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.

BBT added

Open Position Notes:

LZ rallied big early in the session today, but ultimately retraced the bulk of it in the afternoon.  That gave today’s intraday chart a big rainbow-like appearance, which suggests the stock again met resistance and faltered.  I’m encouraged by this price action, but would like to see some downside follow through now that we’ve seen a trigger, a decline, and what may have been a failed bounce with today’s action.  I’m sticking with my existing trade parameters heading into Tuesday.

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.

EAT removed, LZ triggered, IVN removed (pattern failure – no trigger)

Open Position Notes:

LZ triggered a short entry on Thursday as it broke $107, but it wasn’t until Friday that it started making some headway.  This one appears to be in the process of carving out a lower high on the daily chart after a weak bounce to fill most of a gap from a few weeks ago, and I’m watching for follow through in the coming days.

Closed Positions:

EAT stopped me out on Thursday as the stock rallied in the face of a declining market – something I didn’t expect given the technical condition of the stock.  Nonetheless, I stuck with my stop to close out this trade for a 3.2% loss, opting to respect the action in the stock rather than try to fight it.  The stock came right back down on Friday, but at this point isn’t acting like it wants to break down hard, so I’ll leave it alone for now.

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.

IVN added

Open Position Notes:

EAT churned for most of the day today before an afternoon lift took it into positive territory by about 1% on the session.  This stock remains near my entry, and at this point I’m just being patient with the trade.  Short sided plays have required a bit more patience in this market with all the widespread strength out there, so I’ll leave my stop as-is for now and look to make some kind of adjustment once the price action warrants it.

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.

RRC  closed (Targets Exceeded)

Open Position Notes:

EAT sold off right after the open this morning, and while the stock did stabilize for the final few hours of the day, it finished just a few cents off its lows of the day.  I continue to be encouraged by the price action in this trade, and I like the progress it’s starting to make.  I’m expecting to see some follow through toward Target 1, which would coincide with a test of the October low.  Perhaps that will take place in the coming days.  Today’s move helps to further solidify the appearance of a lower high on the daily chart, which is nice to see as this stock resumes its correction.

Closed Positions:

RRC moved higher through resistance on Monday, and I noted last night how I liked the action for a number of reasons.  I didn’t see today’s move coming, however, as the stock gapped higher this morning to open beyond Target 2.  I booked the winner for a fast $3.65 – a 9.2% gain.  The stock did move a bit higher off the open but then backed off into the afternoon, so I’m pleased with the exit.  The idea is to keep capital rotating from one play to the next, and once the move is caught to ring the register and move on.  This one allowed me to do that quickly, which is always fun!

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.