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Monday, January 23rd, 2012
9:00am (EST)
Well, Europe didn’t flare up and 4Q earnings came in halfway decent for some, not so good for others. These were the 2 catalysts that we said would move the market higher or lower last week and the results favored the bulls who were able to push another layer of resistance.
It was a shortened week for the market but the indexes moved higher on Tuesday following good news out of China but gave back half the gains after the Financial sector ended mixed. Citigroup (C, $29.64, up $0.31) and Wells Fargo (WFC, $30.54, up $0.39) missed and beat Wall Street’s estimates after announcing earnings to start the week.
There was follow through on Wednesday as the major averages ended the session with 1% pops, on average. eBay (EBAY, $31.93, up $0.42) posted better-than-expected results on the strength of their PayPal business which is going gang-busters globally.
We were expecting a flat to down Thursday as we weren’t sure what kind of numbers the jobs market would post before the bell and a number of Tech’s heavy-hitters were reporting earnings after the close. Thankfully, Initial Claims fell to their lowest level (351,000) in 4 years which put the bulls in a good mood and took some of the pressure off of Tech – which ended up leading the way higher. Bank of America (BAC, $7.07, up $0.11) gave the Financial stocks a lift after beating expectations.
Friday’s action was all about “old” Tech versus “new” Tech as Google (GOOG, $585.99, down $53.58), Intel (INTC, $26.38, up $0.75), International Business Machines (IBM, $188.52, up $0.08) and Microsoft (MSFT, $29.71, up $1.59) weighed-in with their numbers, which were good for the most part. The ugly duckling was Google which dropped 8% after missing Wall Street’s estimates. Intel, IBM and Microsoft accounted for 78 blue-chip points.
As a result, the Dow gained 96 points, or 0.8%, to end at 12,720. The blue-chips dipped to a low of 12,620 at the open but held new short-term support at 12,600 which was prior resistance. We could not have called this much better as we said a break above 12,600 would lead to a test up to 12,750-12,800…(read more)
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If you are not a subscriber but would like to read more please click here. We are one of the fastest growing stock options trading advisors on the internet and we are one of the very few option newsletters which posted a powerful 2011 return. In fact, we have NEVER had a losing year since forming in 2007. We are off to a fast 14-1 start for 2012 and our subscribers have already closed 3 triple digit winning trades for gains of 124%, 100%, and 131% and another call option trade for 82%.
We offer 2-3 powerful call or put option trades each week (depending on market conditions) aimed at triple-digit returns for our Daily newsletter. Our Weekly Wrap Covered Call Portfolio strides for double-digit returns on a monthly basis and went 16-0 for 2011 and is 8-0 so far in 2012 after the trades we closed on Friday. Sign-up now and receive access instantly to our stock options trading recommendations!
If you are missing these juicy profits come give us a try. Get your password to our Members Area instantly when you sign up TODAY! One profitable trade will easily pay for your membership. You can request our 2008-2011 Track Records by sending us an email or filling out the box to the right.
Tags: c, eBay, GOOG, IBM, INTC, MSFT, wfc
Posted in Earnings, Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off
Friday, January 20th, 2012
9:00am (EST)
The bulls rolled out the red carpet after the bell on Thursday as a number of companies were set to report earnings. Despite the high profile events, the market moved higher as Tech once again led the way.
The Dow gained 46 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 12,625. The blue-chips closed on their highs for the day which opens the door for a test up to 12,800 as the index ended above our near-term 12,600 target.
The S&P added a 6-pack, or 0.5%, to settle at 1,315. The index managed to stay in the green all day after testing the breakeven level shortly after the open. We said there could be fluff up to 1,325-1,350 on the close above 1,300 which would be nice for the bulls to hold going into the weekend.
The Nasdaq jumped 18 points, or 0.7%, and ended at 2,788. Tech made a run at our 2,800 target but fell short after kissing a high of 2,793.
Yesterday’s news is actually today’s headlines as we have a ton of stocks in play ahead of the open. Most noticeably, Google (GOOG, $639.57, up $6.66) shares are down a whopping 10% (like we predicted) after the company missed Wall Street’s estimates. It seems the gains on Thursday ($6.66) were a sign of bad things to come.
Google was down over $60 at one-point last night in extended trading and in pre-market action, shares are down $50 to $590.
Elsewhere in pre-market trading, Intel (INTC, $25.63, up $0.24) is up 2% after they beat estimates and offered in-line guidance for the current quarter. International Business Machines (IBM, $180.52, down $0.55) is trading higher to $185 despite missing analysts’ revenue targets but did up guidance going forward.
And finally, Microsoft (MSFT, $28.12, down $0.11) is pushing $29 after reporting a profit of $6.6 billion, or $0.78 a share, on revenue of $20.9 billion for the quarter. This was slightly below last year’s showing of $0.77 a share on sales of $19.95 billion for the quarter, but slightly ahead of the 76 cents the suit-and-ties had penciled in.
Shares of Microsoft are at $28.77, up $0.65, ahead of the bell. We currently have open trades on this name so look for possible Profit Alerts if we take action. We have a $35 price target on Microsoft by summertime but we want to take advantage of today’s possible pop to lock in profits on our February call options.
Futures are pointing towards a mixed open and look like this: Dow (-16), S&P (-3), Nasdaq (flat).
We also have some other current open trades that we may take action on this morning and we have raised the HARD STOPS for a few of them in case there is a pullback. With the weekend here, we may lock-in some triple-digit profits! Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates and stay locked-and-loaded.
Tags: GOOG, IBM, INTC earnings, momentum options, MSFT
Posted in Earnings, Google, Market Commentary, Trade Update, Yahoo / Microsoft | Comments Off
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
1:10pm (EST)
The bulls got a bevy of good news before the bell this morning which led to a good start for the market as the major averages continue to push the July 2011 highs. Bank of America (BAC, $7.11, up $0.31) is giving the Financial stocks a lift after beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations. The suit-and-ties were floored when the company posted a profit of 15 cents a share on revenue of $25.1 billion which beat their projection of $24 billion in revenues. We have been pounding the table on the stock when shares were at $5 back in December as it is a current member of our Weekly Wrap Covered Call portfolio which could start January at 10-0.
Economic news was fantastic as Initial Claims fell to 352,000 versus expectations for 384,000 while Continuing Claims were 3.43 million versus forecasts for 3.6 million. Elsewhere, Consumer Prices were unchanged which was below calls for an increase of 0.1%. The core reading, excluding food and energy, matched the hype and was up 0.1%. And finally, from the crib, Housing Starts dropped for the month of December, coming in at 657,000 versus expectations for 680,000 while Building Permits matched forecasts.
Google (GOOG, $636.00, up $3.09) will confess their quarterly numbers after the bell and shares have a history of making huge moves after they announce earnings. Of course, this is option expiration week and the January options are still in play so let’s take a look at the stock and some of the options.
The last time the company reported their quarterly results (mid-October 2011), shares surged $32-and change from $559 to $591, on better-than-expected numbers. The high that day was $599. In July 2011, Google also beat estimates and zoomed from $529 to $597 and kissed a high of $600.
A 10% move in Google would equate to a 63-point move in the stock and we could see that on an earnings miss to the downside. However, the upside may not be quite as huge if it is not a blowout quarter and could only be 5% or less which is still $30 but is it enough to create a possible strangle option trade?
The Google January 700 calls (GOOG120121C00700000, $1.10, down $0.20) and the January 575 puts (GOOG120121P00575000, $0.90, down $0.70) would cost $2 together and are a possibility but the stock would need to be at $702 or $573 for us to break even. At $704, or $571, the trade would double but again, the options expire tomorrow.
This is NOT an official option trade recommendation but we wanted to show you how strangle option trades work since we have a ton of new subscribers. The risk/ reward on this trade doesn’t look great and it may be better off to SELL these options but that is another strategy altogether and one we certainly don’t recommend on a $600+ stock.
We will take a look at these options again on Friday to see where they are at and we would like to see a blowout quarter which would help the Tech sector keep its momentum.
As we head to press, the Dow is up 14 points to 12,593 while the S&P 500 is higher by 5 points to 1,313. The Nasdaq is showing a pop of 20 points to 2,790.
As usual, we have a number of open trades and there is a lot to talk about so let’s go see where we are at. Microsoft and IBM and Intel also report after the bell so tomorrow could be explosive for either the bulls or bears depending how things go. Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates.
Tags: goog earnings, momentum options, Momentum stocks, stock option picks
Posted in Earnings, Market Analysis, strangle option trades, Strategies | Comments Off
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
10:50am (EST)
Our subscribers might need a wheelbarrow after we get finished with January. Time to ride the gravy train.
For those of you who use our Twitter Alerts, we are adding a NEW TRADE for our DAILY portfolio this morning. We have gotten off to a incredible start for 2012 and we see another great opportunity to make some quick profits. Subscribers, check your email inbox or the Members Area to get the latest updates. As usual, use limit prices to get the best fills.
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If you are not a subscriber but would like to read more please click here. We are one of the fastest growing stock options trading advisors on the internet and we are one of the very few option newsletters which posted a powerful 2011 return. In fact, we have NEVER had a losing year since forming in 2007.
Start 2012 with the BEST options newsletter on the internet. Last year, many pros and investment services struggled to make their clients and their paying subscribers’ money as the S&P finished flat for 2011. Not us. We were right on over 65% of our trades and our portfolio returned our subscribers over $15,000 in profits.
In other words, if you started with a $10,000 account, our option picks could have made you upwards of 150% in 2011. Over the past 4 years we are averaging a 70% winning percentage for all our trades despite volatile, flat and choppy markets. Come see why some of Wall Street’s pros are following us instead of the Journal!
Here are some of our profitable 2011 recommendations: ORLY call options +191%, VMW call options +100%, JOYG call options +169%; GS put options +184%; FDX put options +164%; OXY put options +74%; +137% on RIMM put options, +1,167% on RMBS puts in 11 days, +296% on FCX calls; +157% on ZAGG calls; +110% on LNKD puts; +133% on RLD put options.
Wait until you see our January 2012 closed trades which we will reveal in a few weeks as many of them are still active.
If you are missing these juicy profits come give us a try. Get your password to our Members Area instantly when you sign up TODAY! One profitable trade will easily pay for your membership. You can request our 2008-2011 Track Records by sending us an email or filling out the box below.
Tags: blue-chip stocks, chicken option trade, chicken trade, momentum, momentum options, option mentoring, stock options trading advisors, straddle option trade
Posted in Earnings, Hot Stocks, Trade Update | Comments Off
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
9:00am (EST)
The market continued its test towards the upper levels of resistance as the bulls were able to take out 2 of our 3 near-term targets for the major indexes. Wall Street was able to finish out the session near the highs after a strong second half bounce off the lows which continued into the close.
The Dow jumped 97 points, or 0.8%, to end at 12,578. The blue-chips fell short of our 12,600 target after trading up to 12,582. We said a run to 12,800-13,000 could come with a close above this level so stay tuned.
The S&P 500 surged over 14 points, or 1.1%, to settle at 1,308. It was the first close above the 1,300 level since August 2011 and we said a run, or the fluff, to 1,325-1,350 could come if cleared.
The Nasdaq zoomed higher by 42 points, or 1.5%, to finish at 2,769. We said a close above 2,750 would be bullish and clears the way for a run up to 2,800-2,850.
eBay (EBAY, $30.34, down $0.19) is trading higher this morning after beating Wall Street’s estimates after the closing bell last night. The company reported a profit of $2 billion, or $1.55 a share, on revenue of $3.4 billion. This easily beat last year’s 4Q numbers of $559 million, or 42 cents a share. Analysts were expecting $0.57 a share on sales of $3.3 billion.
The big earnings surprise came from eBay’s remaining stake in Skype which sold during the quarter. If we back out those numbers along with stock based compensation expenses, the company earned $789 million, or $0.60 a share, which was still ahead of estimates.
We mentioned yesterday the company’s PayPal unit continues to put up mind-boggling numbers but eBay sand-bagged their numbers for the current quarter. They said they expect to earn 50-51 cents a share on revenue of $3.05 billion while the suit-and-ties were looking for 54 cents on $3.16 billion in sales.
Shares are up $1.16, to $31.50, in pre-market trading.
As we top our coffee and get ready for the open, futures look good with the Dow up 50, the S&P higher by 6, and the Nasdaq futures showing a 12 point pop.
We had a lot of pin action yesterday and we nailed some strikes as we closed half profits on a couple of huge winning option trades. We have 2 current positions that are up 124% and 108% while another is up 93%. We have raised the HARD STOPS for these trades so please adjust accordingly.
Subscribers, check the Members Lounge for the updates. Also, expect Trade Alerts or Profit Alerts if we see something we like or if we take some chips off the table with our current plays.
Tags: eBay earnings, momentum, momentum options, option mentoring, stock options trading advisors, straddle option trade
Posted in Earnings, Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off
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Bulls Eye April Highs, Bears Banking on Greece
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
9:00am (EST)
Well, Europe didn’t flare up and 4Q earnings came in halfway decent for some, not so good for others. These were the 2 catalysts that we said would move the market higher or lower last week and the results favored the bulls who were able to push another layer of resistance.
It was a shortened week for the market but the indexes moved higher on Tuesday following good news out of China but gave back half the gains after the Financial sector ended mixed. Citigroup (C, $29.64, up $0.31) and Wells Fargo (WFC, $30.54, up $0.39) missed and beat Wall Street’s estimates after announcing earnings to start the week.
There was follow through on Wednesday as the major averages ended the session with 1% pops, on average. eBay (EBAY, $31.93, up $0.42) posted better-than-expected results on the strength of their PayPal business which is going gang-busters globally.
We were expecting a flat to down Thursday as we weren’t sure what kind of numbers the jobs market would post before the bell and a number of Tech’s heavy-hitters were reporting earnings after the close. Thankfully, Initial Claims fell to their lowest level (351,000) in 4 years which put the bulls in a good mood and took some of the pressure off of Tech – which ended up leading the way higher. Bank of America (BAC, $7.07, up $0.11) gave the Financial stocks a lift after beating expectations.
Friday’s action was all about “old” Tech versus “new” Tech as Google (GOOG, $585.99, down $53.58), Intel (INTC, $26.38, up $0.75), International Business Machines (IBM, $188.52, up $0.08) and Microsoft (MSFT, $29.71, up $1.59) weighed-in with their numbers, which were good for the most part. The ugly duckling was Google which dropped 8% after missing Wall Street’s estimates. Intel, IBM and Microsoft accounted for 78 blue-chip points.
As a result, the Dow gained 96 points, or 0.8%, to end at 12,720. The blue-chips dipped to a low of 12,620 at the open but held new short-term support at 12,600 which was prior resistance. We could not have called this much better as we said a break above 12,600 would lead to a test up to 12,750-12,800…(read more)
********************************************
If you are not a subscriber but would like to read more please click here. We are one of the fastest growing stock options trading advisors on the internet and we are one of the very few option newsletters which posted a powerful 2011 return. In fact, we have NEVER had a losing year since forming in 2007. We are off to a fast 14-1 start for 2012 and our subscribers have already closed 3 triple digit winning trades for gains of 124%, 100%, and 131% and another call option trade for 82%.
We offer 2-3 powerful call or put option trades each week (depending on market conditions) aimed at triple-digit returns for our Daily newsletter. Our Weekly Wrap Covered Call Portfolio strides for double-digit returns on a monthly basis and went 16-0 for 2011 and is 8-0 so far in 2012 after the trades we closed on Friday. Sign-up now and receive access instantly to our stock options trading recommendations!
If you are missing these juicy profits come give us a try. Get your password to our Members Area instantly when you sign up TODAY! One profitable trade will easily pay for your membership. You can request our 2008-2011 Track Records by sending us an email or filling out the box to the right.
Tags: c, eBay, GOOG, IBM, INTC, MSFT, wfc
Posted in Earnings, Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off