ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
I had high hopes for Meritage Homes (MTH) before and after the company reported earnings last month. Home builders were leading the market into a big sell-off, and I expected MTH to set the record straight on the health of the housing market. The headline earnings were solid but not quite inspiring enough. The stock … Read more
AT40 = 67.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 65.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a TEN MONTH HIGH) VIX = 11.1 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Once again the stock market was only able to maintain overbought trading conditions for 1 day. At the … Read more
KB Home (KBH) reported earnings last week on January 10, 2018. The reaction the next day was outright startling. The stock gapped up and did not stop rallying until it finished with a 12.3% gain and a new 10 1/2 year high. Source: FreeStockCharts.com I was so taken aback that I checked on the historical … Read more
In the immediate wake of the details of the Republican plan for tax reform, home builders sold off sharply. While the stock market quickly moved on, the angst in the industry continued. Toll Brothers (TOL) CEO Douglas C. Yearley plainly claimed that the proposal to reduce the cap on the mortgage interest deduction would harm … Read more
ShotSpotter (SSTI) first came to my attention three months ago. After reviewing the company’s first earnings as a public company, I became convinced that the company’s gun detection technology and business had enough potential to be worth a speculative investment. I proceeded to accumulate shares at lower prices and at a higher price ahead of … Read more
The angst may already be fading away. Last week, I chronicled the carnage across the stocks of home builders that erupted in response to the Republican plan for tax reform that includes a reduction in the cap on the mortgage interest deduction. The sell-off that likely had roots in the extreme displeasure emanating from the … Read more
I last wrote about earnings from KB Home (KBH) well over a year ago. While I kept tabs on the stock through my Housing Market Reviews, I never set up specific decision points for getting back into the stock. I finally created a decision point on October 12th when I made a hedged play of … Read more
On August 15, 2017, I had the privilege of interviewing Bill Sandbrook, President and CEO of U.S. Concrete (USCR), a producer of ready-mixed concrete and aggregate products for domestic construction projects. I am relatively new to this industry, so I prepared by listening to earlier interviews, reviewing USCR’s latest earnings results for Q2 2017, and … Read more
As North Korean President Kim Jung Un and U.S. President Donald Trump shot barbs and threats at each other – threats which included Trump’s promises of fire and fury and perhaps more – ShotSpotter (SSTI), a gunfire detection and location technology company, reported earnings. I think the promising results were lost in the crossfire and … Read more
Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) lost 24% last Thursday after reporting disappointing earnings. From the Seeking Alpha transcript of the conference call: “All of us at Teva understand the frustration and disappointment our shareholders are feeling… In our U.S. Generics business, we experienced accelerated price erosion and decreased volume, mainly due to customer consolidation, greater competition as … Read more