ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
This morning, Research In Motion (RIMM) announced that it completed its repurchase program through a third-party transaction (emphasis mine): “Research In Motion Limited…announced today that it has agreed to purchase for cancellation 2.0 million of its outstanding common shares, representing approximately 0.36% of its common shares outstanding at April 5, 2010, pursuant to private agreements … Read more
I had forgotten all about bond insurer Ambac Financial Group (ABK) – one of the many hobbled poster children of the recent financial panic. I sure did not realize the company is still limping along and even trading on the NYSE. So, imagine my surprise when I learned that ABK doubled on Monday to add … Read more
I was very skeptical of Bernie Schaeffer’s choice of XRT, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF, as one of his top three recommendations in late November. He chose XRT as a contrarian play in the face of heavy skepticism about the health of the consumer. XRT slogged and churned for over two months before breaking out … Read more
Insider buying at First Solar (FSLR) continues to mark a near-term bottom in the stock, but the recovery from February’s post-earnings losses has unfolded much more slowly than I expected. FSLR is up 18% since printing a bottom on February 25, the day before FSLR’s CEO and EVP of Marketing & Product Management purchased a … Read more
Research In Motion (RIMM) reported no share repurchase activity in its latest earnings report. The amount spent on this program remains at $775M of the $1.2B total authorized. Perhaps it makes sense that RIMM has saved its powder given the stock has trended upward since last quarter’s repurchase activity. Although RIMM provided guidance that remains … Read more
Over the past two months or so, analysts have rolled out a series of positive commentaries on the prospects for Research In Motion (RIMM) and its upcoming earnings announcement (March 31). The table below shows the wide range of upgrades and bullish price targets from various analysts. In addition, at least four analysts have issued … Read more
Just over a month has elapsed since I concluded that S&P 500 was reaching a short-term bottom but would not challenge its 52-week highs (set in January) for “many months to come.” On Thursday, the S&P 500 printed a new 52-week closing high by one penny. On Friday, the index made a new intra-day high … Read more
Although the S&P 500 almost touched its high for the year on its eighth up day out of the last nine trading days, the VIX (the volatility index) increased almost 4%. So, as the S&P 500 scrapes at fresh 18-month highs, the VIX is bouncing from 21-month lows. The chart below shows the current action … Read more
It took a lot of patience, but Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) finally broke out yesterday above the $72 resistance level. The chart below summarizes the bullish technical set-up. *Chart created using TeleChart: RIMM fascinates because it is one of those stocks that attracts what I call “passionistas” – people with extremely strong and adamant … Read more
The stock market’s bounce from oversold conditions has been as impressive as almost all other such bounces over the past year. I noted in early February that several technical indicators were pointing to a buying opportunity. One of those indicators, the percentage of stocks trading above their 40-day moving averages (also known as “T2108“), is … Read more