No Post Tonight

Due to schedule constraints I won't be posting trade ideas this evening. It has nothing to do with this afternoon's selloff in the markets; however, due to that I think that trading tomorrow will be volatile and dicey so it's probably a good day to be very careful anyway.

Trade Candidates for 4/30/2007

Here are some setups for Monday. Notice that I have ACUS on the sheet again, as I did Friday, and Brian Shannon at AlphaTrends has it on his list also. If you find a stock here and on Brian's list the same day, be sure to watch it!

I have quite a few other trade ideas, but I'm sticking with the consensus among readers that a few ideas is best. Good luck Monday!

Trade Candidates for 4/27/2007

Here are a few for Friday, good luck, I hope you were all long a bunch of calls in BIDU going into today's close! (I wasn't, unfortunately). There were however some great moves in the setups I listed for today - hopefully some of you traded those moves successfully.

Have a great Friday!

Trade Candidates for 4/26/2007

As you can see from the time of this post, it's late and I am just out of time to do a more comprehensive setup sheet. If I have time in the morning I will formalize some setups in a setup sheet; however, here are a few tickers that you can take a look at to consider a trade on Thursday:

Long:

CLRT
FALC
GTW
INTV
VCLK

Short:

GVHR

Sorry about the lack of detailed setup info tonight, but I will typically provide that within 2 or 3 hours after the market closes. My schedule today prevented my usual post-market-close routine.

Good luck on Thursday!

EXBD Tanks...

I've been watching this stock and trying to catch it short for a while now. I'm not surprised to see that it took a catalyst like missing earnings to finally get it to break to the downside. In my view it's crazy to hold a stock going into an earnings announcement, but playing something like this with options can make sense. I didn't do that, but given that I've posted short setups on this stock recently I thought it would be worthwhile to point out what happened and how it could have been traded.

Trade Candidates for 4/25/2007

There is a clear preference among readers of this blog that it's more helpful to see a handful of trade setups with entry, stop and target points in lieu of just seeing a laundry list of potential trade candidates without some input on my part on how it might make sense to trade them. So, that's what I will plan on providing. Here are some setups for Wednesday.

Good Luck!

Watch Lists for 4/24/2007

I'm going to try something new today and see if I get any feedback from my readers. Here are my trade watch lists for Tuesday - meaning my "A" lists but excluding my "B" list (including the B-list would simply result in way too many stocks to reasonably post). I have not provided a setup sheet (yet) and may do so later this evening. However, I'm out of time right now so I thought I would provide these lists and try to get a feel for if there is a preference for this approach or the more limited, but more detailed, setup sheet approach.

Feedback is welcome!

Trade Candidates for 4/23/2007

Here are some ideas for Monday. I see quite a few POTENTIAL opportunities on both the long and short side of the market. The market has been amazingly strong, and may continue to be, but it also seems extended at this time and if we get some downward movement it will likely start tripping people's stops and accelerate a bit. I'll be watching closely to see what develops and trade in the direction of the very short term trend.

Good luck Monday!

Some Ideas for Thursday

Here are a few tickers to take a look at; I didn't do a setup sheet so you'll have to consider entries, stops and targets on your own:

ADBE
AMAG
ASTI
CSIQ
DNDN
EPIX
JASO
LMRA
USAT (extremely thin)

These are in addition to my overlap w/ Brian at AlphaTrends - which include the following:

ADTN
CSIQ
HANS
IACI
SOLF
USEG

Good Luck!

Maybe No Setups Until Monday...

I may post a few ideas for Thursday trading later tonight, but if I don't have time (tight schedule this afternoon/evening) I may not post ideas until some time on the weekend for Monday trading. Since Friday is options expiration, I will spend most of tomorrow focused on my short term SPX option strategy and (if I am prepared) on just a few stock trade ideas. I never (OK, rarely...) trade on expiration Fridays because things just aren't as predictable and thus I won't post ideas for Friday.

If you have time check back late tonight or early tomorrow to see if I have some Thursday trade setups.

Trade Candidates for 4/18/2007

A few for Wednesday. We typically get an unexpected move some time during the final week prior to options expiration...and the market feels like it's extended right now. Time to be careful.

One other little stock I didn't mention but which looks great and I have a small long position in is VIAC. Might be worth a look but it's a thin one so caution is warranted.

Here they are...

Trade Candidates for 4/17/2007

I'm running short on time this afternoon and haven't finished my setup sheet yet. I'll post some ideas as usual, but not until later my time so it'll be pretty late everywhere else. In the mean time, here are a few tickers from my A-list to take a look at (all longs):

ASTM
AVCI
CELG
CYTR
DITC
DIVX

I'll probably list these on the blog setup sheet later - I really like all of these!

Will Post Later Today

Probably around 8pm EDT.

Trade Candidates for 4/16/2007

Here you go - hope you guys like these. I do - and also quite a few others I have on my complete setup sheet. Good luck Monday!

Trade Candidates for 4/13/2007

Here are a few for Friday. I'm sure everyone will be interested in how the PPI reading looks. Buckle up, just in case.

In addition to this setup list, I'm also (as usual) watching quite a number of stocks. Of those watch lists, I really like the potential of the following few: LJPC; LKQX; MAMA; SIGA and SONS. As always, be careful! By the way, I'm currently long ALVR, NVTL, and NXTM.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Trade Candidates for 4/12/2007

Sorry for the late post today, I was busy this afternoon. Be sure to check news and earnings on any trades you do; it's earnings season now.

Trade Candidates for 4/11/2007

We had a couple more nice moves today (FOSL, NTLS). The pullback in NTLS was one penny short of what I was looking for, but if you're paying attention you can still find and enter a good trade in a situation like that.

Again, I have quite a few good candidates but posted a few here that seem tradable. I still like LMRA, NVTL, and (I don't think I've mentioned it before) NXTM - but this one is very thin - careful.

It should be fun to see how everyone likes or dislikes the Fed minutes this time around. Good luck tomorrow.

Will Post Later Tonight

It's 80 and beautiful here today. I'm going for a run and will post ideas later this evening.

Trade Candidates for 4/10/2007

So did any of you get that excellent move in ITRI from Thursday or the move in DITC today? Very nice! I hope some people were able to participate. I was able to get a piece of both.

The market sold off near the end of the day and may be in for some sideways/consolidation action, if not a pullback (I always think that after a gap up like we had on Tuesday morning...particularly since it's around the area that the primary moving averages are clustering on the daily chart). Here are a few setups that may work, so it may be worth your time to take a look. Also, I am watching EXBD for a short entry, but I excluded it from the list above - FYI.

Trade Candidates for 4/9/2007

Trade Ideas for Monday

I'll post some trade setup ideas for Monday either tomorrow or some time on the weekend depending on how my schedule turns out. In the mean time, enjoy the extra day off of trading with the markets closed tomorrow.

My Trade Candidates for 4/5/2007

One of the things that bugs me about trading is when I think a setup looks nice, I enter, then immediately get stopped out. That was the scenario today on ABAX; however, I still think it potentially looks good on strength above today's high. There may also still be hope on SONS (I'm still long) but the pressure on yesterday's gap up isn't making me feel good about it. We'll see. There was no entry on ADLR but I still like it so it's on today's setup sheet also. The weekly chart is in a downtrend however, so tread carefully.

I really like the RMBS chart (in fact I traded it today and exited) and if it can get going above today's highs it appears to me it could potentially put in a good run. ITRI has potential I think, but it's going to have to convince me.

I won't be surprised if tomorrow is traded defensively by most traders given the holiday on Friday and the employment report that comes out that day. So, whatever I do I will be careful as the follow through may not be there.

My Trade Candidates for 4/4/2007

Okay, so we got that move above 43.85 in the Q's! The problem is, I don't like to buy after a gap up, so I day traded and made a little bit in the Q's today. Typically, there will be another chance to go long in a big way...if we're paying close enough attention. Be patient.

Two of today's three longs didn't get a pullback as I was looking for on the setup sheet. Fortunately, I was still long a partial position in GIGM from yesterday. SONE gave an entry and then sold off. Notice the sell off and recovery on March 30, then the run up and sell off today. Big battle going on in this one. ALL didn't give us an entry either, and the market is strong so shorting may not be the right strategy right now, but it does still look vulnerable to me.

Again, I have a pile of potential setups, but I've provided a few for Wednesday that seem tradable. Note that SONS (not SONE) might be good for an entry above today's high, but I'm looking for a pullback before entering to lower the risk if I trade it. Hopefully these turn out to be winners, but remember: good traders can make money on a bad idea and bad traders can lose money on a good idea...so it all comes down to you and how well you execute and manage your trades.

Have a great Wednesday!

My Trade Candidates for 4/3/2007

Here are a few setups for Tuesday. I actually had all three of these longs on my watch lists today, and did trade GIGM (still long a partial position). I have a pile of stocks like this that are potential trades but they will need to set up correctly in order to have the right risk:reward relationship. I tried to provide a few here that seem simple enough to anticipate an entry. I think ALL is setting up for a nice short, but it is listed so be careful, and see my comment on the markets below - trading short might not be the thing to do if the markets can get moving upward.

Since the markets can't seem to break down and it looks as though we may be consolidating under the 50dma's in the Q's and SPY, I'll be watching carefully for a break above the recent highs - particularly around 43.85 or so in the Q's. If we can break that level with some conviction, I'll be getting long for a ride up to 45.00 or so.

Have a great Tuesday!

Today's Trade Ideas

There were a couple nice trades today from the setup sheet I posted yesterday. IMMR and MOGN resulted in very nice trades, and there was an entry on CROX but it hasn't followed through...yet. No entry on ACLS as it didn't reach our entry level after the pullback.

I had a good day today, and my SPX options are showing nice profits as well. I'll post some trade ideas for tomorrow in just a little while. I hope your trading went well today!

My Trade Candidates for 4/2/2007

Here are a few setups for Monday. I've trimmed the list down quite a bit today for a couple reasons: first, because I think it becomes overwhelming and hard to focus on a few good candidates when the list has too many symbols, and secondly, I'm trying not to keep repeating ideas on stocks that have been posted in the last few days. As I noted in a previous post, often times what I post on a given day doesn't develop into a tradable setup; however, I continue to watch those stocks and they sometimes do develop into a good setup in the ensuing days. So, rather than repeating the same ideas day after day, I'm going to try to provide new ideas each day, but fewer of them, and you can consider watching the stocks that I posted an idea on previously. That doesn't mean I won't ever post an idea on the same stock on consecutive days, I'm just generally trying to avoid that. Similarly, Brian Shannon and I often have overlapping ideas on the same day, and I am trying not to post an idea on a stock that he's mentioned recently (again, I can't guarantee I won't, but I'm trying not to overlap).

Have a great Monday!

Reader Question: Four Symbols

Here is a recent exchange with one of my readers that I thought you may be interested in. All four of these stocks look like they could set up nice some time in the coming week or so.

Hi John,
Keep up the good work at your blog. I have been a visitor of your blog for a week now and i find it informative. I would like to seek your comments on ONT, CMGI , LMRA and PMCS please ( if you may have time to spare). I would appreciate your feedback.
Thank You. Have a good weekend.
Regards,Prasana

Hi Prasanna,

I took a quick look that those four symbols; here are my quick views on them:
CMGI:
It's in a nice uptrend on both the weekly and daily timeframes; however, there was qite a sell off on Friday on high volume. With a day or two of consolidation this stock could set up for a nice long entry. Based on the monthly chart, there is potentially lots and lots of room for the stock to run; the key will be to watch for a low-risk entry point over the coming week or so.
LMRA:
I've been trading this stock recently, and while it's in a short-term pullback pattern, it (like CMGI) is generally in a bullish uptrend. I will watch for the gap on the morning of 3/28 to get filled and then will watch for an entry on strength above whatever the consolidation level above ~$5.00 is. I like this stock a lot on strength after it closes that gap.
ONT:
I have traded this one recently as well; like the two above it's also in a nice uptrend. Since it's listed rather than NASDAQ I'm always more skeptical, but it does look like it could setup nice above the 1.62-1.64 level. I would like it a lot of it went another day or two consolidating on the short term chart and then broke that level. Again, lots of room on the monthly chart.
PMCS:
While this one also potentially looks good it's my least favorite of the four. I didn't check the news but it gapped up on Friday so I would be skeptical of any entry until it either consolidates those gains or (better yet) goes and closes that gap first. The weekly chart looks like it's in the process of ending a long downtrend, so I would be more suspect of this stock until both the daily and weekly charts truly turn upward. I would then look for a low risk entry point.

All four of these stocks have very nice volume patters, which is very important in combination with price patterns. I think, in general, you are looking at the right stocks for long entries; the key will be waiting until you find a low-risk entry point on each one.

Good luck!

John