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Futures Pointing Towards Slightly Lower Open

Monday, July 27th, 2009

9:15am (EST)

The futures are pointing towards a slightly lower open as a number of companies reported earnings this morning. Futures were higher but they gave up those gains after Aetna (AET, $26.44) and Honeywell (HON, $33.99) posted lower earnings. Aetna is down $2.42 to $24 while Honeywell is down 90 cents in pre-market trading.

Verizon (VZ, $31.50) also reported earnings and said its quarterly profits fell 20% as cost-cutting in its wireline business failed to keep pace with falling revenues. However, its adjusted earnings still beat Wall Street expectations.

As you can see, we got a mixed bag of earnings to start the week; some good, some bad.

Dow futures are off by 7 after being up more than 50 earlier this morning. The S&P 500 futures have slipped 1 while the Nasdaq 100 futures are up a point.

Rick@MomentumOptionsTrading.com

Tags: Aetna, Honeywell, Verizon
Posted in Company Commentary, Earnings | No Comments »

More on General Motors – Update at 1:30pm

Friday, May 29th, 2009

1:30pm (EST)

Just wanted to add something to the blog below. The GM June 1 puts (GMVR, $0.61, up $0.07) have traded nearly 100,000 contracts as open interest has swelled to over 425,000 contracts. The put options opened at 57 cents today. The action is amazing and it remains to be seen what the outcome of a GM bankruptcy will mean for the market. Monday could be nasty for the market once the news is official.

12:50pm (EST)

General Motors (GM, $0.88, down $0.24) is under a buck and the writing on the wall will now be read by all on Wall Street. Two things I want to talk about. One is DO NOT buy the stock. Some people seem to believe that if they buy the stock and own it now, they own it when GM comes out of bankruptcy. That is not the case.

I remember years ago when I wrote about Kmart. The discount retailer entered Chapter 11 in 2002 and emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2003 with new stock. Kmart was a victim of Wal-Mart (WMT, $49.30, down $0.25) and Target’s (TGT, $38.65, down $0.49) success and GM failed to change when it should have changed 10 years ago. Some people wrote me asking why their old Kmart stock that had traded to zero wasn’t worth what the new stock was trading for.

This is actually a pretty common event when companies enter bankruptcy protection but when they reemerge, the new stock replaces the old stock and you have no ownership. As an owner of the stock right now, you will be the last in line for any “remaining assets” in case of a default or other business failure.

The other point I want to make is who will replace GM in the Dow? Names being mentioned are Aetna (AET, $26.79, down $0.01), Cisco Systems (CSCO, $18.24, down $0.27) or Goldman Sachs (GS, $143.22, down $1.43). There is also a push to add a transportation name like FedEx (FDX, $54.38, up $0.80) or United Parcel Service (UPS, $50.21, up $1.20).

My bet is Goldman as they will be one of the first, if not first, large bank to hand back TARP money, and will benefit from the increased capital markets activity. Whoever it is, there will be a sweet option trade on it that’s for sure. Once GM is dropped, brokerage houses, mutual funds and pension plans will be active in whoever replaces GM.

I also wanted to mention the move Freeport McMoRan (FCX, $53.73, up $1.52) has made over the last three days. The stock hit a low of $46 on Wednesday but has challenged double nickles today (high $54.45). I had mentioned a few call options on May 20th that have now turned positive. That was one of the last trades I covered before announcing our new trading service.

There was a slew of action this week and there were numerous trades that I wanted to talk about. We are still going to get some amazing price swings and stories in the stock market for the rest of the year. Our goal is to teach you what to look for and how to get a feel for the market so that you will be able to find your own trades.

We are going to be offering quite a few different strategies in our new trading service. There will be ultra-safe trades that aim to make you 5%-10% a month and the more riskier trades that can double or triple your investment. I had one reader email me today and said he invested $280 in Dendreon (DNDN, $22.28, up $0.28) call options and it turned into $7,700.

The best part though is that I will be showing you what to look for the next time Dendreon makes the list for an option trade. There will be some more action in Dendreon down the road and you will want to be there. You can by subscribing to the new service.

That’s it for today, but I really encourage you to send me an email over the weekend if you are interested in the program.

Rick Rouse
Rick@OptionsMentoring.com

Tags: Aetna, Cisco Systems, Dendreon, FedEx, Freeport-McMoRan, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Kmart, options blog, Target, Wal-Mart
Posted in Commodities, Market Analysis, Option Trades, Strategies | No Comments »

Market Notes

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

Historic times indeed. Tuesday’s 485 point climb for the Dow was the third largest ever after dropping 777 points on Monday. The Dow’s close of 10,850 puts the index down 18% YTD. The Nasdaq jumped nearly 100 points to close at 2,082 but its 5% jump still leaves it off by 20% YTD. The S&P 500 rallied 60 points to finish at 1,166 and is also down 20% for the year.

NewsFlash. Despite the market’s gyrations, there are a few stock out there making new 52-week highs. Tough times call for tough choices and when you have to sell something for money where do people go? Yeap, pawn shops are hot (no pun intended)…EZCorp (EZPW, $18.80, up $1.32) hit a 52-week high of $19.25. There was a little action in the October 17.50 calls (ULPJT, $1.95, up $0.90) which jumped 85% but open interest is relatively low.

Other stocks to add to our “Pawn Shop” watch list: Cash America International (CSH, $36.04, down $0.06) and First Cash Financial Services (FCFS, $15.00, up $0.27) are a couple of other players but their stock was hit by Hurricane Ike recently.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM, $46.70, up $5.70) did not set a 52-week high yesterday but the 14% surge has me believing it could be the one to “buy” if a bailout is approved. There was heavy action in the October 47.50 calls (JPMJW, $2.73, up $0.54). If you have some “house money” to play with you’re getting 50/50 odds. Either the financial stocks get a short-term lift with the bailout or they plunge even further.

Keep an eye on the HealthCare sector. One of my favorite plays could be UnitedHealth Group (UNH, $25.39, up $4.39) which has been slammed recently. There was huge volume in the October 25 calls (UHBJE, $1.50, up $0.20) but I’d go way out to the January 35 2010 calls (WUHAG) which closed at $2.05 if the stock can hold $20 for a few months. This would give us an entire year to play a rebound.

Other potential names include Aetna (AET, $36.11, up $0.85), Cigna (CI, $33.98, up $0.65), Humana (HUM, $41.20, up $0.50) and WellPoint (WLP, $46.77, up $2.31).

It’s a tough market right now but an exciting one. Novice traders will get “smothered and covered” in these types of markets and it’s best to leverage trades and take profits until we get back to “normal”. That might take a while though.

Rick Rouse
Rick@OptionsMentoring.com

Tags: Aetna, Cash America International, Cigna Humana, EZCorp, First Cash Financial Services, JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint
Posted in Market Analysis, Watch Lists | No Comments »

Our updated 2012 Track Record is now at 85-18 for an 82% win rate. We have closed 24-straight winning option trades since late March!

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REGINA L.
I just want you to know that I love the way you write and explain everything. I am new to this, and have lost 50% of my account until I met you guys. Iit is slowly coming back. I will be calling to set up a year
of membership rather than the one quarter. Thanks again, and LOVE YOU ALL.

STEVE T.
Rick, I appreciate the advice. I think I will just sit back and utilize your selections only for awhile. This will obviously save me a great deal of money in commissions. I have gone thru your entire site including the video on money management. This has brought me to the stark realization that I have been trading too much for too little. I definitely have not been "swinging for the fences", but I also think I have been getting impatient with trades and getting out too fast. This has no doubt caused me too trade too much. I like, and definitely agree on, the advice on money management. Thanks for the help.

SCOTT H.
Thank you!!! I held on to the NFLX position since Nov. 13 at a cost of $1.89. Sold ½ on April 14th for a 540% return and the other ½ upon earnings for 702% return. Total profit of $11,615 a 621% return. Keep the recommendations coming and thanks to you and your team for the service you provide.

PETER G.
Rick & Team, GREAT Call on NKE for my two trading accounts:
1) Entry at .65, out at 1.45, 1.55 Profit = $415
2) Entry at .60, out at 1.75, 1.50 Profit = $485

LAWRENCE O.
Hey Rick! Here is an update on what your picks have done in my accounts.

1) Great call on the JoyG March 55. I bought when you said, then bought again on one of the dips. Booked 80+% profit. Made enough to pay for your service for years to come.

2) Also booked profits on your Berk Feb 74 (80%) and threw a major chunk of change at the March 75’s (190+%). I would have never known that Buffet's stock had split if it weren’t for your service. Bought the shares also for the long haul. Won’t look at them for another 20 years. Great job on getting us in before the indexes did.

3) Took profit on your Imax March 12.5. 20 cent trailing stop at 1.90 yesterday. Not sure what the profit on that was, but profit is profit.

I see that you took a loss on some of these. It’s all good. I look to trade your “ideas” not your exact calls. I THANK YOU! For your ideas and commentary. Keep up the good work. And keep those ideas coming.

C.J.
Loving this subscription so far! I got into the BRK feb 76 calls the day you talked about right before the split...now up over 300% (0.70 to 2.475)! Keep the good picks coming and let's see some OSIS and EMC upside soon! Just wanted to share my positive enthusiasm on your newsletter...it gives us individual investors great ideas on not only the options market, but also the broader equity market! Case in point is BRK...I can't always read the breaking business news but its easy to read your twice daily updates on my smartphone...helped me get some BRK shares immediately after the split which I will hold for the long haul! Thanks again!

SHAUN
Aloha Rick - Thank you so much for the great CL pick. I am not sure if there was buy-out/merger news or what but at 3PM today Colgate-Palmolive absolutely EXPLODED to the upside, and my calls turned into green candy when they went from 1.40 to 3.8 in a matter of seconds! I even sold a few for over 4.0! Much thanks and keep the solid picks up my friend, honestly. Only a fool would scoff at 267% gains... Peace!

MICHAEL K.
I like the fact that you ask for comments from subscribers. Good customer service. By the way, am enjoying the service so far. Some good
profitable calls. Keep up the good work.

PARAG P.
Woo hoo! Out for 50% on WMT this am. Making up for my depression for getting out of pcln for a 30% gain monday :( you the man! any word on the manual? My friend Mike ( who I sent to your service) told me he emailed you about your integrity in reporting fills. I echo that sentiment big time.. keep it up! Cheers!

JAY P.
Hi Rick, as a new member all I can say is, 'show off' LOL, with PCLN.

MIKE
Rick, I am a new subscriber to your service, and I want to say I am impressed. I am impressed by your results, but more than that I am impressed by your reporting of your fills. You could have easily said you got that Wal-Mart call today for 80 cents, instead you reported 98 cents! Good job and keep it up, I watched the reporting of the fills first, and then I subscribed. Thank You.

TRISH D.
Hi, good morning. I jumped the gun a little on this one (PCLN). But still made $1,675.00 profit!! Very happy!! Keep up the good work!! Thanks.

MIN L.
Hi there, I have joined recently, and I am very happy to tell you that I am up over $10,000 on your picks in a month. I started on 10/7 with the Intel pick. I'll be your member for life. Please don't quit on us. Also, I am learning a lot about options. I didn’t get in your recent APOL and that gold trade and only had one loss on CHK. I appreciate all the DD you do. I enjoy your market commentaries. Best advice site period, and I have tried a few here and there. Again, you guys rock!

JOE G.
Thanks be to Momentum Options Trading for providing me with some fantastic wins. I just started with this service and am up nearly 50% in less than a month. There have been losses, but if I manage them properly, I will continue the best efforts given on the blog (in which there are no complaints). What a great cause for humanity. I feel more confident about my trades and continue to play the wins. Best of all, I am now keeping my regular paychecks in the bank! Thank you!

GREG F.
Rick - I wanted to say thanks for getting me started on the right foot with your service. I have made six trades since starting on October 22, 2009. Five are winners and One loser netting me $6,245. Thanks again and keep the trade recommendations coming.

NOEL
I got into the Nike 60 Call at 1.85, sold at 5.00, also bought a 55 put at 1.05, but got stopped out at .35. What a ride! $2830.00 in the black even with the put. It's right at 100% return. I hope earnings season coming up is going to look like this trade.

TODD F.
Nice call on Nike. I think I'll go buy a pair with my profits! : ) I did the straddle for safety but still made 62% on the trade. Not bad for less than 24 hours. If Goldman is right, then the Nov 70s or 75's could be a steal today.

PAUL H.
What a sweet way to get introduced to Momentum. My first trade based on your picks and it a 2X. Thank you!

NOEL
“Limit order was set at 1.60 on RIMM so it sold. I may have left some money on the table but you can't go broke making a profit. That was a fun trade. Thank you. Good call. I’ve been watching and trading Rick's advice since March. It’s usually a fun ride, but I give him heck when it's wrong to. :) ”

CHRISTIAN
“Your service rocks! I made bank on Dendreon last week! The other thing I have to say is that it took me quite a while to find a REAL options trading service like yours. Most of what’s out there is 99% scam and very sketchy. Momentum Options Trading is the first service I found that I can trust and seriously make money with.”

JOHN
“I made $420.00 on ANF in 2 days. Thanks for the trade and updates on getting out of the trade.”

CHARLES M.
“I did follow a lot of your trades with 1-2 contracts per trade and YTD I’m up 108%. I try not to follow blindly by not entering all of your trades and sometimes entering the ones you don’t. I entered AIG a few weeks ago against recommendation – that one hurt.”

BRYAN C.
“I have been following you for several months and am interested in the new service. I hate to see the free service go away but as they say, “all good things must come to an end”. My ability to join will be greatly influenced by the monthly fee so I’m very curious to see the new prices. Thanks for making April a great month for me and my family.”

JOHN H.
“I have really enjoyed the past month since finding your blog. You have made some great calls. I would appreciate info. on the new options mentoring program. Thanks.”

JEFFREY
“Hi Rick, I have been following your blog for several months now and I would like to be including on the list for your new service and to receive more information about it. And yes I was a Dendreon winner with your tips. Turned $280 into $7700, and literally saved my butt.”

ED
“I made over 6k on your Dendreon trade, and I’m very interested in learning how you pick and trade options. Sign me up.”

GREG
“Rick – Wow what a day! I got in at the Dendreon calls at $2.25. Thanks to for your advice. I appreciate that. This company has a lock on this type of therapy and no one else in the world is close. Kind of reminds me of the type of companies that Peter Lynch and Warren Buffet suggest that investments be made in. Companies that can build a moat around their business model, that allows them to charge a premium for their product or service. In other words - a monopoly.”

KEN
“Hi Rick, Thank you so much for the Dendreon trade, I made almost $10,000 with that trade with a little over $2,000 investment. You have shown me the power of options trading. Again, thank you so much for all your inputs.”

GARETT
“Hi Rick, thanks for the encouragement to play the dendreon calls! did freaking great! Got in the first lot at $1.44 on 3-24-09, sold at $2.45, 70% not bad. Bought it back at $2.30 on 4-7-09 closed out on 4-14-09 for 454% gain! Wow! I love it when that happens. So, thanks the encouragement to get back in when others were saying sell, sell, sell. Keep up the good work.”

TERENCE
“Rick – Thanks for Dendreon – it has made all the headlines today! I missed on RIMM earlier, but I’ve been holding onto DNDN calls since 3rd week March. Of course today it all paid off today, as DNDN rocketed up.”

Jan. 31 2012
Rick, new member...Studied all current trades, did some chart work,picked ZNGA, PEP, MGM...Sold on Feb. 2 for $3600.00 profit...Cost for 1-year membership to your newsletter was less than $1000.00..All I have to say..Thank you. John H –

3/18/11
Rick, I purchased 10 contracts of the Nike March 85 puts Thursday afternoon for $2.00. Thing is, I was upset because the puts went down to $1.60 or so before the market closed. Well, needless to say Nike didn’t impress Wall Street and when I turned on the computer this morning the puts were worth $7.10! Sold them for a $5,100 profit!. Thanks again, you are the MAN. Chuck J-

2/3/12
Hi Rick,

I will start off with a thank you for your time and dedication to all
the research you and your team commit yourself to. This is not me just being excited about the profits I have accumulated aka (bank) ! You have helped me get back to the passion I had of researching stocks/options. Keith N-

Hi Rick,

I want to share my great results on GMCR. Based on your comments on February 15th, I bought 20 options at $0.28. They closed today at $7.00, which is a 2,300% gain. My $560 dollars turned into $14,000 in less than a month. In decades of trading, this is my single best trade ever. Thank you! By the way, the Dow was down 228 points today and I could care less. What a great trade. It proves the amazing power of options. I am so grateful for your service, which calls it straight all the time, your options trading manual, and most of all, your amazing skill
at finding winning trades. I have attached a copy of the trade from
my brokerage screen.

Posts Tagged ‘Aetna’

Futures Pointing Towards Slightly Lower Open

More on General Motors – Update at 1:30pm

Market Notes