Above the 40 (April 13, 2017) – The S&P 500 Suffers A Convincing End to Bullish Divergence

AT40 = 38.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 57.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 16.0 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The 50-day moving average (DMA) is no longer golden. It figures that on a day … Read more

Above the 40 (April 11, 2017) – The Stock Market’s Persistent Yet Uncomfortable Bullish Divergence

AT40 = 54.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 64.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 15.1 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The stock market has become incrementally more dangerous, yet buyers and bulls continue to succeed … Read more

Above the 40 (April 7, 2017) – An Incrementally More Dangerous Stock Market

AT40 = 46.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 62.0% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish (notable caveats explained below) Commentary The timetable for a May end to this period of extremely low volatility looks like … Read more

Above the 40 (March 21, 2017) – A (Brief?) Time to Get Bearish On the Stock Market

AT40 = 35.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 58.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.5 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: bearish Commentary The S&P 500 (SPY) finally flipped the switch on the bearish threshold I have described since the last bullish breakout … Read more

Forex Critical: Bullish Measure on Canadian Dollar Reaches 4-Year High

According to the latest CFTC data, speculators accumulated their largest net long position on the Canadian dollar (FXC) since February, 2013. This 4-year high in bullishness sticks out so much only because speculators have spent most of these four years being very bearish on the Canadian dollar. Prior to 2013, net longs were regularly 2 … Read more

QSR Picks Popeyes And Leaves El Pollo Loco As the Last Chicken Standing

So it was true after all. Restaurant Brands (QSR) was indeed drooling over the secret recipes of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI). Today, PLKI soared 19.1% to $78.73/share and a $1.6B market cap, just short of the $79 ($1.8B market cap) that QSR promised to pay for acquiring PLKI. When I discussed the merits of a … Read more

A Chicken-Fueled Pairs Trade: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Versus Restaurant Brands

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. (PLKI) is one expensive stock, especially for a (fried chicken) restaurant: trailing P/E of 36.2, forward P/E of 28.9, price/sales of 5.5, and price/book of 187.4. PLKI most recently reported 4.7% year-over-year revenue growth and -1.9% earnings growth. (Data from Yahoo Finance). According to briefing.com, year-over-year revenue growth has stagnated in … Read more

Above the 40 (February 9, 2017) – The S&P 500 Celebrates “Phenomenal” Tax News

AT40 Status: 58.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 68.5% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 10.9 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary “We’re way ahead of schedule, I believe. And we’ll be announcing something, I believe, in the next two or three … Read more

Above the 40 (February 8, 2017) – The S&P 500 Slumbers Between Bullish Fund Flows and Bearish Divergence

AT40 Status: 53.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 Status: 66.8% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX Status: 11.5 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary As is so typical of this go-stop-stop stock market, this week started without immediate follow-through to a fresh all-time high … Read more