Phil's Stock World, Stock Options Trading & Information

Daily Stock and Options Tips & Updates; Get Our Daily Newsletter Here

The strategy you have laid out pretty much mirrors much of my trading activity. I also mix in some momentum plays and "drop dead" bargains that come across my radar. My YTD trading profit is 63%. Back in March when Phil said "unless you think the world is coming to an end, then NOW is the time to start taking positions in Buy/Writes with the VIX so high." I jumped in with both feet - ( thanks, again Phil)

- Chaps

Thanks for your thoughts against buying BP ahead of earnings (yesterdays' member comments). It announced a loss of $3.3b and is down 3% in pre-market but still just above the bottom of the chaneel of $40-$50.

- mSquare

Phil - FAS - I dont know whether to be happier I averaged down and sold calls or that I got myself out of FAZ the other day…thanks for that help

- BCFla

Personally I admire and respect you disciplined approach to investing. My style is at the extreme side of aggressive and I have to learn how to be less that way. If I yell " Let it Ride" at my house, no one says a word so I can't use that to temper my behavior. Phil has done a pretty good job of knocking some of my potential moves and as a result, I have increased my portfolio value by almost 25% since late July.

- DoubleD

Phil…..You have absolutely NAILED IT! This is not a bull market, nor is it a bear market. It is a Rangeish market, and it's going to stay that way for a long time (the latter is my prediction. I love the word. What I love more is the fact that I've found someone with some investing intelligence greater than mine who can assist me in playing this type of market. Your description today of how it's playing out is right on. I predict some media ‘guru' will steal your word and your description within the next few days and we'll all get to read about what ‘they' discovered about this market. Thanks Phil!

- Iflantheman

Hey Phil, Your HOV suggestion about 3 months ago basically paid for my Philstockworld subscription for years to come. My average cost is about $1.

- Ether

Phil is a master at keeping you laughing, as well as making you money. - It is like " laughing all the way to the bank!"

- Gel1

I think that Phil is super, I am up 39.3% YTD. Thank you for your kindness and the opportunity to observe Phil from February.

- KMisko

Its been a "perfect" month. Every stock I wrote calls against looks like it will be called away next week, every put I wrote will expire worthless. Thanks Phil, now I need some new buy/write candidates, or the new 100K portfolio….

- Barfinger

Oxen (directly) and Wilkinson (indirectly) are making me a great day trader! Props to Andrew for another little nugget last night: HIG. $20 Dec calls paid 6% quickly this morning. And helloooo STJ - a few days, but nice pick nonetheless - esp with early cover premium.

- Dstillwe

I picked up one of your recommended Gold plays, the July ABX 30s and sold the Feb 35s, which are now mostly intrinsic value. Is it time to roll these to the March 37.50s, or should I wait this spike out?

- Bill Hoffman

Phil - Moved today to send kudos. You're in my top 5 to see/read daily. I do not trade... but as former econ-finance adjunct faculty near Stanford U. I give you lots of attaboys.... and provide your links to many to spread some understanding of the mess we are in. Best to you and yours,

- HJ Kobbeman

Opt, I think the hardest thing is being disciplined enough to trade with you. Atleast now when I see something go in the red I know how much I'm going to loose and that I will profit somewhere else and have enough money left at the end of the day to trade again. Thanks for all your hard work! My stress levels are down 75% and I have even made a small profit in the short time I've been here

- Mopar

Phil, I've got to give you props on the ICE spread play. Tremendous call! I jumped in on Friday when you made the recommendation and closed out today. Nice 57% return ($2,300) over a mere 3 trading days! This is why I dig your site!

- Samlawyer

Well that was a fun day. Cashed out my GS 140 calls for about 35% profit and my AAPL calls for 38% gain. Not bad for 40 minutes of work. Back to 85% cash.

- Singapore Steve

I have been a member of Phil's site for three years and counting, and my advice is that all investing takes time. There are o shortcuts, no secret way to riches. Same with Phil's site- you need time and patience to start benefitting fully from his advice. But it is often spot on and also very useful, especially to me as I try to keep a level head in this turbulent stock market environment.

- Jordan

Hi Mr. Phill, I am a Venezuelan lady tormented by our politicall situation, who use to be an emerging market trader, and many other executive positins in the finance "arena" and now is trying to built a new concept and service for asset management for clients on my own, I am in the trial and learning process at the moment, I also invest for some friends and myself. I want to congratulate you , because reading you fill my days with a touch of irony (besides ,of course the spectacular market insight) that happens to give me energy, its a joy the remarks and comments even the pictures used, sometimes I just read it for the fun, I completily agree with your thouhts, though we belong to totally different cultures and enviorements and certanly realities Your readings is like a little hand helping me out to be in the market and fight for my devastated country where every single day we looe inches and yards of liberty. You shoul try to writte a book!

- Mindeyes

Phil - DIA 107 Calls. As suggested I am taking the money and running to home depot for some shelter supplies! This is the grand finale of several successful trades from you through this roller-coster and as you have further suggested it is time for me to sit back and relax in cash. May even be able to talk my wife into the premium membership after these intelligent trades in a stupid market.

- DOStrade

Nice intraday trading calls this week Phil. You have me hooked on trading SPY options analogously to your DIA moves. I paid some tuition the last few weeks but I think I have the hang of it. Don't be greedy and be happy with 0.05 to 0.10 and sometimes you're lucky with much bigger moves. Thanks for the training!

- TmDecay

I would like to thank Phil and PSW crew for the insight and assistance (even the liberals). In December I initiated long stock positions buying stock, writing calls and puts in AAPL, WFR and CHK (scaling in and out). Over the last week I have been trimming back my positions selling stock and taking out my callers and putters. I am now back to my initial 25% position that I started with in December. However this time, my cost basis on shares AAPL, WFR, and CHK is $0! With money to spare from those positions.

- Texasmotion

Phil, I'm up 34x what I paid in fees for your service, and that only counts the trades I didn't think of myself. Thanks!

- Barfinger

As a fellow "low-end" investor I like Phil's Buy/Write strategy on solid stocks. Before I came here I loved to try to "figure things out" with very little success "TRYING TO FIGURE THINGS OUT"! I traded too much and fell in love with stocks that "should have done" what they didn't do. Now a majority of my accounts are in Buy/Writes suggested here or cash (waiting for a better time for more Buy/Writes). I use 15-20% of my total holding to short term trade and hedge. This is manageable with my full time job as a business owner. I have found Phil's system a more discipline way to achieve the returns I want without relying on my ability (more like inability to "figure things out").

- DCalrk41

AMZN ... thanks Phil; boy did they run a squeeze on everyone there ... made me sweat ... scaling helped! I think AMZN has an 85 handle tomorrow ... maybe lower.

- Cap

Hey Phil - writing to thank you! First of all, and I know you have heard this a few times form some others - the portfolio updates you have done - with entries and targets and even margin reqs are invaluable! I find myself understanding what is done here IN THEORY most of the time..however, there is a much bigger difference in placing and setting up the hedges properly than just understanding…This has been eye opening for me and Ifeel like I just took a major step in trading during the last week.

- Bcfla

Joined last year and and started profitably trading options thanks to everything I have learned here. THANK YOU!!

- OnWisconsin

I am a Registered Nurse, so is my wife. We work hard to take care of seven kids that are the joy of our lives. The cost for a basic membership is ALOT from our our monthly budget of spending and saving…but well worth it! Phil has allowed me to really ramp up the savings we put away for our children's college funds and our retirement.

- David

The best play I made this year was PSW. Will renew my membership tonight. Looking for the same trading profit percentages next year, but will have an advantage from the compounding, and much better skills acquired from you and the many skilled PSW co-pilots. Thanks!

- Gel1

On Optrader's section yesterday he was asked how he works with AAPL as an investment. He replied that he just ‘plays with the covers'. I've got a separate portfolio where I use primarily this technique over the past 6 months. Up 60% The principles involved are stock selection, patience, patience, using covers to protect profits, rolling covers to maximize premium return, and exiting when covers are gone and stock price is high. Sometimes it's hard to remember where you learn to do this stuff, but much of it is from integrating principles I've learned here with thing I already knew. Thanks for the help on this, Phil and others.

- Roaster

BTW Phil, I wanted to relate a conversation I had with my business partner yesterday. I told him that I have been much more relaxed about my investments ever since I joined your site. It's funny how a 15-20% cushion does to your nerves. My returns have increased dramatically and my risk diminished. Many thanks for the guidance and patience. Good thing I am doing better financially as you might have increased my life expectancy as well!

- StJeanluc

Phil - I know I am small change compared to most others members, but I just wanted to let you know that during the last two weeks with the shorts you and others suggested I have 6 winners and 5 losers. My losers were small because I tried to follow your guidelines as best I could. On the other hand my winners on average were around 50%. Consequently, I am up $2000 in 14 days. Thank you for your patience and help. I think I am making progress getting rid of some of my poor trading habits of the past!

- DCalrk41

Posts Tagged ‘YHOO’

Stampede of Bulls into Goldcorp Calls as Shares Hit Two-Year Highs

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - March 1st, 2011 4:04 pm

Today’s tickers: GG, LINE, IYR & YHOO

GG - Goldcorp, Inc. – Shares of the gold mining company are trading up at their highest in more than 2 years, and a number of options traders are betting Goldcorp’s shares have more room to run in the near term. Call options on GG are in high demand, with more than 3.1 calls changing hands on the stock for each single put option in action today. Shares in the name are currently up 3.5% at an intraday- and new 2-year high of $49.50. Investors expecting the price of the underlying to continue to move higher picked up more than 1,750 calls at the March $50 strike for an average premium of $0.84 apiece. Traders exchanged more than 6,600 calls up at the March $52.5 strike versus previously existing open interest of just 537 contracts. The majority of the calls, or roughly 4,500 contracts, were purchased at the March $52.5 strike for an average premium of $0.29 a-pop. Call buyers at this strike start making money if shares in Goldcorp rally another 6.6% over today’s high of $49.50 to surpass the average breakeven point at $52.79 by March expiration. Options implied volatility on the gold mining company increased 8.0% to 30.88% by 12:45pm.

LINE - Linn Energy LLC – The oil and natural gas company popped up on our scanners this morning due to options activity in the July contract. The spread appears to be the work of an investor positioning for shares to hit a new 52-week high ahead of expiration. Shares in Linn Energy LLC are down slightly by 0.33% to stand at $38.70 in early afternoon trade. It looks like the strategist responsible for the transaction sold 2,000 puts at the July $36 strike for a premium of $1.15 per contract…

Tags: GG, IYR, LINE, YHOO

No Comments »

Call Options Fly Off the Shelves at Yahoo!

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - February 3rd, 2011 5:21 pm

Today’s tickers: YHOO, TSN, BJ & CEPH

YHOO - Yahoo, Inc. – Large prints in Yahoo! call options today indicate some strategists see shares in the name rising in the next couple of months. Shares in the online media company rallied as much as 1.8% today to trade around $16.87 by 12:00pm in New York. A massive call spread appears to have been purchased in the April contract. The investor responsible for the transaction purchased 46,500 calls at the April $18 strike for a premium of $0.50 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher April $20 strike at a premium of $0.20 a-pop. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.30 per contract. Thus, the investor responsible for the spread is poised to profit should shares in Yahoo! rally 8.5% over today’s high of $16.87 to surpass the effective breakeven price of $18.30 ahead of April expiration. Maximum potential profits of $1.70 per contract are available to the investor if shares in YHOO jump 18.6% to trade above $20.00 before the options expire in April. Earlier in the session, another bullish player initiated a similar spread, buying around 5,000 calls at the March $17 strike for an average premium of $0.54 each, and selling the same number of calls at the higher March $19 strike at an average premium of $0.19 apiece. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.35 per contract and positions the trader to make money in the event that Yahoo’s shares rise above $17.35 by March expiration. The sharp rise in demand for options on Yahoo! sent the overall reading of options implied volatility on the stock up 10.6% to 33.41% in early afternoon trade.

TSN - Tyson Foods, Inc. – Bullish options traders are picking up calls on the producer of chicken, beef, pork and prepared food products this morning ahead of the firm’s first-quarter earnings report, scheduled for release before the market opens on Friday. Shares in Tyson Foods increased as much as…

Tags: BJ, CEPH, TSN, YHOO

1 Comment »

Demand for Puts Pops at Regions Financial as Shares Slide Lower

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - November 18th, 2010 4:25 pm

Today’s tickers: RF, YHOO, ORLY, CTV, HNZ, STX, SMH & GT

RF - Regions Financial Corp. – Bears are piling into put options on Regions Financial Corp. today after Fitch Ratings cut Alabama’s biggest lender by two levels to –BBB, citing concerns the firm may post additional losses. Regions’ credit rating was also downgraded two notches to Ba3 from Ba1 at Moody’s yesterday. Shares have been hammered lower over the past four weeks, and today declined as much as 7.22% to touch an intraday- and new 52-week low of $5.14. Today’s low of $5.14 marks a 46.5% decline since October 21, 2010, when shares touched an intraday high of $7.53. Investors expecting shares to extend losses over the next several months purchased large numbers of put options on the stock. Bearish players picked up at least 9,000 puts at the December $5.0 strike for an average premium of $0.28 each and purchased approximately 10,000 puts at the lower December $4.0 strike at an average premium of $0.20 apiece. Lower-strike put buyers are positioned to profit should Regions’ shares slide another 26% below today’s intraday low point of $5.14 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $3.80 by expiration day in December. Pessimism spread to the January 2011 $4.0 strike where another 3,800 put options were coveted at an average premium of $0.20 a-pop. The surge in demand for put options coupled with growing uncertainty regarding the fate of RF’s shares going forward helped lift the stock’s overall reading of options implied volatility 27.4% to 90.77% by 3:50 pm in New York.

YHOO - Yahoo!, Inc. – Shares in Yahoo! are up 5.35% to $17.01 as of 2:40 pm in New York, but earlier rallied as much as 6.315% to hit an intraday high of $17.17. Call options on…

Tags: CTV, GT, HNZ, ORLY, RF, SMH, STX, YHOO

No Comments »

Bearish Player Initiates Ratio Put Spread at Staples

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - October 18th, 2010 5:05 pm

Today’s tickers: SPLS, XCO, THC, FTO, YHOO, ERTS, LNC & GE

SPLS - Staples, Inc. – The supplier of office products popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner late in the trading session after one investor initiated a bearish spread in the December contract. Staples’ shares are currently down 0.80% at $20.64 as of 3:15 p.m. in New York. The pessimistic player established a ratio put spread, buying 2,500 in-the-money puts at the December $21 strike for an average premium of $1.185 each, and selling 5,000 puts at the lower December $19 strike at an average premium of $0.39 apiece. The average net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.405 per contract. Thus, the investor is prepared to make money if the price of the underlying stock slips beneath the effective breakeven point on the spread at $20.595 by expiration day in December. Maximum potential profits of $1.595 per contract are available to the ratio-spreader if the office products company’s shares fall 7.945% from the current price of $20.64 to settle at $19.00 at expiration. The investor is vulnerable to losses in the event that Staples’ shares plummet far lower than he expects they will in the next several months. Losses start to accumulate for the trader if shares drop 15.7% lower and trade below the lower breakeven point at $17.405 by expiration day. Staples, Inc. is slated to report third-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on November 18, 2010.

XCO - EXCO Resources, Inc. – The oil and natural gas company was visited by one long-term bullish options investor in the second half of the trading session. It looks like the trader is expecting EXCO’s shares to rally significantly by expiration day in March of 2011. Shares of the Dallas, TX-based firm are up 2.05% at…

Tags: ERTS, FTO, GE, LNC, SPLS, THC, XCO, YHOO

No Comments »

Mixed Sentiment Apparent in Bank of America Options Action

by Phil - September 8th, 2010 4:42 pm

Today’s tickers: BAC, XRT, ZMH, GMCR, COF, YHOO, ZGEN & NYT

BAC – Bank of America Corp. – One massive options transaction on Bank of America today suggests one investor has made a bee-line for the hills. The trader observed ducking for cover appears to be expecting the recent rebound in the price of the financial firm’s shares to come to an abrupt end ahead of September expiration. Shares in BAC climbed 2.1% during the session to pin down an intraday high of $13.49. It looks like the options player sold shares of the underlying stock for approximately $13.35 each and purchased 100,000 calls at the September $14 strike for premium of $0.10 apiece. The trader, who is now short the stock and effectively long a stop loss, seems to be anticipating shares will falter ahead of expiration. Near-term pessimism by one trader was countered by longer-term bullish activity on BAC in the January 2011 contract where it looks like another investor put on a three-legged bullish combination strategy. The options optimist sold 10,000 puts at the January 2011 $12.5 strike at a premium of $0.84 each, purchased 10,000 calls at the January 2011 $14 strike for premium of $1.00 apiece, and sold 10,000 calls at the higher January 2011 $17.5 strike at a premium of $0.16 a-pop. The transaction nets out to $0.00 and positions the trader to make money if shares of the financial services firm rally above $14.00 by expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $3.50 per contract are secure in the trader’s piggy bank if the bank’s shares jump 29.7% to trade above $17.50 by expiration day in January. We note that open interest at each of the strikes described is sufficient to cover each of the three legs of the transaction. Therefore, it is possible that the seemingly bullish trade represents a closing transaction instead.

XRT – SPDR S&P Retail ETF – Options on the retail ETF were some of the most actively traded during the current session. The majority of the 171,000 contracts exchanged on the fund as of 2:50 pm ET were September contract puts and calls, but there were some longer-term positions established today, as well. Shares of the XRT, an exchange-traded fund designed to replicate the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index, earlier rallied as much as 1.35% to an intraday high of $38.71. One big options player hoping…

Tags: BAC, COF, GMCR, NYT, XRT, YHOO, ZGEN, ZMH

Join Member's Chat - No Comments Here »

Options Player Positions for Recovery in Beleaguered Bank of America Shares

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - July 21st, 2010 5:54 pm

Today’s tickers: BAC, JNJ, EXP, KO, YHOO, VVUS, SKS & STJ

BAC – Bank of America Corp. – A large-volume bullish risk reversal initiated in the September contract on Bank of America in the first half of the current trading day indicates one options strategist is positioning for a rebound in the price of the underlying stock by expiration day in a couple of months. BAC’s shares, which fell 2.85% to $13.38 this afternoon, are currently down more than 32.7% since the stock reached a 52-week high of $19.86 back on April 15, 2010. Analysts at Goldman Sachs removed Bank of America from the conviction buy list on Monday. But, one optimistic individual is rooting for BAC to come roaring back to life by September expiration day. The investor appears to have sold 20,000 puts at the September $12 strike for a premium of $0.26 apiece in order to purchase the same number of calls at the higher September $15 strike for a premium of $0.36 each. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.10 per contract. If financial services firm’s shares fail to rally above $15.00 by expiration, the investor will lose the full premium paid to purchase the trade. However, if the price of the underlying increases 12.85% over the current price of $13.38, the risk reversal player will start to make money above the effective breakeven price of $15.10 through September expiration. Finally, the short position in put options at the September $12 strike suggests the investor is willing to have Bank of America shares put to him at an effective price of $12.10 apiece should the puts land in-the-money at expiration.

JNJ – Johnson & Johnson – Shares of the provider of consumer products, pharmaceuticals and medical devices fell more than 2.85% in afternoon trading to arrive at $56.89 just before 3:00 pm (ET). The health care company’s shares slipped lower after the firm said second-quarter revenue was flat and lowered its 2010 profit forecast by $0.15 a share. JNJ still reported a 7.5% increase in net income, earning $1.23 a share in the second-quarter, but revising full year earnings lower took its toll on the price of the underlying stock today. One contrarian options player populating JNJ LEAPS caught our eye this afternoon. The investor appears to have purchased a plain-vanilla debit call spread using sky-high strike prices in the January 2012 contract. The…

Tags: BAC, EXP, JNJ, KO, SKS, STJ, VVUS, YHOO

1 Comment »

Investor Optimism Apparent in Yahoo! Options Action

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - July 8th, 2010 5:59 pm

Today’s tickers: YHOO, PG, MWW, PWER, IYR, HRB, ANF, CSC & EWH

YHOO – Yahoo!, Inc. – The online media company made an appearance on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor initiated a long-term bullish stance on the stock. Yahoo’s shares increased 1.10% to stand at $14.56 by 3:05 pm (ET). Optimism on the operator of one of the most heavily trafficked Internet destinations was perhaps inspired by words from the firm’s CFO, Tim Morse, who intends to end the company’s pattern of poor M&A decisions. Morse addressed Yahoo’s history of overpaying for acquisitions and later selling those assets at a disadvantageous price by announcing plans to improve the company’s return on invested capital to 18% to 24% in 2013 from approximately 5% in 2009. One optimistic options trader opted to purchase a plain-vanilla debit call spread on Yahoo! in order to position for share price appreciation through expiration in January 2011. The investor picked up 5,000 in-the-money calls at the January 2011 $14 strike for a premium of $1.92 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher January 2011 $17.5 strike for a premium of $0.58 each. Net premium paid to establish the spread amounts to $1.34 per contract. Thus, the bullish trader makes money if Yahoo’s shares rally 5.35% to trade above the effective breakeven point on the spread at $15.34 by expiration day in January 2011. The investor exits with maximum potential profits of $2.16 per contract if the online media company’s shares surge 20.2% over the current price of $14.56 to trade above $17.50 by expiration.

PG – The Proctor & Gamble Co. – Investor demand for call options on the global provider of branded packaged consumer goods surged during afternoon trading with options participants exchanging more than 4.4 calls on the stock to each single put option in play thus far in the session. PG’s shares rallied 1.7% to $61.85 by 3:30 pm (ET). It looks like bullish players expecting Proctor & Gamble’s shares to trade at a new 52-week high by August expiration purchased at least 17,900 calls options at the August $65 strike for an average premium of $0.21 per contract. Call buyers are poised to profit should shares of the underlying stock jump 5.4%, surpass the stock’s current 52-week high of $64.10, and trade above the average breakeven price of $65.21 by August expiration.…

Tags: ANF, CSC, EWH, HRB, IYR, MWW, PG, PWER, YHOO

No Comments »

Bull Buys Debit Call Spread on Bank of New York Melon Corp.

www.interactivebrokers.com

by Andrew Wilkinson - May 27th, 2010 4:24 pm

Today’s tickers: BK, CHRS, YHOO, WFC, RF, NTAP & BPOP

BK – Bank of New York Mellon Corp. – Global financial services company, Bank of New York Mellon, received a vote of confidence by one options investor who appears to be positioning for a significant increase in the firm’s share price by July expiration. BK’s shares are currently trading 1.75% higher on the day to stand at $27.82 as of 12:20 pm (ET). It looks like the bullish trader purchased a debit call spread, buying roughly 12,500 calls at the July $29 strike for a premium of $0.94 apiece, and selling about the same number of calls at the higher July $32 strike for a premium of $0.14 each. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.80 per contract. The call spreader makes money if shares of the underlying stock rally at least 7.1% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $29.80 by expiration day in a couple of months. Shares must surge 15% over the current value of the stock and exceed $32.00 each in order for the investor to pocket maximum potential profits of $2.20 per contract by July expiration. BK’s shares last traded above $32.00 on April 29, 2010, when the stock touched an intraday high of $32.17. The current 52-week high for shares of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is $32.65, attained on April 13, 2010.

CHRS – Charming Shoppes, Inc. – Optimistic options traders are selling short put options on Charming Shoppes just one week before the firm is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Thursday June 3, 2010. Charming Shoppes, Inc. is a multi-brand apparel retailer with market share in women’s plus-size specialty apparel. Investors exchanged 6,981 contracts on the stock by 12:30 pm (ET), which is more than 6.3 times greater than previously existing overall open interest of 1,106 contracts. Bullish trading patterns initiated on CHRS were perhaps inspired by the 4.6% jump in the price of the underlying stock to $4.79. Investors sold approximately 5,600 in-the-money puts at the October $5.0 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.77 per contract. Put sellers keep the full premium received on the sale if shares of the underlying stock rally above $5.00 by expiration. Charming Shoppes’ shares traded above $5.00 as recently as May 20, 2010, when the stock touched an intraday high of $5.08. Investors short the…

Tags: BK, BPOP, CHRS, NTAP, RF, WFC, YHOO

No Comments »

A few good shorts

by Chart School - April 22nd, 2010 4:24 pm

Here’s what Allan is shorting.

A few good shorts

X – Short Trade of the Week, April 12

*****

FAS – Still floating above 100

******

GS – a break of 155, then 145, then…….

******

BAC – too big too rude too arrogant to survive

******

C – some cheap puts if Sell pans out

*******

YHOO – fresh signal

Allan’s newly launched newsletter, “Trend Following Trading Model,” goes with the trend-following trading system he’s been working on for years. Most trades last for weeks to months. Allan’s offering PSW readers a special 25% discount. Click here. For a more detailed introduction to the Trend Following Trading Model newsletter and trading system, read this introductory article.

File photo of Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs at the end of the iPhone OS4 special event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino

p.s. Market Club sent out three videos yesterday on Apple, Oil and Gold.

Summary (but watch the videos):

Apple: "the hottest stock in the world."

Oil: "crude oil has been very choppy."

Gold: "this market is setting itself up for a large move to the upside." But not tomorrow.

Tags: AAPL, Apple, BAC, C, Citi, FAS, Gold, GS, Oil, shorting stocks, Stock Market, trend system, X, YHOO

No Comments »

Phil's Favorites

Jobless Claims Improve, Leading Indicators Decline: Economic Report Card

September 22nd, 2011 5:36 pm

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Jobless claims improve while leading indicators decline in today’s economic report card

by Wall Street Sector Selector Staff

Weekly jobless claims declined to 424,000 from last week’s 432, 000 but stubbornly stayed above the all important 400,000 level for another week.

August Leading Indicators came in at +0.3% compared to 0.5% for July, as the economy continues registering weakness.

Good news came from July Home Prices which rose to +0.8% from the previously reported +0.7%.

But the biggest economic news of the week came yesterday when the Federal Reserve said it saw “significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets.”

Global stock markets responded negatively yesterday an...

Insider Scoop

Priceline.com Trades Higher on Q1 Earnings Results (PCLN)

May 5th, 2011 5:10 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga

Shares of Priceline.com Incorporated (NASDAQ: PCLN) are trading higher in the after-hours following the release of its Q1 earnings results. Currently, shares are up 2.74%, trading at $548.60; they closed the regular session down 0.67 %, at $533.97.

The company said that its Q1 EPS came in at $2.66 on revenues of $809.3 million; this compares to the Street's estimate of $2.46 per share on revenues of $779.5 million. Revenues rose 38.6% year over year.

"In the 1st quarter, the Group benefited from strong growth in our global hotel business, particularly at Booking.com and Agoda," said Jeffery H. Boyd, Priceline President and Chief Executive Officer.

He added, "Room nights booked grew by 55.8% and our international gross bookings grew by 79% compared to prior year...

http://www.insidercow.com/ more from Insider

Zero Hedge

Fukushima Explosion Update: Core Presumed Intact As Sea Water Used To Bring Temperature Down, Radiation Level At 1015 Microsieverts/Hour

March 12th, 2011 9:41 am

Courtesy of Tyler Durden

The damage control to the Fukushima explosion reported earlier is coming fast and furious. According to CNN, "the explosion at an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant was not caused by damage to the nuclear reactor but by a pumping system that failed as crews tried to bring the reactor's temperature down, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Saturday. The next step for workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant will be to flood the reactor containment structure with sea water to bring the reactor's temperature down to safe levels, he said. The effort is expected to take two days." While the government is trying to play down the threat from the explosion, it has nonetheless double the evacuation zone radius from 10 to 20 kilometers: "Radiation levels have fallen since the explosion and there is no immediate danger, Edano said. But authorities were nevertheless expanding the evacuation ...

Chart School

The Mega-Bear Quartet and L-Shaped "Recoveries"

March 12th, 2011 9:35 am

Courtesy of Doug Short

Note from dshort: I retired this chart series last summer in deference to my prefered inflation-adjusted series that aligns the S&P 500 2000 high with the Nikkei peak in 1989. However, I continue to receive requests for this version, despite the "V" shape of the the recovery since the March 2009 low. This chart series overlays the current S&P 500 with the L-shaped "recoveries" after the Dow Crash of 1929, the Nikkei 225 after Japan's 1989 bubble, and the post Tech Bubble NASDAQ. Click the chart below for a larger version and use the links to see various comparisons.

Click for a larger image

I've ...

Sabrient

Sabrient Risers - 3/12/2011

March 12th, 2011 12:00 am

Top 5 RisersStockRatingAnalysisVLOSTRONGBUYAn increasingly positive growth rate of past earnings, along with improving expectations for long term growth, make Valero a good prospect for high returns.KROSTRONGBUYKronos Worldwide has been gaining recognition from analysts as a good canditate for achieving higher than expected earnings along with higher overall projected valuation.SFIBUYiStar is one of the top candidates projected to achieve both higher than previously projected earnings in the short run and a higher earnings growth rate in the long run.AMATSTRONGBUYApplied Materials has been...

more from Sabrient

Option Review

Bulls Scoop Up Sprint Nextel Corp. Calls

March 10th, 2011 4:33 pm

Today’s tickers: S, FTR, JTX & SBUX

...

OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of March 7th, 2011

March 6th, 2011 11:25 pm

This post is for live trades and daily comments. Please click on "comments" below to follow our live discussion. All of our current virtual trades are listed in the spreadsheet below, with entry price (1/2 in and All in), and exit prices (1/3 out, 2/3 out, and All out).

We also indicate our stop, which is most of the time the "5 day moving average". All trades, unless indicated, are front-month ATM options.

Please feel free to participate in the discussion and ask any questions you might have about this portfolio, by clicking on the "comments" link right below.

To learn more about the swing trading portfolio (strategy, performance, FAQ, etc.), please click here

Optrader

Swing trading portfolio

One trade portfolio

...

more from OpTrader

Stock World Weekly

March 6th, 2011 8:22 am

Here's the newest Stock World Weekly: Illusion Based on a Fantasy

Comments welcome... share your thoughts.

Download Newsletter 3/6/11

Stock World Weekly archives here >

...

more from SWW

Pharmboy

Biotech Junkies Update and Momenta Pharma Moving Forward

March 1st, 2011 9:42 am

February is now past, and the Biotech Porfolio is loaded with winners and a miss (PLX). MRK is down a bit, but I expect that trade to recover, and one could be more agressive and double down on it, or play another round at the Jan13 $30 options for roughly the same price. Below is the summary, and note the grey boxes are ones that did not fill. I am still a fan of BMRN, and like DEPO as well. Now let's look at a few others.

Table 1. PSW Biotech Plays Since January 2011

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;

Our newest play is Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA), who is pursuing a three-part business model which includes complex generic equivalents in partnership with the Sandoz division of Novartis, proprietary compounds, and follow-on- biologics (FOB). It seems that this company is tied up in competition/litigation wit...

As Seen On:

About Phil:

Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...

Learn more About Phil >>

About Ilene:

Ilene is editor and affiliate program coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site (blogroll, archives, more). Contact Ilene to learn about our affiliate and content sharing programs.

Favorites Site >>