Trading Cocoa: A Roller Coaster of Weather and Forecasts of Surplus

The downtrend for the iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) won out yet again. Source: FreeStockCharts.com The buyers looked particularly convincing for NIB’s latest 50DMA breakout. Yet, a 1-2 punch of a return of good weather results in Ivory Coast and a particularly aggressive crop production forecast from Rabobank killed the latest rally for NIB. … Read more

Above the 40 (May 11, 2017) – S&P 500 Snaps Back As SNAP, Well, Snapped

AT40 = 49.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 10.6 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The week started with the volatility index, the VIX, plunging to a 14-year low. I held onto my put options … Read more

Toll Brothers Upgrade Breathes New Life Into the Seasonal Home Builder Trade

With the technicals on the stock market weakening ever so subtly, I concluded that now might be a good time to lock in the rest of my profits on the seasonal trade on home builders. However, an upgrade from RBC on Toll Brothers (TOL) breathed new life into the home builder rally. TOL benefited mightily … Read more

Above the 40 (March 9, 2017) – The Stock Market Hits A New Bearish Divergence

AT40 = 39.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.3 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary From a technical perspective, my last “Above the 40” post made as detailed a case as I can make to … Read more

Above the 40 (February 22, 2017) – The S&P 500 Still Finds Overbought Elusive

AT40 Status: 65.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 70.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 11.7 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The struggle for the overbought threshold continues. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages … Read more

Trading Through the Fickleness in Chipotle Mexican Grill

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 22, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) Last week, March 17, 2016, Jefferies analyst Andy Barish downgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) to a sell from neutral and cut his price target from $390 to $360. {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com … Read more

Portfolio Manager Stays Firmly Bullish On Memorial Production Partners

Source: Nightly Business Report Portfolio manager Gregg Abella of Investment Partners Asset Management was placed in the uncomfortable position of having to explain these picks he recommended almost nine months ago. His over-weighting in oil really hurt. Abella is also the analyst who brought Memorial Production Partners (MEMP) to my attention. It was a pick … Read more

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Loses More Momentum As Morgan Stanley Weighs

Morgan Stanley (MS) initiated coverage on Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ICPT) with an underweight rating. The negativity weighed on the stock for a 7.9% loss that sent the stock below critical support at its 200-day moving average (DMA). Source: FreeStockCharts.com Morgan was VERY emphatic about its “out of consensus” call on ICPT. As reported by Investors.com: … Read more

Charts to Trade: HDP, ISRG, FTNT, BOX, WIX

This is a quick post on five charts that caught my eye on Tuesday, May 19th. All charts annotated at and downloaded from FreeStockCharts.com. Hortonworks, Inc. (HDP) has struggled to make a good post-IPO impression. The first earnings report underwhelmed and led to a fresh all-time low. The last earnings report was initially well-received and … Read more

Apple Trading Model – Post-Watch Technical Update

Apple (APPL) has officially announced the launch of its latest product, the iWatch. Source: Yahoo! Finance Source: Apple.com This makes a great juncture to provide a quick technical update on Apple and update the classification trees for the Apple Trading Model (ATM). For those of you who are new to the ATM, please read up … Read more