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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.

TNB stopped, RTI 1st Target hit & stop tightened, JNPR stop tightened, HON added

Open Position Notes:

RTI turned sharply lower today with an excellent breakdown, taking it through my 1st Target where I booked 1/2 profits.  The stock continued lower on heavy volume, and looks poised for follow through here.  With this one having broken down and the potential which remains, I’ve tightened my stop tonight for remaining shares just in case it happens to rebound sharply as I don’t want to give back much.  Otherwise, I’ve left it a few percent to fluctuate if needed while waiting for follow through in the coming days.

JNPR broke down today with some heavy selling for the first half of the day as the stock moved well beneath broken support.  A partial rebound was seen in the afternoon though, bringing it up from its worst levels.  Nonetheless, today’s high-volume breakdown is encouraging, so I’ve tightened my stop again tonight in expectation of follow through.  If I don’t get it, my risk has effectively been removed with the breakeven stop I now have.

CVX pushed north of key resistance yesterday but light volume couldn’t produce follow through, and today’s market weakness allowed this one to slip a little deeper back into its recent trading range.  The pattern is still overall bullish, but it appears this stock simply isn’t ready to run yet.  I’m going to leave my stop as-is, because the risk here appears minimal and my stop was validated today as price came close but didn’t hit it.  Perhaps it can shape up in the next few days, but if  not my risk is defined.

Closed Positions:

TNB started out a little hesitant with an initial breakout failure, but the stock gained traction soon and ran nicely for me.  It moved steadily through my 1st Target, and neared the 2nd Target before finally getting taken down a bit with the market weakness today.  Last night I raised my stop for remaining shares just in case we saw a pullback kick in, and today that stop was triggered to take me out of this play for a solid 6% gain.  The overall trend is still up in this stock, but it needs some rest at this point so I’m going to keep it on the radar in case it sets up again.  Nice run though.

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.

CVX triggered, TNB & RTI stops tightened

Open Position Notes:

TNB continues to power higher and I really like how this one has behaved since its initial hesitation.  Today’s participation in the market upside took the stock to new recovery highs, and it is moving ever closer to my 2nd Target.  I am in only a 1/2 position at this point (having booked gains on half at the 1st Target), so I’ve left it some room to fluctuate but did tighten my stop tonight due to the close proximity to the 2nd Target.  A rest may be coming soon, so I’m not interested in giving much back should this one happen to turn around.  Looking good though and perhaps it can punch through the 2nd Target before a rest begins.

RTI turned lower today, exhibiting more relative weakness to the overall market.  This is an encouraging signal and I continue to believe this one is in the process of carving out a lower high on the daily chart.  I’ve tightened my stop tonight slightly, but otherwise am trying to give it a little room to breathe while waiting to see if it can head toward the targets in the days ahead.

JNPR bounced back up slightly today after yesterday’s breakdown, but it finished very close to the trend line it just broke yesterday.  Volume was also very light today on the bounce, which is another indication that the sellers are still in control.  I’m staying with my existing parameters here.

CVX triggered a buy this morning as it gapped through its trading range to break out of its large bull flag pattern, but light volume prevented the breakout from gathering any steam.  The stock drifted back down to the breakout level, closing 1 penny above it tonight.  This is still a setup I like not only the prospects for but also the limited risk, so I’ll stick with my existing trade parameters for now.

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.

MON triggered & stopped, RTI & JNPR triggered, TNB & JNPR stops tightened, CVX added

Open Position Notes:

TNB held up well today with some relative strength to the market as it tacked on another 1% on strong volume.  This stock continues to act well since breaking out last week, and has already reached the 1st Target.  I tightened my stop tonight (beneath today’s low) for remaining shares, but I still like the action here and the new highs made today.

RTI triggered a short sale today as it undercut the rising trend line at $19.35.  It was trying to make some downside progress, but the market stabilized and that likely prevented any meaningful headway from happening.  This one still appears to be starting a new leg down, so I’m sticking with my existing parameters on this trade for now.

JNPR has shown relative weakness lately and today was no different as it gave up 2% and made a new pullback low from the October high.  Today’s break of the rising trend line triggered a short sale for me, and the heavy-volume selloff which followed is very encouraging.  This appears to be the start of a new leg down, so I tightened my stop tonight for this trade and will watch for follow through in the next couple of days.  Good start.

Closed Positions:

MON triggered a short entry today as it broke the rising trend line off the recent low.  This appeared to be confirmation of the bearish wedge pattern which had formed beneath former support.  The stock rebounded slightly from there, but was still negative on the day.  Mid-afternoon, the company reaffirmed their guidance, which sent the stock flying.  I was quickly stopped out of the trade as the stock moved quickly through my stop loss and continued higher.  While on the one hand this trade could have been worse (if the stock were halted or if my stop were set higher), it is certainly frustrating to have fundamental news released unexpectedly and get such an adverse reaction.  My view is that unscheduled news tends to work out over time, so this adverse headline is likely to be offset by a favorable headline someday in another stock.  I am out of MON with a 2.6% loss, and will leave this one alone now that it is back in rally mode after the failed breakdown and big news.

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.

CLI stopped, TNB 1st Target hit & stop raised, MICC removed (pattern negated), RTI & JNPR added

Open Position Notes:

TNB pushed higher again today to build on last week’s breakout.  Today’s strength took it through my 1st Target where I closed 1/2 my position for a 4.6% gain.  I’ve tightened my stop for remaining shares tonight while still allowing some room to fluctuate, so we’ll see if it can edge higher toward the 2nd Target in the days to come.  So far, so good.

Closed Positions:

CLI triggered my stop loss today as the market strength allowed for a reversal in this stock despite last week’s technical break of support.  This is known as a head-fake, and there are a lot of them found in range-bound conditions like we’ve seen in recent weeks.  They can be frustrating, but they are simply a part of trading so we manage them as best we can.  I’m out of this trade for a 3.3% loss and will keep this one on the radar in case it turns back down to test support in the next couple of weeks.