Post-Icahn and Pre-September News Cycle, Apple Enthusiasm Rushes Back In

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on September 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com This pullback comes ahead of what should be an exciting several weeks for Apple fans. {snip} Perhaps thanks to Carl Icahn’s famous tweets, the enthusiasm for September’s news … Read more

Icahn Secures Apple’s Bottom

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 14, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) For a little over three months I have made the case for an Apple (AAPL) bottom (see for example “An Apple Bottom As Sentiment Finally Turns Southward (Put Buying Soars)” and/or … Read more

Chart Review: IBM Roundtrip Prints Potential Bottom; SolarCity Ready to Explode Again

International Business Machines (IBM) International Business Machines (IBM) experienced an unusually large post-earnings drop of 8.3% on April 19th. This was despite reaffirming its FY13 earnings guidance. After one more day of selling, it was off to the races. In less than a month, IBM had recovered all its post-earnings losses. The stock churned and … Read more

An Apple Bottom As Sentiment Finally Turns Southward (Put Buying Soars)

In previous pieces, I have noted how traders and investors continued to load up on call options on Apple (AAPL) despite its persistent decline off all-time highs (for example see “Bullish Earnings Trading Patterns and Sentiment Collide With Apple’s Recent Downtrend“). It seems sentiment has finally taken a dramatic turn commensurate with the dramatic turn … Read more

Some Trading Implications From SEC’s Charges of Insider Trading in H.J. Heinz

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 18, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Traders sometimes copy the trading in options showing unusual trading activity under the assumption that someone (or some people) have privileged insight into an imminent big event or the short-term price … Read more

The Amazon.com Post-Earnings Trade Quickly Turns Bearish

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 3, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} Another Amazon.com (AMZN) earnings call, more unimpressive guidance (this time, Q1 guidance for $15.0 to 16.6B revenue below expectations and for operating income -$285 to 65M around expectations), an immediate … Read more

Renewed Headline Fears Generate Fresh Trading Opportunities in Monster Beverage

This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 21, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) The negative news cycle has begun again on Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST), and it is creating fresh trading opportunities. On January 10th, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), “a public health … Read more

Shorts Are Still Retreating, But It Is Time to Protect Positions In First Solar

It has been a good run, but it seems that First Solar’s best gains are behind it for now. First Solar (FSLR) declined 5.9% on Tuesday, January 29 on heavy trading volume. FSLR is now trading below its 50-day moving average (DMA) for the first time since October. This breaks a primary uptrend that has … Read more

A Trading Plan For Herbalife: A Pullback Likely Before A New Trading Range

“This is the hedge-fund equivalent of Stalingrad. Someone is going to lose big. And the victor will be so bloodied that the word victory will sound hollow… For a short-seller who is as risk-averse as me watching this is pure hedge-fund porn.” From “Bill Ackman enters the city of Stalingrad,” John Hempton of Bronte Capital, … Read more

Herbalife Gains A Big Friend In Robert Chapman As Bullish Momentum Rises

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on January 4, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) {snip} This reversal was punctuated by Chapman Capital’s Robert Chapman revelations on January 3rd that he bought HLF on the cheap to trade directly against Ackman. Source: FreeStockCharts.com Herb Greenberg of … Read more