Good evening StockBandits!
The indexes posted minor gains today (with the exception of the DJIA being down 2 pts.) as morning strength failed to generate any lasting momentum. The intraday highs from Tuesday were tested and held, but the buyers kept bids beneath the market to prevent any downside progress. As a result, it was a choppy, range-bound day despite the fact new closing highs were made.
The relatively quiet sessions we’ve seen in recent days have had me for the most part biding my time while waiting for more swing setups to emerge. I’ve been patient in that regard, and tonight there are some new candidates which I’ve added to the Hit List and will discuss in the video below. There are also some setups I like for trades on the shorter timeframes (day trades) which look to have some nice potential for the final day of trading this week.
For me, the key right now is to wait for trades to come to us, rather than try to force trades while the market is essentially consolidating. Keep that in mind with tomorrow being Friday, as it’s easy to try to cap off a good week or recoup losses ahead of the weekend and end up lowering your standard and finishing frustrated instead. Take your signals as they come, but if they don’t, there’s no shame in sitting on your hands and letting the trades come to you. I was reminded of that this afternoon with some impatient trades I took, and I paid for it. Discipline is a habit, and it’s important to reinforce it daily in every aspect. I’m looking to get back on track tomorrow and head into the weekend in a better frame of mind – hopefully you will to!
I’ll cover my game plan for tomorrow in the video, and as always, feel free to share your own thoughts, trade ideas, and questions down below in the comments section.
Here is tonight’s video:
The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!
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Video Stocks Discussed: CERN, VMC, MOTR, LVS, MASI, PVH
Swing Trading Candidates:
MASI is in an uptrend but over the past week has pulled back within the trend. Today the stock perked up a bit on increased volume, and it’s now just a short distance from clearing the small descending trend line overhead. I’ll be going long upon a trend line break at $31.75, as that could free up this stock to move higher once again. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.
PVH has put in some healthy rest over the past few days after tagging new highs last week. This stock is sitting in a well-defined falling wedge pattern, and these patterns are often resolved to the upside. I’m watching for a move up through the trend line at $69.40 to trigger an entry on the long side as the uptrend continues. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.
Bullish Watch:
PVH, SKS, GES, TZOO, VSH, THQI, VMC, RIG, AA, JNPR, APC, MWW, ATML, CVH, CERN, ETFC, CLD, ULTA, DIG, MASI, PVA
Bearish Watch:
MOTR, MMYT, AGU, LVS, LO, WYNN, MICC, MMM
The Hit List is a separate post which contains discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to check it for further details on swing trades.
Discipline is key… I recently took some losses on being impatient too.
Jeff, what do you think about IRE right now? Its seems like you never put stocks up that are in the 1-3 dollar range but I have made big gains off those before. Recently BGP and ICOP. What are your thoughts?
Hey Nick,
Good to see ya! Yeah I had to just come clean on some poor trading this afternoon, it was bothering me. All of us make those mistakes, but by having to share it with everyone here hopefully it’ll keep me away from another refresher course for quite a while. 🙂
Ok, IRE. Huge move with a quick double over the past 2 weeks, including the fact it has reclaimed the former breakdown level at $2.95. I like that. What I’d really like to see at this point is some rest and/or consolidation. If that’s a shallow pullback or a flag or pennant or channel doesn’t matter…just something that indicates to me the stock is really responding to the bailout news rather than turning right back around heading back into obscurity. If we see a base develop, then I think there’s good hope for a secondary advance for IRE.
As for other little stocks like BGP and ICOP, they work for some but just aren’t for me. ICOP is a good example, as today it spiked higher and saw its best volume in a while, but it was only 101k shares on the day for a $1 stock. $100k in dollar volume is as thin as it gets, and honestly if I size up in a stock like that and the attention disappears, I’m stuck. For me, I have to be able to stay nimble, and that means trading liquid stocks. IRE is liquid, but many single-digit stocks simply aren’t, so I stay away from them in general. Nothing wrong with trading them, it just isn’t my preference. I’m glad they’re working for you, and I’m happy to give a technical look at any of them here if you ever want a second opinion.
Thanks for your comments Nick, this kind of conversation is exactly what I like to have here. Have a great Friday!