close to earnings.

It got even worse. This happened to me today:

LVS: -$9.13

It also gapped down below my stop.

On the bright side, I am holding BIDU, which has been acting as a buffer in my account. Without BIDU, I might be jumping out of a window right now. Please don't gap down, please don't gap down, please don't gap down,. I am also holding RIO.

EDIT: My first clue to sell came on Monday afternoon when I was in several positions, all of them up big, and I was feeling pretty good. The last time that happened was the morning of October 11. Later that same day, I liquidated my entire account during an afternoon sell-off. Next time I feel like a trading genius, I will sell immediately.

Ouch

2007-10-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

I got my a$$ handed to me today. I haven't gone through the damage yet, since I was away from the market all day. I don't really want to right now.

Swing Trading

2007-10-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

We are entering the time of year where swing trading can pay well. I want to be in stocks right now. Here's what I've been doing:

Last week
Out RIMM for b/e
In BIDU

Today
In CTRP, DRYS, LVS, RIO, X

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/29/07

2007-10-28T19:20:00.000-05:00

There are nine stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#2, FTK

#4, RIMM

#15, NOV

#17, GRMN

#30, CMED

#31, FCX

#33, LIFC

#39, GME

#80, CTRP

Some Trades

2007-10-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

I got stopped out of NVDA today:

NVDA: -$2.50

I had also taken a position in GRMN yesterday, and sold it today

GRMN: +$7.18

I am also in RIMM, which I entered yesterday. Both GRMN and RIMM are Zanger picks.

Quick Post

2007-10-22T20:06:00.000-05:00

I was stopped out of CROX last week after moving my stop to b/e.

I am still holding NVDA.

AAPL reported blow out earnings, which could be good for tech stocks for awhile. I am watching RIMM.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/22/07

2007-10-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#5, RIMM:

#27, GRMN:

#42, AMZN:

#51, CTRP:

#69, FMCN:

#72, STP:

#92, HURN:

NVDA

2007-10-17T19:58:00.000-05:00

Took a swing position in NVDA this morning as it broke out. This is an IBD pick. It had a good day.

I am holding CROX and NVDA. I find it best to not think of my stocks during the work day, because this market is causing me some anxiety, which sometimes is a good sign.

Cautious

2007-10-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

I took a swing position in CROX on Monday morning, but otherwise sitting on my hands. Looks like INTC will probably take the market higher tomorrow. It's anyones guess how long it will last.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/15/07

2007-10-14T17:56:00.000-05:00

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

#40, GME:

#44, AMZN:

#60, SLB:

#64, SII:

#70, HURN:

#71, FMCN:

#84, NVDA:

Panic Selling

2007-10-11T18:12:00.000-05:00

Today is the kind of day that can really hurt a momentum trader, since it was the leaders who took the biggest hits in todays selloff. I had 7 swing positions going into the day, and was very excited to see these stocks doing well in the morning. When I saw the selloff in the afternoon, I liquidated my entire account. Sounds a bit extreme, I know. After I did, I felt foolish, but nearly all of my stops would have been hit anyway. Here is how my positions faired:

AAPL: +$5.05
Had been holding for awhile, and sold some on the way up. Was hoping to do a lot better. I was stopped out during todays selloff. In the end, made about $5 per share.

CROX: +$4.59
Also sold some on the way up.

FCX: +$3
Took this position last week. Sold at market during selloff.

MA: b/e
My nemesis, since I often lose money with this stock. I had moved my stop to b/e last night. Was stopped out today, although it held up well early in the selloff.

PCU: +$9.30
Bought this yesterday and sold this morning after it hit my initial target. I was wishing I hadn't sold in the morning, now I am thankful I did.

GME: -$1.35
Blah. Nothing to say, Panic sold this.

GNK -$1.40
Ditto.

Sold my remaining CTRP earlier this week for a total gain of:

CTRP: +$1.80

I can't be upset because most of these were sold for gains, but I had so much more.

Right now, cash is king. we'll see what happens from here.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/08/07

2007-10-07T11:22:00.000-05:00

There are seven stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

CYNO

AMZN

FLIR

NVDA

HURN

FMCN

WFR

Weekly Review

2007-10-06T09:19:00.000-05:00

Here is how my trading went this week. I will start off with the big loser, Las Vegas Sands, which I bought on Tuesday, then gapped down huge on Wednesday morning:

LVS: -$6.36

My second big gap down this week. I also had another loser, and that was FCX, which I had been watching as a gold play:

FCX: -$3

I had two swing positions that I held for a couple of days that sold after hitting my initial targets:

MA: +$3.40
CMI: +$4

MA had been an avoid for me, but it looked like easy money, so I took it. CMI I would have like to have held longer. I usually place a Buy Stop+TTO order, which means my position is closed automatically as it hits my preset stop or target prices. If the stock is doing well, then I will often remove the orders and adjust the stop and let it run, but I didn’t have a chance to do this with CMI on Friday. I’ll take the profit though.

Closed RIG after moving my stop.

RIG: +$1

I hate oil stocks; so slippery.

Tried day trading GRMN on Friday for b/e. I also re-entered FCX on Friday for another go.

Holding: AAPL, CROX, CTRP, FCX.

AAPL and CROX are doing well.

EDIT: CTRP doesn't look too good right now. I took partial profits on Wednesday and moved my stop to b/e, so I'll just keep holding.

Out GRMN

2007-10-01T18:08:00.000-05:00

Here’s the problem with swing trading. You take a position, and for days, maybe weeks, you watch it climb the wall of worry. The stock makes a nice gain, and you pat yourself on the back for making such a wise purchase. Then one day you wake up, and all of the gain you sweated and worried about is gone in an instant. That’s what happened to GRMN holders today who bought the most recent breakout:

That included me. The good thing was, as I mentioned in this weekends post, I sold half my position last week and moved my stop to b/e. GRMN opened below my stop, but I'm out of the trade with a profit:

GRMN: +$4.50

Selling half last week was simply luck, or fear. I knew it was due for a correction, but nothing like this. Although I would have made much more selling all last week, I am happy to get out with a profit.

I've been too busy at work lately to do any day trading. Sadly, it may be that way for awhile. I passed on some buy stops last night that I am kicking myself for now (FSLR, MPEL).

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 10/01/07

2007-09-30T11:50:00.000-05:00

There are ten(!) stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

CRNT

ISRG

CNH

AAPL

CYNO

AMZN

ESI

NVDA

PCP

HURN

Trading Results for the Week

2007-09-30T11:42:00.000-05:00

Got stopped out of two trades this last week:

FSLR: -$2
BCSI: -$3.50

I am still holding RIG, CTRP, CROX, AAPL and GRMN. These positions have been doing well, especially GRMN. I have been tempted to take some profits, in fact, I did sell half of my GRMN position and moved my stop to b/e, but I want to let these run a little longer. We are entering the 4th quarter when stocks typically do well, and a lot of charts are looking bullish. But, we need to be concerned about both the DOW and S&P potentially forming a double-top. As usual, the market could go either way.

Trading for Tuesday

2007-09-25T13:52:00.000-05:00

Bot: CROX, AAPL

I had a buy stop for CROX at 61 for over a week, but cancelled the order last week. I saw that it broke out yesterday, so I used a limit order today to get in at 61.10. Got in AAPL at 150.

Holding: RIG, BCSI, CTRP, GRMN, CROX, AAPL

It was hard not to take some profits, but I am determined to ride these a bit longer.

Taking More Risk

2007-09-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

I thought quite a bit about my trading this weekend. I have been far too risk adverse, and missing great opportunities. This summer, I was in some stocks early that made huge moves. Stocks like TNH and BIDU (By the way, how about BIDU today? Unreal how it just keeps going up). I wasn’t able to capitalize on these moves, because I took profits way too early. I don't like to give money back to the market. It’s nice to take profits and end the day in cash. But the real money is made in holding. That is how Nicolas Darvas made his millions. Besides, I don’t have the time to devote to day trading and grinding it out, although I wish I did. If I want to build real wealth, I need to risk more and hold longer. That doesn’t mean being careless, but risking enough to make the wins substantial, and holding to catch a large part of a move.

I knew the market was overbought, and due for a rest, but I decided to look for swing opportunities today, and use wider stops than normal. I found three stocks that I liked this morning. These are the positions I opened:

BCSI, CTRP and GRMN.

You're probably thinking, "Isn't GRMN on your do not trade list?" True. But I thought I would give it one more shot, this time with a wider stop, after Dan Zanger called it a "must own" in his Sunday night newsletter. BSCI was also a Zanger pick, and started the day strongly, but sold off. CTRP I saw on my nightly scan. It too sold off in the afternoon.

I'm still in RIG. I was prepared for today’s action in RIG, as oil was way overbought. I think long-term, it could be a good position.

There isn’t much news expected this week, but I am counting on an end of the month rally to bring these higher.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 9/24/07

2007-09-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

There are two stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

ISRG

NILE

Trading Results for the Week

2007-09-22T09:21:00.000-05:00

So far, this week was the best week for the markets this year. Sort of ironic that it would come in what is historically the worst month for the markets. I made some money, but I closed positions way too early, and as usual, left a lot more on the table. I will need to continue working on overcoming this psychological barrier that is costing me bundles. Anyway, here are the trades I made.

PCU: -$2.20
Stop was too tight apparently.

CELG: +$1
Tightened my stop on Fed Tuesday to protect a gain. Should have left it alone.

FXI: +$5.93
Overall I'm happy with this trade.

GRMN: -$2
GMRN will join MA in my 'do not trade' list. I don't make money with these on short term momentum plays. Probably because of tight stops.

AAPL: b/e
Moved my stop too quickly.

Currently holding: RIG

If I wasn't so fearful in my trading, I could have done much better. Need more greed, less fear.

Trading Poem

2007-09-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

Whenever I trade BIDU
I get the feeling of déjà vu
I take a small gain
The price then goes insane
It leaves me feeling quite blue

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 9/17/07

2007-09-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

There are three stocks in the IBD 100 that have been highlighted in the Monday edition of Investors Business Daily as being near their buy points:

CMED

LIFC

ZUMZ

Trading Results

2007-09-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

Sold BIDU today for a profit.

BIDU: +$10

Also traded MA, which has become the bane of my trading. I traded it for a loss.

MA: -$2

Yeah, hard to figure how I could lose money on this stock today, but I did. This is a slippery stock for me. I should have taken my advice from earlier regarding this stock:

"It seems like I always get burned when I trade this short term. It was my biggest swing trade winner in ’06. I shouldn’t have sold it. Next time, I will give it a generous stop."

I didn't give it a generous stop. For now, this stock is an avoid for me.

I also entered FXI for a short term swing trade.

Oil Plays

2007-09-12T12:41:00.000-05:00

Oil hit an all time high today, and I entered FWLT as an oil play at $121.18 for a swing trade. I also have my eyes on SLB and RIG for possible oil plays.

EDIT: Ok, I lied about the swing trade. FWLT turned into a day trade because I didnt adjust my target on the Stop+TTO order, was planning on doing that after market close. Now my position is closed.

FWLT: + $3.82

West Coast Trading

2007-09-11T18:01:00.001-05:00

I live in the Central Time Zone, but am currently in the Pacific Time Zone on business. It's great to be able to watch the market for nearly 2 hours before going to work. If I ever became a full-time day trader, I think I would do it from here. Here, the market opens at 6:30am, and closes at 1:00pm. That's a lot of daylight remaining. As long as you're an early riser, trading from here would be great, in my opinion.

From my last post, I entered BIDU today, and am still in CELG.

Trading Results

2007-09-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry I havent been posting much. I am currently travelling, and have'nt had much time to post or watch the markets, let alone trade.

My RIMM swing was sold for a loss last week:

RIMM: -$2

I had also bought CELG at breakout last Thursday, and assumed I got stopped out the following day, because I didnt see the stock in the MBT Navigator software, which is the trading platform for my broker, MB Trading. It wasn't there on Friday after market, or all weekend. I logged in yesterday, and WTF? I still own it? My stop wasnt hit after all, but sometimes stocks disappear and then reappear in the MBT Navigator. This isnt the first time it's happened. in fact, it has been happening a lot lately.

I mentioned awhile back that I was having problems with my broker. What had happened then was I had three positions that disappeared, all while the market sold off hard. I assumed the stocks were sold when my stops were hit that day, but the next day, I still owned them! I sold those positions at market, then called the MB Trading Desk, and they acknowleged their mistake and credited my account the difference. But I am learning that I really have to babysit my trades with these guys, especially with stops. I really need to switch brokers.

EDIT: Just bought BIDU.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 9/10/07

2007-09-09T14:27:00.000-05:00

There is one IBD 100 stock in the 9/10/07 edition of Investors Business Daily that is highlighted as being near its buy point.

It is the #1 stock in the IBD 100, BIDU.

Click here to view weekly chart.

IBD Selections

2007-09-03T16:56:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I didn't get my edition of IBD, so I won't be posting the black-boxed IBD picks this week.

Win Some, Lose Some

2007-08-31T14:48:00.000-05:00

Made two day trades; one win, one loser:

NOV: +$2.91
GRMN: -$2.08

Overall, I am happy to have a net profit for the day, although the GRMN loss is still stinging a bit as a type this. If I had more time to watch the markets, I would like to think that I could have gotten more out of NOV, and perhaps made a profitable day trade in DRYS again, but maybe that wouldnt have been the case.

I also entered a RIMM swing trade, but not thrilled about holding it right now. Probably shouldn't have traded on the Friday before a three day weekend.

Have a good Labor Day weekend.

Lesson Learned

2007-08-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

Didn’t trade today, but learned a valuable lesson.

There were a couple of stocks that I was interested in day trading, but didn’t have time to watch them all day. One stock that I was watching was DRYS, which I day traded earlier this week. Later in afternoon, I placed a Buy Stop+TTO order, with an entry, stop and target all in place. I got impatient watching it, and began second-guessing myself and cancelled the order. After the market closed, I took a look and saw that my order would have been triggered and my target reached for a nice profitable trade....If only I hadn’t cancelled.

The lesson: Place my order and leave it alone. If I’m wrong, let the stops take me out. Actually, this isn’t a new lesson. It’s one that I’ve learned before. One day I hope it sinks in.

Day Trade DRYS

2007-08-27T17:54:00.000-05:00

Made a day trade today - DRYS: +$1.64

This was a Zanger pick last week when he recommended buying this on weakness. Buyers then would have done very well. I prefer to buy strength, so I bought today. It's showing some great momentum on the daily chart, and it could very well go higher. So why did I sell today? Good question. I prefer to take small profits in this market. If the market holds up, then there should be some nice swing trade opportunities in the fall. Until I see some signs of that happening, I'll stick with taking profits early.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 8/27/07

2007-08-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

There are no IBD 100 stocks in the 8/27/07 edition of Investors Business Daily that are highlighted as being near their buy point.

Leaders Reemerging

2007-08-23T08:29:00.001-05:00

If you subscribe to the Zanger Report, which I advertise here, then you probably would have entered AAPL, FWLT, BIDU for day or swing trades yesterday, and would have already been in RIMM. He's predicting more upside in the markets. I passed on these picks because I am a bit risk averse right now, which is probably a sure sign that the markets are going higher for now.

Out VDSI for Breakeven

2007-08-20T10:28:00.000-05:00

Decided to dip my toes in this market and make a daytrade in VDSI. It made a nice little move after I entered the trade. I then moved my stop to b/e and got stopped out. I should have taken my own advice and taken some profits before moving my stop.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 8/20/07

2007-08-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

There are no IBD 100 stocks in the 8/20/07 edition of Investors Business Daily that are highlighted as being near their buy point.

My Opinion on the Market, China and What's New

2007-08-12T19:34:00.000-05:00

Big post today. I plan to have a busy week at work, so I don’t know how much trading I will get to do. This is not a market that I want to auto-trade or swing trade. My plan for now is to sit in cash, protect my gains and observe the carnage, and hopefully learn a few things along the way. I hope to make some money by day trading during rallies, which can be quite sharp in this kind of market. I may look to get short after the next rally, as I think the market is going to be in trouble or some time to come. Cash is a good place to be right now. But it is worth noting, that the uptrend since 2002 is still intact.

I have been reading some comments in other blogs and newsletters about Black Monday, the market crash of 1987, and something similar being just around the corner. Don Harrold has a new video on his site talking about similarities between the market just before the 1929 crash, and the market today. Although he will deny this, Don is a perma-bear, but he does raise some interesting comparisons. I am more concerned about a crash in China. A few months ago, the LA Times had an article about the investing going on among Chinese citizens. They are jumping into the market fully margined, even mortgaging their homes and taking credit card loans to buy stocks, making incredible paper returns. Sound familiar? The Shanghai composite is unquestionably a bubble ready to burst. I believe one morning, we are going to wake up to news of a huge crash in the Shanghai composite; a jump-out-of-window type crash, reminiscent of 1929. This would cause a huge ripple effect on markets around the globe. One site that is following the situation on China closely is StockTiming.com. Marty has a free daily newsletter, and sometimes has some good stuff regarding China.

On an unrelated note, I have posted a reply comment in one of the threads talking about my opinion on the trading hypnosis MP3 I used awhile back. You can check it out there if interested. I may post more on it here soon.

Lastly, I opened a demo Forex account this week that I am trading from as I type this. I would like to be able to trade in the evenings, since I have a day job. The Forex market provides the chance to do that. So maybe in a month or two, I’ll be posting Forex trades here too. I'll see how the demo goes first.

Good trading.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 8/13/07

2007-08-12T18:57:00.000-05:00

There are no IBD 100 stocks in the 8/13/07 edition of Investors Business Daily that are highlighted as being near their buy point.

Trading Results for 8/08/07

2007-08-08T14:41:00.001-05:00

Took 2 day trades today (I have no interest in swing trading this market right now). One win and one scratch.

GRMN: +$1
MOS: b/e

I think I may begin taking some profits before moving my stops to breakeven. I was up over $1 in MOS at one point. Glad I moved the stop though.

No more trading for me today, but it's sure fun to watch this action.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 8/06/07

2007-08-05T15:48:00.001-05:00

There are no IBD 100 stocks near their buy point for 8/06/07 .

Trading Results for the Week

2007-08-05T09:54:00.001-05:00

Here are my results for the week:

FSLR: -$2
QQQQ: +.25
CMI: +.65

I didn't trade much this week, due mostly to some problems with my broker. Probably a good thing, since I would have gotten eaten alive in this crazy market.

I was really PO'd with MB Trading, this week. I will need to look for a new broker, as they continue having costly technical problems. I will post more about it later. But let me just state for the record that MB Trading sucks!

I am sure by now most of you have seen this video of Jim Cramer going ballistic over the Fed sitting idly by while the market tanks on credit woes. If you haven't seen it, check it out, it' s worth watching.

Two New Positions

2007-07-30T20:05:00.000-05:00

Entered two new swing positions today, FSLR and QQQQ. With the market so oversold, I wanted to play one of the index ETF's. For some reason, I have a preference for the Q's. FSLR is admittedly risky with earnings tomorrow. I don't plan to hold either of these very long.

These are my only two positions right now. I failed to mention that I was stopped out of TRA at b/e two weeks ago. I was in cash after being stopped out of RIMM and EWZ last Tuesday, which was a good place to be during last weeks market meltdown.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 7/30/07

2007-07-29T17:57:00.000-05:00

Because of the beating stocks took last week, there are no IBD 100 stocks near their buy point for 7/30/07 .

Swing Trade Results

2007-07-24T07:43:00.000-05:00

My SPWR and GOOG swing trades didn't do so hot. I descreased my postion size by 2/3 going into earnings, but both got clobbered. Here were my results:

SPWR: +$1.75
GOOG: +$1.16

I wasn't about to make the same mistake with AAPL, which reports earnings on Wednesday. I sold AAPL on Monday:

AAPL +$20.14

Even if AAPL has good earnings, I am happy with the trade. I am still holding RIMM, and also entered EWZ for a swing trade.

EDIT: Stopped out of RIMM: +$6.70
EDIT #2: Stopped out of EWZ: -$2

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 7/23/07

2007-07-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

There are no IBD 100 stocks near their buy point for 7/23/07 .

Trading Results For The Last Week

2007-07-16T19:48:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I wondered if we are at a double top or double bottom. The question was answered last week as the Dow broke into new highs. Seriously, who was talking about Dow 14,000 a week ago? Now it’s just 50 points away, crazy stuff. So we now have a confirmed double bottom, which means stocks should move higher, but for how long?

I haven’t been day trading, except when getting stopped out. Just swing trading stocks that are breaking out of solid patterns on heavy volume. Here is what I traded in the last week:

JASO: - $1.29
This was last Monday morning. I bought at market open (mistake #1), was chopped/stopped out, the stock closed up 14%! Damn, stop was too tight (mistake #2).

MA: -$2
It seems like I always get burned when I trade this short term. It was my biggest swing trade winner in ’06. I shouldn’t have sold it. Next time, I will give it a generous stop.

AMZN: B/E
Stopped out today; had a feeling it would.

TSL: +$3
Bought it on Friday and sold it today near the dead nuts high of the day. It was just dumb luck that I sold it when I did. It finished down over 9% today!

Currently holding:
AAPL, GOOG, SPWR, RIMM, TRA

I took a little bit of profit in GOOG last Friday, since it was my largest position, and I wanted to have some cash for today. I am trailing my stops, hoping to keep at least some of my gains in these positions. I may need to rethink how I use stops. JASO would have been a nice payday, and MA is moving higher without me.

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 7/16/07

2007-07-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

Two stocks in the IBD 100 have been highlighted as being near their buy points for 07/16/07. They are:

#29, ICE.

#45, NTGR

IBD 100 Stocks Near Their Buy Point for 7/09/07

2007-07-08T17:53:00.000-05:00

Only one stock in the IBD 100 that has been highlighted in Mondays edition of IBD as being near its buy point.

It is #86, NTGR.