Adobe’s Crash: Wash-out or Tradebots Gone Wild?

Adobe Systems, Inc. (ADBE) was punished on Wednesday for an earnings report that produced guidance slightly below analyst expectations. The stock dropped as much as 26% after ADBE guided Q4 earnings to $0.48-0.54 EPS vs. $0.53 analyst consensus and Q4 revenues $950M to $1.0B vs. $1.03B analyst consensus (from briefing.com). The severity of the sell-off … Read more

Trading Momentum Quickly Shifts Back to the Bulls, But…

With tongue reaching for the cheek last week, I declared the market both extremely undervalued and very overvalued, guessing that “as earnings season grinds on, I suspect the near-predictable pattern of post-earnings fades will finally wear thin, giving way to more bullish behavior.” I did not expect the turn to happen so clearly and dramatically … Read more

Bullish Traders On IMAX Options Run Into Bad News

Interpreting the trading volume in options is typically difficult (I did an analysis in three parts last year). But I am most fascinated when a herd of speculators get caught leaning in the very wrong direction. This is what happened with IMAX. Schaeffer’s Research reported on heavy, bullish activity in the trading of IMAX options … Read more

The Healthcare Stock Index (XLV) Has Topped Out

At this point, everyone should be used to looking at charts of stocks and indices that look like they are topping out, many in climactic fashion (click here for a review of Caterpillar; click here for a review of Intel). Add healthcare stocks to the growing list. Specifically, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF, … Read more