The Hit List is a look at our current swing trading positions. Stocks we are already in have “triggered”, while those we are considering for plays have not triggered. Click post title to view print-friendly link.
AGP added
Open Position Notes:
SLB pulled back Friday to dip beneath the $78 breakout zone it had recently cleared and tested in recent days. To see that level surrendered is not encouraging, although the stock did hold above the uptrend line of the past three weeks. My adjusted stop has not yet been hit but it’s not far away either, so I may get taken out of this one soon if it doesn’t shape up. Could be it just needs a bit more time, but for now it’s struggling to free itself of a key level after having a few opportunities to do it, so I’ll stick with my tightened stop and see if it can lift.
APOL triggered a buy on Thursday as it crossed through the trend line at $53.55 to begin turning higher after its multi-week pullback. The triangle breakout here looks to hold some promise, and I was encouraged to see that despite mild weakness on Friday the stock was able to hold its breakout for the second straight day. Also, Friday’s low served as a test of the breakout zone, which I also liked. A look at the 15-minute chart gives this stock the look of a rally and a rest, so I’m sticking with the play for now and will be watching for follow through in the coming days.
Closed Positions:
No closed positions.
Hi Jeff,
At an average of 1% a day increase, why isn’t Apple a swing trade candidate?
Hey Jim, great question!
First, AAPL was caught in a multi-month $75 range until January when it attempted to clear the $425 area. The stock hesitated to do so, ultimately making the move on earnings rather than purely as a technical play. I’m not the type to chase a gap like that, which is why I didn’t take the trade.
Second, since then, AAPL has run in parabolic fashion, including the past 7 consecutive days (and 10 of the last 12). This leaves the stock very short-term stretched, indicating the majority of this move has already occurred. Add the height of the channel to the breakout at $425, and you also get $500, which is the measured move the stock has now made. I don’t see it as a bearish chart, I just don’t see (1) an entry here or (2) an exit should it happen to stumble or encounter some profit-taking.
AAPL is on the run, but needs to slow down and rest before it’s set up for a trade. I’ll keep it on watch, but at the moment there is no technical reason for making a new entry here and buying at this point in my opinion is more emotional (‘I don’t want to get left behind’) than methodical (‘there is a valid setup’).
Hope this helps to clarify!