Hibbett Sports: Anatomy of A Stock’s Bullish Breakout

On June 25th, call options in sportings goods retailer Hibbett Sports (HIBB) sprang to life. At the time, around 1500 October $22.50 calls traded versus 0 open interest. On June 29th, open interest climbed above 2500. For context, HIBB options are sparsely traded. The second highest open interest sits with the Jan 15 ’21 calls … Read more

Stock Market Holds Tenuous Breakout from Oversold Conditions – Above the 40 (April 15, 2020)

AT40 = 21.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (2nd day outside oversold conditions)AT200 = 10.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 40.8Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary “Swift and sweeping fiscal and monetary policy responses from U.S. officials will ultimately support stock prices from … Read more

A $2.3 Trillion End to An Extreme Oversold Period in the Stock Market – Above the 40 (April 10, 2020)

AT40 = 24.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (ended 31-day oversold period)AT200 = 10.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 41.7Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary “The Federal Reserve on Thursday took additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support … Read more

A Stock Market Hunkered Down After Green Shoots Slam Into New Downtrend – Above the 40 (April 3, 2020)

AT40 = 4.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (28th oversold day)AT200 = 5.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (new low for the oversold period)VIX = 46.8Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Stock Market Commentary First, another dose of hope and a light reminder of the seriousness of … Read more

Historic Oversold Conditions Stretch Into A Bear Market – Above the 40 (March 12, 2020)

AT40 = 1.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (12th oversold day)AT200 = 4.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 75.5 (just short of financial crisis all-time high of 90)Short-term Trading Call: bullish Stock Market Commentary When I said a persistently elevated volatility index (VIX) warned us … Read more

Autozone: When A Downgrade Becomes A Buy Signal

Suddenly, the persistent selling in Autozone (AZO) despite the stock market’s rally makes sense. I just finished marveling at the way sellers took over in AZO after the stock experienced an impressive 6.9% post-earnings gain to a fresh all-time high. A downgrade from Wedbush suddenly put the selling in perspective. Now the chart looks like … Read more

A Resilient Stock Market Barely Blinks At Fresh Bearish Signals – Above the 40 (January 3, 2020)

The S&P 500 (SPY) lost 0.7% and closed right at the lower boundary of its upper Bollinger Band. The pattern left behind an island reversal.

AT40 = 63.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 60.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 14.0Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The stock market started the new decade with wild swings. After starting the first trading day of the decade with a 0.8% gain … Read more

Meritage Homes: A Markdown for Slower Growth Ahead

Meritage Homes (MTH) reported earnings two days before October 25th when iShares US Home Construction (ITB) first challenged its climactic January, 2018 high. At the time, MTH was in the middle of an impressive post-earnings rebound. At its intraday, post-earnings low, MTH perfectly tested support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). However, the moment of truth … Read more

Peloton Extremes: When Short-Sellers Come A-Knocking

When I wrote about the buying opportunity in the wake of an over-reaction to headlines on Peloton Interactive (PTON), I did not consider a scenario where a fresh catalyst quickly appeared to apply renewed downside pressure. Analysts are one of the big hazards of swing trading. The Short Citron Research is a famous short-selling shop. … Read more