M.D.C. Holdings Q4 2019 Earnings – Clinging to Housing Sentiment

Introduction When I wrote about the third quarter earnings for M.D.C. Holdings (MDC), I wondered aloud: “MDC’s next report on orders should deliver a very telling challenge to investor sentiment.” MDC seemed to deliver on orders in its Q4 earnings report, up 49% year-over-year and up 13% for the whole year. Investors were initially excited … Read more

A Failed Healing: Stock Market Further Confirms Topping Patterns – Above the 40 (January 31, 2020)

AT40 = 38.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 50.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 18.8Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bearish Stock Market Commentary Last week, I switched from neutral for the first time in, I believe, months. I downgraded to “cautiously bearish” because … Read more

Financials Struggle At All-Time Highs

This post is essentially an addendum to “Resilience Cracks: Market’s Bearish Divergence Ends In Topping Pattern.” Financials in the form of the SPDRS Select Sector Financial ETF (XLF) finally achieved an all-time high last month. XLF jumped on December 12, 2019 and trickled higher to the all-time high from there. Since that point, XLF has … Read more

Resilience Cracks: Market’s Bearish Divergence Ends In Topping Pattern – Above the 40 (January 24, 2020)

AT40 = 52.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 58.2% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 14.6Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary The stock market finally pushed into overbought territory on Thursday, January 16th. The breakout quickly turned into a bust with AT40 (T2108), … Read more

The Power of 100: Nike, Carmax, and Starbucks

I believe there is an old Wall Street adage that describes the inevitability of a stock hitting $100 once it gets “close enough” to that price level. One hundred is a nice round number, and it looks like a major (psychological) milestone. So when both Nike (NKE) and Carmax (KMX) suffered post-earnings pullbacks from around … Read more

Stock Market Rides Out A Trade War Anti-Climax – Above the 40 (December 13, 2019)

AT40 = 56.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 55.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 12.6Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary It appears China and the U.S. finally agreed on a Partial, Phase One Trade Deal. The bare bones basics on the deal consist … Read more

Roku Sellers: How to Trade If Insiders Are Preparing for a Top

Roku (ROKU) lost 3.9% on news of insider-selling and stopped just short of the all-time high set in early September.

The Stock Performance Roku (ROKU) is up an eye-popping 402% in 2019 year-to-date. ROKU surged off a 13-month low in December, 2018, and the run-up included three straight very positive post-earnings surges. The stock hit its closing all-time high at a stratospheric $169.86 on September 6, 2019. Soon after that milestone, competitive news from Apple … Read more

Housing Market Review (October, 2019) – Home Builders Wavering At the Edge of the Moment of Truth

Housing Market Intro/Summary The stocks of home builders are starting to fail their moment of truth. A Moment of Truth Looming Ever Larger On October 25th, the iShares Dow Jones Home Construction ETF (ITB) hit a 21-month high that coincided exactly with a major multi-year peak and post-recession high from January, 2018. The sellers showed … Read more

Forex Critical: Another Key Test for the Turkish Lira

The U.S. dollar versus the Turkish lira (USD/TRY) is testing 200DMA support after drifting through 50DMA support.

In late August, I wrote about a bad turn for the Turkish lira. Over two months later, the lira is around the same price levels in USD/TRY and EUR/TRY – two key pairs for the lira – but the path to this point has featured plenty of volatility. From a technical perspective, USD/TRY is testing … Read more

Market Rally Narrows Into the Specter of A Bearish Divergence – Above the 40 (October 28, 2019)

AT40 = 59.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs)AT200 = 53.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAsVIX = 13.1Short-term Trading Call: neutral Stock Market Commentary A Sufficient Resolution Seems about right. Just as I switch from a (cautiously) bearish stance to neutral, the stock market throws more definitively … Read more