Phil's Stock World, Stock Options Trading & Information

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

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

Phil - I am 3 month follower and shout a big thanks for all the good advice and training. I read all the materials and posts as suggested. I am retired CFO and took over my investments 2 years ago from broker after frustration with returns. I followed some conservative advice for retirees and have 60% bonds currently in a 5m portfolio. I had been doing covered calls on my stocks to boost returns and slowly am getting more aggressive after following your site and my son who has been with you for 6 months. I allocated 1.5m to stocks and am scaling up from 30%. I did some of the trades suggested in early June using Aug & Oct buy/writes on CSCO, WMT, MON, WFR, DO in addition to calls on XOM, CVX, PEP, PG, WM, T that I owned. Most are doing very well (4-24%) in 60 days. My good problem is that instead of getting longer, I will be making 6% quickly (50% plus annualized) and getting called away on many positions. What would you advise for getting long again. Thanks again for such a great job advising all of us!

- TXChili

Kudos on the POT puts! I studied the charts last night and you couldn't have hit the inflection points more perfectly. Since there are often many head fakes in the charts, that was very well done. I know they can't all work this well, but that was an extra unexpected bonus yesterday.

- Ocelli7

I have been very fortunate over the years as an investor. Last year was on of my best in terms of percentage gains. I have to attribute much of this success to my membership in PSW which gave me the best education available anywhere when it comes to the understanding of option trading , discipline and general trading strategies. I will be forever grateful to Phil and the many "highly skilled" traders that have offered their advice.

- Gel1

You guys gotta give it to phil–the voice of reason yesterday, last nite and this morning.

- Corleone

Phil - I just referred 10 people. Last week was a 50% gainer for me. There are companies that want to sell mentoring service for thousands of dollars. This is far better of a deal with very good advice.

- Steve

Against all prognostics (bears) Phil pointed in the morning the correct direction, and in middle of day he pointed the possible move to 2.5% Incredible… I'm starting to serious believe on the program trading and the human nature behind the programing those "trade-bots".

- Spider

Phil - Wow…wow. The vision and inate grasp of the options world you posess is rather staggering. It's this type of experience that I really hope to develop. I'm afraid I still can't see the moves, but I WILL learn. I cannot thank you enough for the patience, knowledge and effort you put into this place. Please keep it going!

- Where

HOTT / Got great trades with it: Enter 6.75 at open, out at 7.18 (avg) at 10:13 Reentered at 7.00 and out all 7.11 few minutes ago- Was a small play but I collected enoght for next month PSW subscription.

- Spider

Way to go Phil! Have I said how much I appreciate your site lately! Your ability to teach and your willingless to give others a forum to demonstrate their own skill sets makes your site remarkable. I got great help from you, jmm1951, and Iflantheman (special thanks!) today. Hell, if I have many more days like this I may even be able to sign up for a full year rather than doing it just quarterly. Tomorrow is another day but, fabulous job today!

- dclark41

Phil- I would like to echo the sentiments of dclark41. Joining this site was the best thing I have ever done to aid my growth as a trader/investor. There are so many smart and experienced people here sharing their ideas that regardless what your investing style is you will learn something daily. Thank you and all the regular contributors for your generosity.

- Acd54

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

Market manipulation…. One of the things I've gained from this site is the concept of market manipulation. I never thought it was so prevalent, but now I know it is. I actually consider its effect when I make trades. Several days ago, when AAPL was moving toward 220 I sold 210 calls. My reasoning was that they will probably pin this month at 210. They came in big time as the stock moved ever closer to 210. I agree with Phil's comment that one of the things we need to do is find out what they are manipulating, and how, and hitch a ride. They are doing this with several equities. I've actually seen one article describing several equities that were being manipulated to pin at expiration each month, and describing how it was done, and of course Phil has described it well. In some ways it's easier to figure this out than it is a ‘normal' market behavior, and thus easier to make money in certain equities.

- Iflantheman

Phil, have to thank you for saving me today. I think the discipline I have learned from this site has helped me as much if not more than the actual picks.

- Rustle123

Once again, many muchos for the SODA trade of last week. Finally out of all three legs. I didn't want to wait for expiration tomorrow and the possible peg at $70.00, following your dictum to not get greedy.

- flipspiceland

I've been trading/investing since the early 80's (my dad started me out young). I've had seven figure accounts (in the past) and I've done lots of trading, so I can say that I'm a well seasoned investor. Phil is the real deal. His trades make sense and his strategy is sound. He sees things that others miss and he's one of the best at finding price anomalies. When he makes a mistake, he has an exit strategy already planned. He hedges very well and he has an instict which tells him to go to cash or to be all in.

- Autolander

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

Phil: Closed out ZION with 49 % gain!

- RMM

Phil - Rode the /QM down from 99.65 at 7pm and now I'm taking your advice, taking the $$ and going to enjoy a restful night sleep. I don't post often so I want to say thanks for sharing your incredible market acumen with all of us. Your site has a unusually talented group of investors (and some characters) and I enjoy my days trading more because of it.

- DaveW

Phil: I am always able to figure out your trades, including the rational when put in the right context of previous comments, etc. Keep doing what you're doing. It is much appreciated, and invaluable. Your hit rate of successful trades has been very high in my 1.5 months as a member, but even more importantly is your teaching of how to repair and DD positions that haven't gone your way yet. As with most members, we all have our ‘pet' trading interests, and learning how to think about trading is much more important than a specific trade, which could see the conditions behind it change an hour later. This is the classic case, of ‘Teach us to Fish', rather than just giving us a fish once in a while. Thank you!

- Neverworkagain

Peter D: great write-up for Short Strangles, Part 1, looking forward to Part 2, particularly the adjustment part.

- RMM

Your board has been fantastic helping the less experienced (includes me) navigate through all the turmoil. The contributions from your members has been well rounded, objective, and extremely helpful. Sans the politics you have built a fantastic community and that is a tribute to you. I thank you and all fellow members for there contributions over the past few days. Fantastic group!

- dclark41

Maya, After years of being pretty good at picking stocks I still managed to lose almost as much as I made.All the reading Phil asked us to do as a new member (And everything else I can get my hands on lately) has revealed my Achilles Heal.Good stock picks do not necessarily make money. My problem was swinging for the fences. Since becoming a member Jan 1 this year and getting into to scaling into small trades I am amazed at the steady profit growth I have experienced already while not worrying about getting killed. And having fun doing it.. Phil, Thanks for the education, the help you give and the chance to learn more and get better. Also thanks to all the members who have answered the few questions I had when your not around.

- Ricpar

Speaking of the "Man Who Planted Trees", it really works. I bought BTU back in March at $49.87. I practically bought it at the tippy top. However, I soon afterward found this site, started learning Phil's methodology(and those in the strategy section) and began selling calls/puts regularly against my bad position. As of yesterday, I still own the original 100 shares, but have brought my basis down by over $11.00. Couldn't be happier, what started out as a really bad entry, I have managed to work down to a good basis. Had I not watched that video and learned your system, I would sold out of the position, and been kicking myself for making such a bad entry.

- Hoss

hil, I hit my targets for the year in my 401K (thanks in no small part to your site), so I cashed out of all positions a couple of weeks ago. Feels good... I'm conservative with this money –looking for 2% per month, which i've been able to do… thx.

- Lunar

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

Peter D, Just a note of thanks. Eight weeks ago, I entered my first RUT strangles, when the RUT was at 625. Tomorrow, I will let them expire, with the RUT at 625 (give or take). I didn't care when the RUT went to 650, nor when it dropped to 590. Easiest, no touch money I've made in a long time.

- Judahbenhur

Phil… My portfolio, in the past few months, has acheived a high degree of stabilization. I've noticed that on up days, down days, even days, it doesn't matter, my portfolio rarely varies more than 2%. And over the long haul it just slowly increases in value. I attribute this not to investment choices, but to style. Thanks to you and others on this site I'm paying close attention to position size, delta neutrality, downside protection, and concentrating on selling premium rather than buying it. I've developed increasing patience, not having to trade daily, or even weekly. I'm concentrating on the finer points of trading, letting the profits come to me, rather than the other way around. I appreciate the help everyone here has given in getting me focused on this principle. I'm pumped!…in a calm sort of way.

- Iflantheman

thanks for the DNDN recommendation last week phil. that was moneeeee….

- Kwan

Phil - I followed your great pick re F and sold short the 1011 2.50 puts (200 contracts) and paid for the next 10 years of membership fees…. Thanks!

- Gel1

Author Archive for Insider Scoop

Stocks To Watch For May 24

by Insider Scoop - May 24th, 2012 4:05 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

Wall Street expects VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE: PAY) to post its Q2 earnings at $0.61 per share on revenue of $471.82 million. PAY shares dropped 0.45% to $46.49 in after-hours trading.

NetApp Inc (NASDAQ: NTAP) issued a downbeat profit forecast for the fiscal first quarter. NTAP shares tumbled 16.59% to $27.41 in after-hours trading.

Analysts expect H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) to post its Q4 EPS at $0.79 on revenue of $3.07 billion. HNZ shares fell 0.30% to $53.70 in after-hours trading.

Pandora Media Inc (NYSE: P) reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results. Pandora Media shares surged 15.68% to $11.95 in the after-hours trading session.

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) reported upbeat quarterly results and announced its plans to lower 27,000 jobs. HPQ shares jumped 9.11% to $23.00 in the after-hours trading session.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Mark Cuban Discloses Facebook Share Purchases

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 7:07 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Mark Cuban has disclosed in his blog the following Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) share purchases:

50,000 shares at 33, 50,000 shares at 31.97 and 50,000 shares around 32.50. Cuban said: “Its a trade, not an investment. Kind of like buying a Mickey Mantle, a Hank Aaron and a Barry Bonds Rookie Card knowing there is a card show in town next week.”

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Pandora Blares Triumphant Earnings

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 5:17 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Internet music sensation Pandora Media (NYSE: P) has proven its fine-tuned worth with an excellent start to its 2013 fiscal year. With revenue growth of 58% in the past year, the online radio company has positioned itself for continued development and success in the coming months.

Singing a very happy tune, users multiplied at an alarming rate to 51.9 million, up 53% since 2012′s first quarter. With such large strides being taken in such a short amount of time, it is no wonder that CEO Joe Kennedy is over the moon, stars and sun with P’s reported earnings.

“This quarter Pandora averaged more than 50 million active users a month who generated more than 3.09 billion listening hours across Pandora’s multiple platforms – desktop, auto, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. Consumers continue to embrace Pandora’s unparalleled personalized radio experience at an extraordinary rate, propelling Pandora’s market leadership to an all-time record share of 5.95% of total U.S. radio listening,” Kennedy said in a statement released this afternoon.

Even repetitive, frequent commercial interruptions and banners will not drive listeners away from the popular randomized stations. In turn, this has prompted advertisers to take notice and pay top dollar to be a part of Pandora’s melodic force.

According to Kennedy, promoters want to be where their consumers are. As such, they are trying to get their messages across quickly and efficiently using P as a medium to reach millions of users every day. With 71.7% shares of the top 20 U.S. Internet radio services, who wouldn’t want to advertise across the booming vibe host that is Pandora?

In accordance with the immense growth Pandora has experienced in the past year, management has increased guidance for the full year with revenue expected to fall between the range of $420 million to $427 million. For the upcoming quarter alone, sales are projected to reach between $99 million to $101 million.

With headphones secured tightly to the ears of millions of music enthusiasts, it appears that Pandora will continue to grip firm to the lobes of Internet radio listeners around the world for years to come.

Pandora closed today at $10.33, with after-market trading pushing the stock up to $11.70…

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Hewlett-Packard Jumps on Q2 Results; Announces 27,000 Lay Offs

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 5:17 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Beaten down tech giant Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The Palo Alto, California-based company reported net income of $1.6 billion or $0.80 per share, compared to net income of $2.3 billion or $1.07 per share, in the year ago period.

On an adjusted basis, net income was $1.95 billion or $0.98 per share, versus $2.72 billion or $1.24 per share, in last year’s second-quarter. This came in ahead of Wall Street analysts’ consensus EPS estimates of $0.91.

Revenues in the quarter were $30.7 billion versus $31.63 billion last year. This exceeded analysts’ consensus sales estimates of $29.92 billion.

Looking forward, HPQ said that it expects third-quarter EPS in a range of $0.94 to $0.97. This compares to analysts’ current consensus of $1.02.

Hewlett-Packard also lowered its full-year 2012 EPS guidance to a range of $2.25 to $2.30 versus its previous estimate of around $3.20. The company, however, raised its adjusted EPS estimates to a range of $4.05 to $4.10 versus its prior estimate of $4.00. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $4.03 per share in fiscal 2012.

The company also announced that it would be laying off 27,000 employees in order to cut costs. Last week, HPQ management said that CEO Meg Whitman intended to cut up to 30,000 members of the company’s 324,000 person workforce.

In Wednesday’s after hours trading session, HPQ shares have surged 11.76% to $23.56.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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NetApp Implodes After Q4 Earnings Release, Weak Guidance

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:33 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company reported GAAP net income of $180.7 million or $0.47 per share, compared to $160.6 million or $0.40 per share, in the year ago period.

On a non-GAAP basis, which is comparable to analysts’ consensus, the company reported net income of $252.4 million or $0.66 per share, compared to $236.7 million or $0.59 per share, in last year’s fourth-quarter. This came in ahead of Wall Street analysts’ consensus EPS estimates of $0.63.

Revenues in the quarter were $1.70 billion, a 19% increase over the $1.43 billion the company reported in last year’s corresponding quarter. This exceeded analysts’ consensus revenue estimates of $1.68 billion. While the Q4 results came in ahead of the Street on both the top and bottom lines, the company provided very disappointing forward looking guidance.

Looking ahead to the fiscal first-quarter, NTAP sees non-GAAP EPS between $0.34 and $0.39. Revenues are expected to be in a range of $1.40 billion to $1.50 billion. This compares to current analysts’ consensus EPS estimates of $0.59 on revenues of $1.61 billion for the fiscal first-quarter.

In light of the weak Q1 guidance, investors have absolutely hammered NTAP shares in Wednesday’s after hours trading session. At last check, the stock was trading down more than 23% to $25.27.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

Posted in Benzinga, Immediately available to public | No Comments »

Independent Bank Corporation Announces Definitive Agreement For Sale Of Branches

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:12 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: IBCP) today announced that its subsidiary bank, Independent Bank, has signed a definitive agreement to sell 21 of its branches to Chemical Bank, headquartered in Midland, Michigan. The branches to be sold include 6 branch locations in the Battle Creek market area and 15 branch locations in Northeast Michigan.

It is expected that the transaction will result in the transfer of approximately $420 million of deposits to Chemical Bank in exchange for the payment of a deposit premium of approximately $12.4 million. This represents a deposit premium of approximately 3.1% on identified core deposits. Certain non-core deposits will be transferred at no premium. Chemical Bank will also have the right to purchase certain loans originated at the branches being sold, at a discount of 1.75%.

The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2012, subject to customary regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary terms and conditions of sale.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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ONEOK Chairman Tells Shareholders Net Income Expected to Grow 18% Annually Between 2012-2014; Dividend Expected to Grow 40% during Same Period

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:10 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John W. Gibson today told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting that the company expects to increase its net income by approximately 18 percent annually between 2012 and 2014, compared with 2012 earnings guidance, driven primarily by incremental earnings to ONEOK from the growth at ONEOK Partners (NYSE: OKS).

He also told shareholders the company expects to increase its dividend by approximately 40 percent between 2012 and 2014, which includes a projected dividend increase of 5 cents per share on a pre-split basis in July 2012, subject to ONEOK board approval. Compared with its 2011 annual dividend of $2.16 per share, this increase represents a 64-percent increase.

He also said that the company’s investment in ONEOK Partners – through its 2-percent general partner interest and limited partner interests that together represent a 43.4-percent total ownership interest – continues to benefit ONEOK and fulfill the partnership’s role as ONEOK’s growth engine. In 2011, ONEOK received $333 million in total distributions from ONEOK Partners, compared with $145 million in 2006, the first year ONEOK was the sole general partner.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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HP Sees Q3 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.94-0.97 vs $1.02 Est

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:07 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

HP (NYSE: HPQ) expects to record a pre-tax charge of approximately $1.7 billion in fiscal 2012 that will be included in its GAAP financial results for that period. Of that amount, HP expects to record a pre-tax charge of approximately $1.0 billion in its third fiscal quarter. The cash impact associated with the restructuring efforts is expected to be approximately $400 million in fiscal year 2012. Through fiscal 2014, HP expects to record additional pre-tax charges approximating $1.8 billion that will be included in its GAAP financial results for the applicable periods.

In May 2012, HP committed to a change in its PC branding strategy. As a result, HP has commenced an asset impairment analysis to determine the current value of the Compaq trade name acquired in 2002. Based on the preliminary results of that analysis, HP expects to record an impairment charge of up to approximately $1.2 billion that will be included in its GAAP financial results for its third fiscal quarter. There will be no cash impact associated with the impairment charge.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2012, HP estimates non-GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $0.94 to $0.97 and GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $0.00 to $0.03.

Third quarter fiscal 2012 non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates exclude after-tax costs of approximately $0.94 per share, related primarily to the amortization and impairment of purchased intangible assets, restructuring charges, and acquisition-related charges.

For the full year fiscal 2012, HP now estimates non-GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $4.05 to $4.10 and GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $2.25 to $2.30.

Full year fiscal 2012 non-GAAP diluted EPS estimates exclude after-tax costs of approximately $1.80 per share, related primarily to the amortization and impairment of purchased intangible assets, restructuring charges and acquisition-related charges.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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ONEOK Shareholders Approve Additional Shares; Stock Split to Become Effective on or About June 1

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:05 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) today announced that shareholders voted to increase the number of authorized shares of ONEOK common stock to 600 million from 300 million in connection with the company’s previously announced two-for-one stock split.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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SEI Declares Dividend of $0.15 per Share; Increase in Stock Repurchase Program

by Insider Scoop - May 23rd, 2012 4:00 pm

Courtesy of Benzinga.

The Board of Directors of SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ: SEIC) today declared a dividend of $.15 (fifteen cents) per share. The cash dividend will be payable to shareholders of record on June 18, 2012, with a payment date of June 26, 2012.

In addition, SEI’s Board of Directors also approved an increase in its stock repurchase program by an additional $100 million. Since the beginning of calendar year 2012, the Company repurchased approximately 2.6 million shares at a cost of approximately $52.4 million.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, Value Investor, and Stocks Under $5.

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Chart School

The ''Real'' Goods on the Latest Durable Goods Orders

May 24th, 2012 12:35 pm

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Earlier this morning I posted an update on the May Advance Report on April Durable Goods Orders. This Census Bureau series dates from 1992 and is not adjusted for either population growth or inflation.

Let's now review the same data with two adjustments. In the charts below the red line shows the goods orders divided by the Census Bureau's monthly population data, giving us durable goods orders per capita. The blue line goes a step further and adjusts for inflation based on the Producer Price Index, chained in today's dollar value. This gives us the "real" durable goods orders per capita. The snapshots below offer a quite sobering corrective to the standard reports on the nominal monthly data (which itself was significantly below expectations).

...

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Zero Hedge

The GEURO: "The Only Winners Are Foreign Banks"

May 24th, 2012 12:09 pm

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

In a brief though detailed clip, Stratfor's VP Peter Zeihan discusses the risk of contagion from Greece and the 'creative' - if not self-centered - suggestions for a solution to these problems. Earlier in the week we described Deutsche's suggestion of a dual currency - the GEURO - and that is where Zeihan focuses, noting that "The Greek economy is as deliciously non-competitive as the German economy is hyper-competitive" - this mismatch is the core of the crisis. The GEURO (tradin...

Insider Scoop

New York Stock Exchange Spokesperson Says There Have Been No Discussions with Facebook About Switching

May 24th, 2012 11:48 am

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Rich Adamonis, NYSE (NYSE: NYX) spokesperson told Benzinga "In response to incorrect reports re: NYX and Facebook (NDAQ: FB): There have been no discussions with Facebook regarding switching their listing in light of the events of the last week, nor do we think a discussion along those lines would be appropriate at this time.”

document.write("

Connect with Benzinga on LinkedIn - join the discussion today.

") (c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

For more Benzinga, visit Benzinga Professional Service, ...

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Market Montage

Chinese, European Data Continues to Weaken as Market Potentially Forming New Bear Flag

May 24th, 2012 8:50 am

Submitted by Mark Hanna

Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.

First we'll go to the technicals. Back in mid April I had opined a 'bear flag' formation was being created. [Apr 17, 2012: Potential Bear Flag Forming] But the market being the difficult beast it is, head faked everyone and rather than a break down from said flag it first went UP and nearly touched yearly highs. This caused everyone to think the bear flag had failed…. only to lead to a horrid May in the market. Generally a bear flag will resolve relatively quickly but the longer...

Sabrient

Sector Detector: New “Grecian Formula” is making us all gray

May 24th, 2012 2:14 am

Courtesy of Scott Martindale, Sabrient Systems and Gradient Analytics

Despite the fact that U.S. equities are well-positioned and well-supported to go up, once again it is the headlines out of Europe—especially Greece—that are scaring off investors. Some are saying that it is now likely (and even desirable) that Greece will default on all its sovereign debt, withdraw from the euro, and severely devalue its domestic currency (Drachma?). This will allow them to operate a balanced budget while pumping cash into growth initiatives, rather than suffer the ravages of Germany-mandated austerity.

Some say, so what? Greece makes up only about 2% of the Eurozone’s overall economy. Nevertheless, you might say that this new “Grecian Formula” is creating the opposite effect to the men’s hair product, i.e.., rather than losing the gray we are al...

Phil's Favorites

Rumors and Denials of Rumors

May 24th, 2012 12:22 am

Courtesy of Russ Winter of Winter Watch at Wall Street Examiner

The market rallied higher once again on more rumors (some kind of unworkable bank deposit scheme: what Europe’s loan-deposit ratios look like), and denials of yesterday’s rumors (L-Pap now says Greece to say in EU, blah, blah). The second chart shows what’s involved with PIIGS banking deposits. Using hook theory, trading rumors is the modus operandi, and not just plain rumors; but rather, inside-job rumors. It’s only a matter of time before this market collapses, but one has to slough through the rigged foul stench along the way. Fund managers scramble all over themselves to load up on “safe” German Bunds and US Treasuries [...

ETF Selector

Markets Die Then Flatten…Again (SPY, DIA, QQQ, IWM, FB)

May 23rd, 2012 5:29 pm

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Markets died and then rallied to flat again as European leaders “prepared contingencies” for a possible Grexit

Markets died hard and fast earlier today as major indexes registered as much as 1.5% of losses after news that Euro zone officials were unofficially “preparing contingencies” for a Greek exit from the Euro. Unofficial statements were not enough to keep markets down however, as major indexes rallied back to flat levels by the end of the day.

So the world continues to wait on Europe, as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEACA:SPY) gained .05%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA:...

Option Review

AT&T Weekly Puts In Play

May 23rd, 2012 1:55 pm

Today’s tickers: T, FXE & OI

T - AT&T, Inc. – U.S. equities are on the decline as Europe’s woes once again take center stage. Shares in AT&T, down 0.90% at $33.24 this afternoon, are faring better than most of the other Dow components so far, though options activity on the wireless carrier suggests some strategists are bracing for further declines ahead of the long w...

All About Trends

Mid-Day Update

May 23rd, 2012 1:40 pm

Reminder: David is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Click here for the full report.

To learn more, sign up for David's free newsletter and receive the free report from All About Trends - "How To Outperform 90% Of Wall Street With Just $500 A Week." Tell David PSW sent you. - Ilene...

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OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of May 21st, 2012

May 21st, 2012 8:54 am

Reminder: OpTrader is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

This post is for all our live virtual trade ideas and daily comments. Please click on "comments" below to follow our live discussion. All of our current 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 virtual portfolio, by clicking on the "comments" link right below.

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

Optrader

...

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Stock World Weekly

Stock World Weekly: Test Issue

May 20th, 2012 5:04 pm

NEW: Ilene is available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.

Here is this week's test version of the latest newsletter. We apologize for some formatting issues that need to be worked out. Please tell us what you think.

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Pharmboy

Big Pharma - Where Are We Now?

April 28th, 2012 8:49 pm

Reminder: Pharmboy is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

In this article, please revisit an article written two years ago titled, "The Calm Before the Storm." This article focused on the patent cliff that was looming in the pharmaceutical industry, that was later picked up by the New York Times and several other bloggers! Subsequent articles were written about big pharma company's revenue streams, and the pros and cons of of their later stage pipelines. Other articles have also attempted to identify smaller biotechs with the potential to reap big reward...

IRA Strategy/Income Trader

Weekend Virtual Portfolio Update 2/26/2012

February 26th, 2012 10:39 am

My last weekend update is dated from January 30 so after a long hiatus, here is an update of our virtual portfolio. Since the last update, we have closed the AA Money portfolio due to a lack of enthusiasm (and activity) and I have stopped tracking the FAS strangle as the low VIX makes it hard to get rewarded for the risk! But we have added a small $5KP virtual portfolio which does not use any margin. FAS Money We have had to recover from a big move up by FAS and a low VIX which keeps option prices low. But the portfolio has gaine about 10% since the last update. Last update P&L - $5499.00 IWM Money Not a lot of activity in this portfolio where the main focus is on the large IWM BCS. But the portfolio has grown over 20% since the last update. Last update P&L - $1998.00 $5KP Portfolio This is the virtual portfolio that replaced the AA Money portfolio. It does not use margin and we will keep holdings under $5K. AAPL $50K P...

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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...

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