Above the 40 (July 6, 2018) – Bears Overstay Their Welcome

AT40 = 60.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 56.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 13.4 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Until Friday’s 0.8% gain on the S&P 500 (SPY) in the wake of another strong jobs report, I was still expecting the … Read more

Another Amazon Panic – This Time is Different for Pharmacies

Another Amazon Panic broke out last week. Amazon.com (AMZN) announced its purchase of PillPack as part of its entry into the lucrative business of selling drugs. The news immediately took down pill pushers like Walgreens Boot Alliance (WBA) and CVS Health Corporation (CVS). While WBA looks like it is already bottoming, sellers followed through with … Read more

General Electric’s Removal from the Dow (Re)Exposed the Index’s Key Flaw

The big index news of last week was General Electric (GE) getting dumped by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index. The index managers at the Dow picked Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) to replace GE. Source: FreeStockCharts.com I wish the entire Dow index could follow after GE. Traders do not use the Dow for anything … Read more

Above the 40 (June 8, 2018) – A Promising Stock Rally Comes Up Short of Important Threshold

AT40 = 69.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a 4-month high) VIX = 12.2 Short-term Trading Call: neutral (“almost bullish”) Commentary Friday started out in bearish fashion. Apple (AAPL) took a broadside from yet another one of those … Read more

Above the 40 (June 1, 2018) – Uncomfortable Divergences Weigh On the Stock Market’s Manic Rally

AT40 = 62.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 52.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (a near 4-month high) VIX = 13.5 (down 12.8%) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary A day like this past Friday makes me want to be bullish about the entire stock … Read more

Above the 40 (May 11, 2018) – The Stock Market’s Time to Test Buyers’ Resolve

AT40 = 65.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 51.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.7 Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Here we are again. The stock market looks like it is breaking free, but there are major caveats which keep me wary … Read more

Lessons from the DexCom Breakout

Five months ago, I made the case for bottom-fishing in DexCom (DXCM) following the news of competitor’s Abbott (ABT) product approval. The trade was looking shaky a few weeks later when the stock made a minor new closing low from that price collapse. November earnings produced the catalyst to confirm the bottom, and the stock … Read more

Morgan Stanley Turns In A Strong Report Card On Speculation

At the beginning of the year, I drew up a list of stocks that Morgan Stanley (MS) recently included in 13G filings to disclose significant stakes. My interest was sparked by a surprising stake in Xunlei Limited (XNET), and I was further surprised to find a notable list of speculative stakes by Morgan. Now that … Read more

Above the 40 (February 15, 2016) – S&P 500 Passes A Key Post Oversold Test

AT40 = 31.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 49.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 19.1 Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) joined the NASDAQ and PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) by closing above its 50-day moving average (DMA). The move … Read more

Above the 40 (February 9, 2018) – A Stock Market Reset

AT40 = 14.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) (day 2 oversold) AT200 = 31.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (near 2-year low) VIX = 29.1 (range from 27.7 to 41.1) Short-term Trading Call: bullish Commentary Friday’s classic battle between buyers and sellers delivered a (short-term?) market … Read more