DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter
by ilene - September 1st, 2010 2:23 pm
Housing-keeping note: Thanks to WordPress’s destruction of Phil’s Favorites site (and replacement with an invite to sign up for its service!), I’ve been relocating my blog to TypePad. Benefits: it looks better, is very user friendly and offers an easy way to search archives for any topic. One unique feature is that while exploring the internet, I can simply click on a button to post an excerpt of an interesting article with a link to the full article. That ability allows me to post links to articles that are worth reading when I do not have reprinting permission, such as articles from major news sources.
The new Favorites site is here. I’ve also created a website for Dark Horse Hedge, here. - Ilene
DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any Way the Wind Blows, Doesn’t Really Matter
By Scott Brown at Sabrient & Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I’m just a poor boy (Poor boy)
I need no sympathy
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows
Doesn’t really matter to me, to me
*****
Ilene and I started the Dark Horse Hedge on July 1, 2010 with the goal of helping self-directed investors weather any storm, no matter which way the wind was blowing. Today completes the second month of publishing the Dark Horse Hedge and we thought it would be a good time to review.
DARK HORSE HEDGE
by ilene - August 2nd, 2010 2:48 am
DARK HORSE HEDGE Weekend Catch-Up
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Hedging into the week of August 2nd, the Dark Horse Hedge (DHH) is in a BALANCED tilt (long to short ratio) with 8 LONG and 8 SHORT positions. We used Phil’s BUY/WRITE strategy to enter two of our LONG positions (IM and GCI) at a 10-20% discount to the market. As you can see from the chart, the SPX wandered between the 50 and 200 day moving averages (MAs) all week before whimpering towards the bottom of the channel Thursday and Friday. The 12-26-9 MACD which is the faster of the 2 technical direction signals we follow has flat-lined at just above +6 and the slower RSI 14-day still remains just below 50.
Without some impressive economic reports coming this week or much better than expected earnings reports, we believe the market will drift down towards and test the 50 day MA. If a bullish tone sets back in, it is doubtful that it could easily push through the 200 day MA. Resistance points as well as the 50 and 200 day MAs all which fit into a fairly narrow trading channel.
[chart from FreeStockCharts.com]
We are happy with the positions we put on in DHH’s first 30 days of existence and we look forward to capturing more profit as the companies report earnings this week. We will continue to take profits "after the news" and rotate into newer, fresher positions while keeping an eye on the overall market to adjust our tilt for maximum Alpha*, which is why we all write and read DHH.
Summary of DHH positions in the virtual portfolio
LONG: XRTX, WDC, GCI, IM, DLX, GME, FRZ, and TEO
DARK HORSE HEDGE – After the BOOM!
by ilene - July 30th, 2010 2:10 pm
DARK HORSE HEDGE – After the BOOM!
Add Clinical Data, Inc. (CLDA) SHORT at the market, 7/30/10
Clinical Data, Inc. operates as a global biotechnology company developing early and late stage targeted therapeutics, as well as genetic and pharmacogenomic tests that detect serious diseases and help predict drug safety, tolerability, and efficacy.
After taking profits on earnings sell-offs from AMAG and BOOM, we are adding Clinical Data, Inc. (CLDA) as the 8th SHORT in our currently BALANCED tilt. CLDA is rated a STRONGSELL by Sabrient with a BALANCE SHEET score barely registering at 1.1 (out of 100) and almost non-existent FUNDAMENTALS score of 0.3 (out of 100). These rosy figures combine with five analysts forecasting a second quarter loss of -$.63. That is coming off a mind-numbing first quarter loss of -$1.44 per share, compared with expectations for only losing -$.63. These negatives provide us with a heavy dose of “preponderance of evidence” to believe CLDA is a reasonable SHORT at the market, Friday July 30, 2010.
*****
EARNINGS UPDATE: Ingram Micro (IM)
Ingram Micro (IM): LONG with Phil’s Buy/Write strategy in DHH virtual portfolio
As expected in our July 26, 2010 post, IM posted better than expected results and higher revenues after the market closed on Thursday. Analysts had been forecasting a profit of +$.37 per share and revenue of $7.9B, but IM delivered a healthy +$.44 per share and revenue of $8.2B. "Every region performed well, with our two largest regions doubling and tripling operating profits on double-digit sales growth," Ingram Micro Chief Executive Gregory Spierkel said in a statement. That is the type of BOOM! (see BOOM! article this morning) statement we like to hear from our long stocks.
We feel very comfortable with the position we put on using Phil’s Buy/Write Strategy. IM is trading +1.67% today at $16.44. Recall that we took in $2.50 in option premium on Monday by selling the December 2010 $17.50 calls and puts. On Monday, we wrote:
Add LONG Ingram Micro (IM) at the market Monday July 26.
We like IM leading into its earnings announcement on July 29, 2010. The 10 analysts covering