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.

AA & DRIV stopped, EAT triggered, RRC triggered & stop raised

Open Position Notes:

EAT triggered a short entry today as it finally broke the rising trend line I’ve been watching for the past several days.  Today’s move helps to further carve out the lower-high scenario on the chart, which is encouraging to see.  This one did finish near the trigger, so I’m going to be patient with it to see if it can get going better, but the stock does now look technically poised for lower prices going forward.

RRC triggered a buy today as it cleared resistance at $39.60, and the stock never looked back.  Today’s move brought several characteristics I always like to see, such as a strong intraday trend, a finish near the highs, and an expansion in volume.  This stock looks poised for follow through, and given the solid start to the trade, I’ve adjusted my stop tonight in order to reduce my risk.  If it can reach Target 1, I’ll look to make another adjustment to my stop.  So far, so good…let’s see if some follow through comes along.

Closed Positions:

AA was getting close to Target 2 after last week’s big rally, so I tightened my stop for remaining shares (after booking 1/2 at Target 1) in order to reduce my risk and lock in solid gains if the stock happened to pull back.  Today I was stopped out on remaining shares for a 5.7% gain, moving me back to the sidelines for this stock.  It’s in a good uptrend, so I’ll keep an eye on it in case it sets up for another entry.

DRIV hesitated to move higher after triggering an entry last week, elevating my concern a bit for the trade given all the strength in the overall market.  My stop was moved over the weekend to just beneath breakeven, and I was taken out this morning for a $0.29 loss (0.78%) as the stock pulled back.  It did rally back to finish positive on the session, leaving me to feel somewhat shaken-out, but the trend is still up and if another setup for entry presents itself, I’ll consider another play.

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.

FCX closed, AA Target 1 hit & stop tightened, RRC added

Open Position Notes:

AA rallied further Friday to reach Target 1, where I booked 1/2 gains for a 6.5% gain.  This stock is still acting well, and I’ve tightened my stop once again in order to further lock in gains and reduce my risk should we happen to see a pullback from here.  I like the price action here, and will otherwise be watching for a push to Target 2 in the next few sessions.  If the stock gets close and begins to hesitate, I may send out an intraday alert to book remaining profits via email & Twitter.

DRIV triggered on Thursday but dipped slightly on Friday with the overall market strength subsiding.  This one is holding its gap for now, and I’ve tightened my stop in order to close it out for a minor loss should it happen to turn lower from here and begin to fill Thursday’s gap.

Closed Positions:

FCX continued higher on Friday to hit Target 2 where I closed out my position for a 6% gain.  This one required a bit of a chase on the entry, but a reduced position size as per my Swing Trading Strategy on the gap still made it well worth taking for a trade.  The stock now could stand to rest after this sizeable breakout, so I’m standing aside for now after booking a nice winner and will wait for a new pattern to emerge before considering another entry.

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.

DRIV & FCX triggered, AA & DRIV & FCX stops raised, EAT trigger adjusted, FCX Target 1 hit

Open Position Notes:

AA gapped higher this morning and ran throughout the session, finishing right at its highs of the day.  Today’s push propelled this stock to new recovery highs, which is quite encouraging after seeing a couple days worth of consolidation following the trend line break.  Today’s move also was accompanied by strong volume, which is technically positive as well.  I’ve adjusted my stop tonight after this nice initial move, and am now watching for a push to Target 1 (where I’ll book 1/2 profits once reached).  This stock is now reaching a consolidation zone from April, but still looks poised for higher prices.

DRIV triggered a buy this morning on the open, gapping through my intended entry price.  A gap of more than 1% beyond my trigger price would warrant a smaller position, but in this case it was a gap smaller than that so no size reduction was made.  Today’s turn up through the trend line is very positive, although I’d have liked to see stronger volume.  I’ve adjusted my stop tonight in order to reduce my risk in the trade, and will now be watching for follow through in the short term.  Nice start so far, but I’d like to see stronger volume or additional upside, or both.

FCX also triggered a buy this morning as it broke out from its triangle pattern, gapping through my intended entry of $98.50.  As per my Swing Trading Strategy page and the gap guidelines posted there, this morning’s gap warranted a smaller position size (1/2).  I was quite pleased with the price action though, as the stock ran higher throughout the day, hitting levels not seen since summer 2008 on very heavy volume.  Target 1 was hit, allowing me to close 1/2 my position for a 2.5% gain.  Tonight I’ve raised my stop for remaining shares, reducing my risk further while I wait for a push to Target 2.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

FLR closed, DRIV & FCX & EAT added

Open Position Notes:

AA sagged a bit today as it gave up a few cents while the indexes added incremental gains.  All in all, it was another day of rest for this stock as it consolidates above the trend line it cleared last week.  I’m staying patient with this one for now since earnings have already been reported, and would like to see if this consolidation is met with more strength.  If so, I’ll look to make an adjustment to my stop soon.  For Thursday’s session, I’ve made no adjustments.

Closed Positions:

FLR pulled back off the open this morning to test the area of my entry, and I took the opportunity to exit the trade for a very minor $0.10 loss ahead of tomorrow’s earnings announcement.  The earnings gamble is never one I’m interested in taking, and with this one sitting further underwater last night, I felt the morning weakness was sufficient for closing out this trade to stand aside with major fundamental news pending.  I’ll keep an eye on this one in case it sets up for another entry, as it has shown relative weakness lately, but I’d like to see the scheduled news pass first.

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.

No changes

Open Position Notes:

FLR bounced again today on light volume, moving higher alongside the overall market.  This company is set to report earnings Thursday after the bell (according to Yahoo! Finance), which gives me 2 sessions to exit ahead of the news.  If I can get a favorable move on Wednesday, I’ll look to send out an alert via email & Twitter and make an exit then.  If the stock happens to stagnate tomorrow, I will devise an exit plan for Thursday’s session.  For now, I’m just slightly underwater on the trade, but looking for a pullback after this light-volume bounce.

AA moved higher today, but volume was light and Monday’s high was not cleared.  That marked an inside day with today’s bar on the chart, but this stock is acting well and I’m glad to see Monday’s pullback met with buying today.  If this one can show some follow through tomorrow, I may look to make an adjustment to my stop.  For now, I’m leaving my stop as-is heading into Wednesday’s session.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

No changes

Open Position Notes:

FLR bounced slightly today, but finished off its best levels and volume contracted considerably from Friday’s levels.  This company is set to report earnings this week on Thursday, so I’ll look to book profits intraday sometime most likely in the next two sessions.  For now, I’m leaving my stop as-is, but keep an eye on the Twitter stream and/or your email inbox for a possible exit in the next day or two.

AA showed some initial strength today, but slipped a bit to finish down a few cents.  This one ended up back at my trigger price, so I’m viewing this as a test of the breakout zone.  I’ll be watching closely in the next couple of days to see how this one reacts, but today’s light volume on the mild pullback offers reason to stick with this trade for now.  No changes to my stop as of yet.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

AA triggered

Open Position Notes:

FLR attempted to turn higher Friday but failed, ending the day nicely negative. I’ve noted here before that news tends to even out, as surprise headlines have stopped me out of positions and caused frustration.  On Friday we saw a negative headline impact FLR, sending the stock immediately lower, which of course favors this short sale.  This confirms the lower-high setup for which I took this play now that a new pullback low has been set.  I’m still waiting for my Targets to be met, but Target 1 isn’t far away.  This acceleration in the decline due to Friday’s headline is a good reminder that the news flows both ways.  Anytime it proves costly, you can usually count on a favorable move in another trade at a later time.  The market has a way of evening things out like that.  From a technical standpoint, this setup still looks bearish, and I’m watching for downside follow through in the days ahead.  Earnings are due out this Thursday afternoon (Nov. 4) according to both Yahoo! Finance and EarningsWhispers.com, so I’ll look to make an exit most likely by Wednesday afternoon if not sooner.

AA triggered a buy on Friday as it pushed through the trend line at $13.05 to begin moving higher out of the three-week base which had been building.  I particularly liked the volume increase which accompanied the turn higher, as that indicates there’s some fuel behind this move.  Earnings are already out from this company, so I’ll be patient with it going forward.  I’m leaving my stop as-is heading into Monday, but if we see some decent follow through I’ll certainly look to tighten my stop next week.  Decent start so far, let’s see what happens.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

No changes

Open Position Notes:

FLR attempted to push higher this morning but backed off a bit, finishing not far from yesterday’s closing levels by losing just a few cents.  Nonetheless, I like the weak finish we saw and this one still looks vulnerable to lower prices with the recent bounce having failed.  I’m going to stick with my existing parameters heading into Friday, and if this one can start making some better progress I may look to make an adjustment to my stop.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

FLR triggered

Open Position Notes:

FLR triggered a short sale today as it turned down through the rising trend line at $49.20.  This helps to confirm the lower-high-in-progress appearance of the daily chart which has formed over the past week.  Today’s move appears to be the start of a secondary decline (after the mid-October drop), so let’s see if follow through arrives.  I like the start of this trade so far, but will stick with my existing trade parameters heading into tomorrow’s session.

Closed Positions:

No closed positions.

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.

PLD stopped, AA added

Open Position Notes:

No open positions.

Closed Positions:

PLD gapped down this morning to trigger my stop, taking me out for a 4.7% loss.  This stock tried to shape up Monday, but ahead of earnings it simply hesitated.  I had intended to exit intraday on strength, but that plan was negated when I was stopped out.  I’m going to avoid this one for now and will wait for a new pattern before I consider another entry.  Currently it’s showing indecision, and with major news due out this week, I have no interest in trying to game it.