Getting Fooled By the Put/Call Ratio – The J.C. Penney’s Post-Earnings Disaster

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 17, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) The past three earnings cycles have delivered some tremendous post-earnings successes in stocks like Amazon.com (AMZN), priceline.com (PCLN), Best Buy (BBY), and Apple (AAPL). J.C. Penney (JCP) broke my streak in … Read more

Chart Review: Shutterfly Seems Headed for 52-Week Lows

When Shutterfly (SFLY) reported earnings on April 30th, the company provided guidance for a larger Q2 loss than analyst expectations. Despite this disappointment, the stock opened the next day with an amazing 9% gain. Unfortunately, trading has been all downhill from there. SFLY closed the day losing all its gains, and it was even trading … Read more

As Earnings Near, J.C. Penney Put/Call Ratio Plummets And Shorts Increase

I last wrote about J.C. Penney (JCP) in March right after an ominous breakdown below its 50-day moving average (DMA) (see “Put Buyers Rush Into J.C. Penney As The Stock Breaks Down“). I soon joined the surge of put volume that occurred around that time, and the trade ended well. JCP eventually erased all its … Read more

Brace for More Surprises: Groupon Restates Earnings, Reveals Weakness in Financial Controls

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 30, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) After traders packed up for the weekend, Groupon (GRPN) issued two warnings during the evening of March 30th. First, Groupon discovered it under-estimated its refund rate for the previous quarter. As … Read more