In the past week, the SPX is actually still up a couple points, even with today's massive reversal. However, despite a market that is unchanged since last Wednesday, the VIX has moved higher, as … [Read more...]
$HPQ Fiscal Q2 Earnings Preview
1:11 pm EDT - May 22, 2013 By Dan
Event: HPQ reports their fiscal Q2 earnings tonight after the close. The options market is implying about an 8% move vs the 4 qtr avg move of about 9%. Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain … [Read more...]
New Trade $FXE – All About the ECB
10:34 am EDT - May 22, 2013 By Enis
My favorite trade that I have been pounding the table about is long U.S. dollars. In case you missed it last week, here's my macro wrap detailing why I liked that trade. Three key points that I … [Read more...]
Name That Trade $TLT – Short Squeeze… in the Bond Market?
10:02 am EDT - May 22, 2013 By Enis
I wrote some brief thoughts on the chart structure for TLT on May 10th, and not much has changed from a technical standpoint since then. This still looks like a rangebound market to me. But our … [Read more...]
MorningWord 5/22/13: Momentum Fading For Bricks & Mortar Tech Retailers?
9:14 am EDT - May 22, 2013 By Dan
MorningWord 5/22/13: Another day, another record for the SPX. While the price action can be categorized as relatively sideways, it wasn't a great day to be a big box electronics or video … [Read more...]
Macro Wrap – Bernanke Testimony and FOMC Minutes
7:06 am EDT - May 22, 2013 By Enis
After Hilsenrath's article about 10 days ago hinting at potential tapering of QE later this year, traders circled today's Bernanke testimony in front of Congress as the key date for confirmation or … [Read more...]
Chart of the Day – What’s a Good Entry on Solar Sector, $TAN
1:47 pm EDT - May 21, 2013 By Enis
I mentioned my long-term bullishness on the solar sector overall in my CotD post last month, comparing fallen solar stocks to fallen internet stocks in the mid-2000's. Putting aside the price action … [Read more...]
New Trade $NTAP – Cash Hoard & Potential Distribution Overriding Poor Fundamentals?
1:26 pm EDT - May 21, 2013 By Dan
I laid out all the angles on NTAP in the earnings preview post earlier today, included below. This is a boring "cheap tech" stock in an unloved area, with the main excitement in the name surrounding … [Read more...]
Considering Our Options: $TSLA Call Calendar
11:57 am EDT - May 21, 2013 By Enis
Dan initiated a new trade on TSLA on Friday. Here was the key excerpt: After such a massive run, and the new equity issuance, I would expect the stock to consolidate a bit, but I think the story is … [Read more...]
$NTAP Fiscal Q4 Earnings Preview
10:47 am EDT - May 21, 2013 By Dan
Event: NTAP reports their fiscal Q4 earnings tonight after the close. The options market is implying ~6.75%* move post results which is essentially in line with the 4 qtr avg move of ~6.94% and … [Read more...]
MorningWord 5/21/13: Cash Rich Laggards – $NTAP
9:00 am EDT - May 21, 2013 By Dan
MorningWord 5/21/13: Investing in equities on a stock by stock basis is not exactly one of the easiest endeavors, thus the proliferation of sector ETFs. Take, for example, the performance of … [Read more...]
Macro Wrap – What About Energy? $XLE
7:56 am EDT - May 21, 2013 By Enis
Energy was the strongest sector yesterday. XLE is now trading at its highest level since mid-2008, when oil was still above $100 / barrel. The cause for today's run in XLE is less about oil, which … [Read more...]
Too Many Options: Financials Active, $JPM, $XLF
6:55 pm EDT - May 20, 2013 By Enis
XLF touched 20 for the first time since 2008, and financials were the most active sector. XLF - The customer sold the June 18 puts to close 96k times, and bought the Aug 19 / Aug 17 put spread … [Read more...]
Name That Trade $GDX – Gold Sloggers
3:28 pm EDT - May 20, 2013 By Enis
The gold miners have had a miraculous fall from grace in the past 2 years. Here is the chart of the GDX ETF over the past 5 years, illustrating the speedy run-up and even more rapid … [Read more...]
Chart of the Day – Silver’s Major Reversal, $SLV
2:59 pm EDT - May 20, 2013 By Enis
The precious metals have been getting smoked for the past 6 months. When Sunday night futures opened in silver, the price dropped almost 10%, as sell stops were hit when it made a new low. That … [Read more...]
Too Many Options: $XLF, $JPM, $BAC, $LNG, $AAPL
Most of the options volume was concentrated in the indices rather than single stocks. Financials one of the most active sectors again. XLF - Trader sold 60k of the Jul 20 calls at 0.55 to … [Read more...]