“Stealth” Rallies In Nucor and U.S. Steel Setup Potentially Explosive January Earnings Season

Over the past three days, the S&P 500 finally broke upward out of a five-week trading range (the NASDAQ has had a much more aggressive breakout). Well before this latest bullish move, many stocks and whole sectors soared higher in a “stealth” rally. Steel companies U.S. Steel (X) and Nucor (NUE) are two stocks in … Read more

Looking for a Charmed Third Time with ReneSola

I am always on the hunt for trading opportunities in solar stocks. For a third time, ReneSola (SOL) appears to be a long opportunity. My previous two attempts failed as I bought calls instead of shares. Purchasing shares instead of calls would have left me flat at this point. I am looking for a charmed … Read more

My Biggest Whiff for the Year: Goldman Sachs

Just thinking about writing this piece makes me cringe. After celebrating gold’s fresh 18-month highs yesterday, it occurred to me that I need to review my biggest whiff of this year: Goldman Sachs (GS), affectionately called “Government Sachs.” I could just as easily call this one “how I missed out on at least 900% returns.” … Read more

As WYNN tumbles from consolidation pattern, strangle trade remains flatlined

Schaeffer’s Investment Research is reporting today that the Macau IPO for Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN) has been meet with heavy put buying the past two days. October 65 puts were popular yesterday and the bearish trading has extended to the 60 strike today. The option strangle trade I outlined last week on WYNN uses the … Read more

Options Traders in ReneSola Switch from Calls to Puts

It seems traders in ReneSola (SOL) are moving one step too slowly. Options traders loaded up on Oct 7.5 calls earlier this month, only to be greeted with last week’s news that SOL’s revenues would come in a little light based on weaker than expected pricing. SOL also announced a fresh offering of 14.4M in … Read more

Assorted Thoughts and Trades for September 25, 2009

Today has been a wild day in the financial markets, and I almost hesitate to jot down my thoughts before the close of trading. However, I will be shutting things down to get the weekend started as soon as possible, so I am writing now while thoughts remain fresh. There is no one theme I … Read more