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Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
1:00pm (EST)
The bulls are struggling with resistance once again as they have been unable to mount an attack following yesterday’s lackluster performance. Economic news will be light for the holiday shortened week and today’s housing numbers failed to provide a lift even though they came in better-than-expected.
Existing Home Sales for the month of January showed an increase of 4.3%, versus an expected pop of 1%. However, December’s growth rate was revised lower which helped the numbers.
Looking at earnings, Dell (DELL, $17.02, down $1.19) is down nearly 7% after missing Wall Street’s estimates by a penny. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, $28.95, down $0.40) will report after the close along with Polypore International (PPO, $43.14, down $0.05).
One stock we are watching closely today is Vivus (VVUS, $10.55) which has been HALTED for pending news. The company is hoping to get the green light for its obesity drug, Qnexa, and is meeting with the suit-and-ties in Silver Spring, Maryland.
A FDA advisory panel will make a recommendation to the board on if the drug should be approved or not. This is not a final verdict, but today’s decision will carry a ton of weight (pun intended) on if the drug makes it to market.
Another possible event that could get the Nasdaq going is Apple’s (AAPL, $512.75, down $2.10) shareholder meeting on Thursday. If the company were to announce a “special dividend” or even better, they say they are buying Twitter, shares would likely continue their recent assault on 52-week highs. We will likely get the iPad3 update and maybe an iPhone5 tease but we would like to see them do something with the $100 billion they have in cash.
As far as the market, the Dow is down 39 points to 12,926 while the S&P 500 is off 5 points to 1,357. The Nasdaq is showing a loss of 15 points and was last seen at 2,933. As usual, we have a lot to cover in our Members Area so let’s get on it. Subscribers, check for the updates and we will see the rest of you Thursday AM.
Tags: call options, Dell, Momentum stocks, PPO
Posted in Earnings, Economic News, Market Analysis | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
2:10pm (EST)
The bulls were motivated to start today’s session higher following Tuesday’s setback and quickly gained the momentum to the push the market higher. Better-than-expected economic news provided some strength but weaker Tech earnings and a report which showed a much larger-than-expected buildup of crude oil inventories have stalled the rally.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) report showed prices rose 0.2% compared with expectations for an increase of 0.1%. The core reading, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.4%, versus expectations for an increase of 0.2%.
Oil is up a buck and near $88 a barrel after the Department of Energy (DOE) said inventories showed a buildup of 4.2 million barrels versus expectations for a draw-down of 500,000 barrels.
The Dow is declining by 58 points to 11,348 and is just below the 11,350 level we have been outlining all week. The index has traded to a low of 11,322 and a close below 11,350 would trigger 11,200 as the next area of support. A close above 11,350 would still bring 11,600 into play.
The S&P is down 5 points to 1,187 after touching a high of 1,208. The break below 1,200 favors the bears as they target 1,175 next then 1,150. A close above 1,200 still keeps 1,225 in play.
The Nasdaq is off by 30 points and is trading at 2,495. Tech has been weighed down by Dell (DELL, $14.20, down $1.61), which missed earnings while lowering guidance, and is below the 2,500 level. This area will be the battle ground going into the close.
We have a lot to over inside our Members Area so we have to cut it short today. We will be back in the morning with a complete update but please make sure you take us up on our offer from this morning to get our Weekly Wrap at no charge for a month.
Trust us, you will love this newsletter as it teaches charting and covers everything you need to know for the upcoming week. We also profile two companies a week that could be on the move. If you are a current subscriber, don’t forget to send our support team an email.
Tags: About options trading, Dell, option trading, stock and option, stock exchange, stock to buy, stock trading, trade online, trading futures, trading online, trading system, what are stock options, what is a call, what is option trading
Posted in Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
9:00am (EST)
The bears squared things up for the week as they got a victory over the bulls to pull even for the week. They are still on the offense as the major indexes show a loss for the week but today is looking like a bullish session. Tuesday’s action was limited to the downside but the bulls did great by holding support (which was resistance) throughout the day.
The Dow fell 42 points, or 0.3%, and settled at 12,226 after touching a low of 12,193. We were looking for 12,200 to hold at the open and then 12,000 if the bears got serious but the higher highs and higher lows still confirm the upside trend which we have at 12,350-12,500 over the near-term.
The S&P 500 dropped 4 points, or 0.3%, and finished at 1,328. The index slipped to a low of 1,324.61 and just below 1,325 which is trying to act as support. Further down the bulls have backup at 1,300. We still have 1,350-1,400 penciled-in for our near-term target.
The Nasdaq declined 13 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,804. We were looking for 2,800 to hold into the close and that we got. The index reached a bottom of 2,798.83 on Tuesday and there is additional support at 2,750. However, we are still expecting push up to 2,850-3,000 over the near-term.
Futures are up slightly this morning after Dell (DELL, $13.91, down $0.18) reported after the bell (last night) and came in with better-than-expected numbers. This once Wall Street darling surprised analysts after the close on Tuesday by reporting a profit of $927 million, or $0.48 a share, up from $334 million, or $0.17 a share, in the year ago quarter. Revenue jumped 5% to $15.7 billion.
Dell would have earned $0.53 a share excluding charges which would have crushed analysts forecasts either way which were $0.36 a share, on average. However, revenue came in just short at $15.75 billion. In any event, shares were up 80 cents, or 6%, to $14.71, in after-hours trading last night and are holding up at current levels as we head towards the opening bell.
We have followed Dell for over a decade but we lost interest in them a long time ago. However, we did want to hear what the company said about corporate spending which seems to be on the up and up if you listen to their conference call.
The bottom line is Dell is a boring stock and is still trying to reinvent itself as it moves away from the PC business. Its share price has been stuck in the teens for over a year and we aren’t sure when this once 800-pound gorilla will grow back up.
The news did, however, seem to give Tech a lift as futures were strong last night and have held into the morning which is all we care about since we are still bullish. Dow futures are up 40 points 12,242 while the S&P 500 futures are higher by 5 points to 1,331. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing an advance of 8 points to 2,340.
Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates, and look for a NEW Trade Alert this morning or at 1pm. We said yesterday we had a trade coming that could be a monster winner and we are doing a little more research this morning to confirm a bullish trend. Stay locked and loaded in case we need to pull the trigger.
Tags: best option trader, best trading signals, call options, chicken trade, Covered Calls, Dell, DELL earnings, financial options advice, momentum options, Momentum stocks, option mentoring, option signals, option trading, options broker, options newsletter, put options, stock broker, strangle option trade, winning option trades
Posted in Earnings, Market Analysis | Comments Off
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
1:30pm (EST)
You can almost feel the tension today between the bulls and bears as the market has stayed in a tight trading range. The major indexes are showing slight gains as better-than-expected numbers on housing and retail have provided the bulls some ammo heading into Friday’s update on employment.
 DJIA 15-Minute Chart The National Association of Realtors said contracts to purchase homes rose 5.2% in July after hitting a record low in June while factory orders climbed 0.1% in July.
The monthly report on jobs will be the biggie, of course, and it will be released before the market opens. Although there is a little hiring going on in America, the numbers are expected to indicate an unemployment rate of 9.6%, up 0.1% from last month. The market will be counting on the private sector for growth but they only hired 40,000 workers last month.
In corporate news, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, $39.34, up $0.13) raised its bid to $33 a share for data storage provider 3Par (PAR, $32.85, up $0.77). Dell (DELL, $12.40, up $0.28) had upped its offer to $32 a share in a last gasp effort to “outbid” HP but they don’t have the cash coffins to trump $33.
As we head to press, the Dow is up 2 points to 10,270 while the S&P 500 is advancing by 4 points to 1,084. The Nasdaq is showing a 10 point gain and is at 2,187.
We are watching the 1,075 level for support on the S&P 500 with 1,100 being a ceiling for today. We should probably stay within that range for the remainder of the day but a break above or below these levels means somebody knows something ahead of tomorrow’s big news.
We established 3 new positions ahead of Friday’s unemployment report but we protected ourselves by going out until October with our trades. You can bet tonight will be an uneasy night of sleeping but this is why we play the game. Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates.
Tags: Dell, HPQ, option picks, PAR, stock options trading
Posted in Economic News, Market Analysis | Comments Off
Friday, August 27th, 2010
9:10am (EST)
The market zigzagged for much of Thursday’s session but there was trouble on the 2pm horizon after the Kansas City Fed spoke. Things took a turn for the worse for the bulls after hearing the region’s manufacturing index fell to 0 in August, down substantially from July’s reading of 14.
The news sparked a fresh wave of selling which sent the major averages below support levels once again.
The Dow finished with a loss of nearly 75 points, or 0.7%, closing at 9,985 and below the physiological 10,000 level. Cisco Systems (CSCO, $20.70, down $0.51) led the Dow lower as the index settled below 10,000 for the first time since early July.
We mentioned in our Weekly Wrap there was a good chance the bears would take out 10,000 this week and now their cross-hairs are on 9,800. The 10,000-10,100 area will now act as resistance today with 10,200 now the second layer of resistance going forward.
The S&P 500 fell 8 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 1,047 and below its own support level of 1,050. It was also the index’s first close under this level since July and 1,000 appears to be in play with a test to 950, possibly.
The Nasdaq got slugged for a double-deuce (22 points), or 1.1%, to settle at 2,118. We mentioned yesterday that Tech will lead the way up or down and the index managed to stay above the 2,100 level, for now. Our next near-term targets are 2,050 and if that level fails then the index could fall to 1,900 on panic selling.
In M&A (merger and acquisitions) news this morning, Dell (DELL, $11.75, down $0.04) announced that its bid to acquire 3Par (PAR, $26.03, down $0.73) for $27 per share has been accepted. The offer beat out another bid from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, $38.22, down $0.02) last night after HPQ trumped Dell’s re-raised offer of $24.30.
Look for HPQ to come back with yet another bid.
Futures are pointing towards a decent open after hearing the latest gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. GDP for the second quarter came in better-than-expected at 1.6%, down from 2.4%, previously, and exceeded expectations for growth of 1.4%.
As a result, the Dow futures are higher by 57 points to 10,024 while the S&P 500 futures are up 8 points to 1,052. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing a 13 point pop to 1,780 as we go to press.
Subscribers, check the Members Area for the updates.
Tags: CSCO, Dell, option picks, PAR, stock options trading
Posted in Market Analysis, Mergers and Acquisitions | Comments Off
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Rally Fades as Bears Push Support
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
2:10pm (EST)
The bulls were motivated to start today’s session higher following Tuesday’s setback and quickly gained the momentum to the push the market higher. Better-than-expected economic news provided some strength but weaker Tech earnings and a report which showed a much larger-than-expected buildup of crude oil inventories have stalled the rally.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) report showed prices rose 0.2% compared with expectations for an increase of 0.1%. The core reading, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.4%, versus expectations for an increase of 0.2%.
Oil is up a buck and near $88 a barrel after the Department of Energy (DOE) said inventories showed a buildup of 4.2 million barrels versus expectations for a draw-down of 500,000 barrels.
The Dow is declining by 58 points to 11,348 and is just below the 11,350 level we have been outlining all week. The index has traded to a low of 11,322 and a close below 11,350 would trigger 11,200 as the next area of support. A close above 11,350 would still bring 11,600 into play.
The S&P is down 5 points to 1,187 after touching a high of 1,208. The break below 1,200 favors the bears as they target 1,175 next then 1,150. A close above 1,200 still keeps 1,225 in play.
The Nasdaq is off by 30 points and is trading at 2,495. Tech has been weighed down by Dell (DELL, $14.20, down $1.61), which missed earnings while lowering guidance, and is below the 2,500 level. This area will be the battle ground going into the close.
We have a lot to over inside our Members Area so we have to cut it short today. We will be back in the morning with a complete update but please make sure you take us up on our offer from this morning to get our Weekly Wrap at no charge for a month.
Trust us, you will love this newsletter as it teaches charting and covers everything you need to know for the upcoming week. We also profile two companies a week that could be on the move. If you are a current subscriber, don’t forget to send our support team an email.
Tags: About options trading, Dell, option trading, stock and option, stock exchange, stock to buy, stock trading, trade online, trading futures, trading online, trading system, what are stock options, what is a call, what is option trading
Posted in Market Analysis, Market Commentary | Comments Off