Part Optimism, Part Skepticism from A Partial Trade Deal – Above the 40 (October 11, 2019)

AT40 = 52.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 48.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 15.6Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish Stock Market Commentary A Broad-Based Re-Entry Two Fridays ago, buyers took the S&P 500 (SPY) back above its 50-day moving average (DMA). It was yet … Read more

Housing Market Review (September, 2019) – The Market Data Join the Rally In Home Builder Stocks

Housing Market Intro/Summary In my last Housing Market Review, I finally conceded to a sustained rally in the stocks of home builders. I noted how this stubborn rally moved counter to unimpressive data. In September, several data points finally came together to support the strong sentiment in financial markets. Low interest rates dominate the story … Read more

New Pressures for the Stock Market Despite Fade in Concerning Signals – Above the 40 (September 27, 2019)

AT40 = 61.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 52.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 17.2Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish (caveats below) Stock Market Commentary A Conditionally Bearish Breakdown Friday’s trading action triggered my prime condition for flipping bearish. AT40 (T2108), the percentage of stocks … Read more

The Stock Market Fights Through Concerning Signals – Above the 40 (September 25, 2019)

AT40 = 68.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 55.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 16.0Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary One More Risk to Ignore An impeachment inquiry, an “admission”, and fresh promises from President Trump about getting a trade deal done with … Read more

A Stock Market Pivot Around Overbought As Indices Fail At Highs – Above the 40 (September 20, 2019)

AT40 = 69.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 56.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs (13-month high)VIX = 15.3Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary A Broken Record Last week had some big moments. Looking back, the week looks like a broken record. The Federal Reserve … Read more

Heavy Insider Selling Muddles the Message In Toll Brothers

While the market was going wild buying call options in Toll Brothers (TOL), insiders were selling large quantities of shares. SEC filings reveal almost $2.8M in share sales. Here is a summary with emphasis on the CEO and President (note I mainly care about the sales transactions of C-level executives and SVPs and not board … Read more

The Message in Toll Brothers

Toll Brothers (TOL) soared 5.2% to close at a 15-month high.

The Pairs Trade Exactly one month ago, I pointed to a pairs trade using put options in Toll Brothers (TOL) and call options on the iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB). Home builders selling affordable and otherwise lower-priced homes were rapidly gaining favor. Toll Brothers, a builder of luxury, high-end homes, was greatly under-performing … Read more

M.D.C. Holdings Order News Propels Its Stock to An 11-Year High

M.D.C. Holdings (MDC) closed with a 5.2% gain and an 11-year higher after another bullish order update.

M.D.C. Holdings (MDC) delivered another bullish report on its order flow. After the market closed on September 12th, M.D.C. Holdings announced… For the first two months of the 2019 third quarter, net new home orders increased 63% year-over-year to 1,418…The increase was driven by a 40% improvement in the monthly sales absorption rate to 3.75 … Read more

Housing Market Review (August, 2019) – The Rally Is Real But the Data Still Lag

Housing Market Intro/Summary In the last Housing Market Review, I discussed my slow and reluctant acceptance of a stock market that was effectively front-running the seasonally strong period for the stocks of home builders (starting in October/November). I also showed the near consistent dichotomy between builders excelling at selling lower-priced homes to buyers trying to … Read more

A Banner Month for Home Builders Even As the Stock Market Churned

The iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB) closed out August just under its 13-year high. August delivered a healthy 4.8% gain.

While the month of August was full of sharp trading action which left the S&P 500 (SPY) trapped in a trading range, home builders emerged stronger. The 4.8% August gain for iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB) far out-performed the S&P 500 (SPY) which languished with a 1.8% loss. Ironically, the stock market’s small … Read more