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

Betting On Best Buy’s Post-Earnings Potential

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 26, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) According to ETF Channel, Best Buy (BBY) is the second largest holding of the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT). Yet, BBY is greatly underperforming this retail ETF. While XRT is at … Read more

Removing Skull Candy from Buy List of Insider Stock Purchases

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on March 6, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) In late September, selling in the stock market was intensifying, and I wrote a piece summarizing a list of stocks where insiders were buying their own stock. The performance since then … Read more

Whirlpool Still Has Upside But Better Bought On A Dip

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on February 13, 2012. Click here to read the entire piece.) Whirlpool (WHR) has gained 29% since reporting fourth quarter and full-year earnings on the morning of February 1. At the time, WHR represented an explosive combination of a business turning around … Read more

T2108 Update – February 7, 2012 (Picking up dollars in front of a steamroller)

(T2108 measures the percentage of stocks trading above their respective 40-day moving averages [DMAs]. To learn more about it, see my T2108 Resource Page. You can follow real-time T2108 commentary on twitter using the #T2108 hashtag. T2108-related trades and other trades are posted on twitter using the #120trade hashtag) T2108 Status: 88% (overbought day #25) … Read more