9:00am (EST)
The market had a lousy Tuesday and it was one of them days where you just knew we were going to stay in the red. Futures were pointing towards a crummy open and the bulls did not do a good job of holding the Dow above 10,300. We have talked a lot about support and resistance levels lately and while they aren’t exact they help us stay focused.
The Dow finished the day with a 104 point loss to close at 10,285 but we aren’t THAT worried about…yet. The “zones” we have been going through still favor the bulls but we might get one foot ready for the back door if we fall below Dow 10,000. That being said, we still think a “blow the top off the roof” type rally could be in the cards.
The S&P 500 fell 11 points and closed at 1,091. We still have support at 1,067 but if that level fails it could crack the seal for further leakage. If the bathroom line is full and you’ve had a bunch of beers this is how 1,067 is going to feel for us…
From the “Where have you been department”:
Every now and then have we will find a stock that looks really good for a option trade and one of the first things we look for is volume. Most of you know we don’t buy stocks because they take too much capital and the returns from options simply dwarf the returns you get from stocks. Remember, a 5% move in a stock can mean a 100% return in the right option which is why we play the game.
If a stock has low “daily volume” then it means the options are probably thinly traded as well. When we do option trades we try to pick stocks that have a lot of volume because the bid and ask on the options are usually between 5-10 cents and the options are liquid. We also like to pick stocks that are volatile so that we can play them both ways. Call options on the way up, and put options on the way down.
One stock we were/ are bullish on is AthenaHealth (ATHN, $44.96, down $1.10) which hit a high of $47.75 last Friday. Here were our thoughts from July 20th (quotes from that day):
ATHN Could Challenge New High
AthenaHealth (ATHN, $38.03, up $1.64) could see some action as the healthcare reform bill is heating up. The options aren’t as liquid as other stocks…the August 40 calls (QJNHH, $1.55, up $0.55) have only traded 10 contracts.
The September 40 calls (QJNIH, $1.95, up $0.60) have traded about 50 contracts but because of the low volume we may crowd this trade if people start piling in. That could be a good thing as well.
AthenaHealth’s CEO, Jonathan Bush, has made the TV rounds and he is worth listening to. I love his insights on the HealthCare sector but the option pits just don’t have the volume. Let’s see where these things end up in a month or two but because of the low volume, I’m staying away. The stock might be the better buy if you are looking for some quick profits. The 52-week high is $39.29… (END)
Aeropostale (ARO, $31.06, up $0.86) got upgraded to “Buy” yesterday with a long-term price target of $45. The stock made it to a high of $31.50 and held its gains for most of the session. If the company would not have scared the BeJesus out of Wall Street when they announced earnings last week, the stock would be above $35 by now…
As we head to press, Dow futures are up 30 to 10,301 while the Nasdaq 100 futures are higher by 9 points to 1,777. The S&P futures are showing a 4 point gain to 1,094.
Although the market slid, we did pretty well with our trades yesterday. Current subscribers, check the Members Area for the current trade updates this morning.
Tags: call option trading, chicken option trades, Covered Calls, momentum stock option trading, option trade picks, option trading online, options blog, options mentoring, options newsletters, options track record, put option trading, Rick Rouse, stock option trade pick service, straddle option trades, strangle option trades, support and resistance levels, triple-digit option trades
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 9:04 AM and is filed under Company Commentary, Hot Stocks, Mergers and Acquisitions, Rick's Account, Strategies.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Market Set To Open Higher
9:00am (EST)
The market had a lousy Tuesday and it was one of them days where you just knew we were going to stay in the red. Futures were pointing towards a crummy open and the bulls did not do a good job of holding the Dow above 10,300. We have talked a lot about support and resistance levels lately and while they aren’t exact they help us stay focused.
The Dow finished the day with a 104 point loss to close at 10,285 but we aren’t THAT worried about…yet. The “zones” we have been going through still favor the bulls but we might get one foot ready for the back door if we fall below Dow 10,000. That being said, we still think a “blow the top off the roof” type rally could be in the cards.
The S&P 500 fell 11 points and closed at 1,091. We still have support at 1,067 but if that level fails it could crack the seal for further leakage. If the bathroom line is full and you’ve had a bunch of beers this is how 1,067 is going to feel for us…
From the “Where have you been department”:
Every now and then have we will find a stock that looks really good for a option trade and one of the first things we look for is volume. Most of you know we don’t buy stocks because they take too much capital and the returns from options simply dwarf the returns you get from stocks. Remember, a 5% move in a stock can mean a 100% return in the right option which is why we play the game.
If a stock has low “daily volume” then it means the options are probably thinly traded as well. When we do option trades we try to pick stocks that have a lot of volume because the bid and ask on the options are usually between 5-10 cents and the options are liquid. We also like to pick stocks that are volatile so that we can play them both ways. Call options on the way up, and put options on the way down.
One stock we were/ are bullish on is AthenaHealth (ATHN, $44.96, down $1.10) which hit a high of $47.75 last Friday. Here were our thoughts from July 20th (quotes from that day):
ATHN Could Challenge New High
AthenaHealth (ATHN, $38.03, up $1.64) could see some action as the healthcare reform bill is heating up. The options aren’t as liquid as other stocks…the August 40 calls (QJNHH, $1.55, up $0.55) have only traded 10 contracts.
The September 40 calls (QJNIH, $1.95, up $0.60) have traded about 50 contracts but because of the low volume we may crowd this trade if people start piling in. That could be a good thing as well.
AthenaHealth’s CEO, Jonathan Bush, has made the TV rounds and he is worth listening to. I love his insights on the HealthCare sector but the option pits just don’t have the volume. Let’s see where these things end up in a month or two but because of the low volume, I’m staying away. The stock might be the better buy if you are looking for some quick profits. The 52-week high is $39.29… (END)
Aeropostale (ARO, $31.06, up $0.86) got upgraded to “Buy” yesterday with a long-term price target of $45. The stock made it to a high of $31.50 and held its gains for most of the session. If the company would not have scared the BeJesus out of Wall Street when they announced earnings last week, the stock would be above $35 by now…
As we head to press, Dow futures are up 30 to 10,301 while the Nasdaq 100 futures are higher by 9 points to 1,777. The S&P futures are showing a 4 point gain to 1,094.
Although the market slid, we did pretty well with our trades yesterday. Current subscribers, check the Members Area for the current trade updates this morning.
Tags: call option trading, chicken option trades, Covered Calls, momentum stock option trading, option trade picks, option trading online, options blog, options mentoring, options newsletters, options track record, put option trading, Rick Rouse, stock option trade pick service, straddle option trades, strangle option trades, support and resistance levels, triple-digit option trades
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 9:04 AM and is filed under Company Commentary, Hot Stocks, Mergers and Acquisitions, Rick's Account, Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.