Showing posts with label short trade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short trade. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2011

Chart Review / Trade Ideas.


ASIA AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc.- Long above 21.20ish. Short set up possible also but long bias. Watch volume to confirm. 

SYMC Symantec Corporation  - Stalking short.  Looking for a gap fill @ 16ish or a test of its 200 DMA.

MR Mindray Medical International Ltd - This had been a great range trade.  Could break in either direction but in the mean time play the range. 

WMGI Wright Medical Group, Inc. - Still on my watch list. Stalking long. 

SNTS Santarus, Inc. - aggressive long.  Stops must be kept very tight. 

MMR McMoRan Exploration Co. - Coiling up

AAPL Apple Inc. - Short is working that was suggested last week.  If you cover half here at the 100 
DMA you can let the rest run for a free trade. 

FCEL FuelCell Energy, Inc.  - Aggrisive trade idea.  Might need more time to base. 

CATY Cathay General Bancorp - Short trade looks like it has room to 15ish.  Stock is below is 100 
DMA.  Careful with shorts as the market is due for a bounce.

SDS ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (ETF) - Retesting its 20 EMA could set up for a long entry.  
There are some great option plays here. 

TLT iShares Barclays 20+ Yr Treas.Bond (ETF) - initial support at its 20 EMA.  I would target the 200 
DMA. 

VXX iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN - Starting to trend up.  Lets see if it can hold. I'd 
actually prefer to it test 28ish again by April for the "sell in May and go away" trade.  Where you'd 
want to be long VXX. 

EDZ Direxion Daily Emr Mkts Bear 3x Shs(ETF) - Watching this for a long and as a clue to where 
the market is headed next

FCX Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. - This was a great tell that the market was going to 
roll over.  Is it telling us now we're going to bounce? Broke the down trend and currently testing its 
50 EMA.  Watch this closely. 

GS Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. There's a lot of bullish talk about the banks right now after the FED 
announcement but the chart isn't screaming buy yet.  GS did bounce off its 200 DMA but only a bounce
trade as of now. 

C Citigroup Inc. - Stuck between its 100 and 200 DMA.

BAC Bank of America Corporation - In a wedge and holding its 200 DMA so far. 

No position at this time. Position declarations are believed to be accurate at time of writing but may change at any time and without notice.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Trade of the Day: JCP March 36/37 short strangle




The Trade
Per a reader's request, the trade of the day is a short strangle in JCP. A trader sold 173 March $37 calls at $1.07 and sold 173 March $37 puts at $1.53 for a credit of $2.60 or $44,980.


Risk/Reward
As you can see from the graph above, the strangle has limited profit potential, and unlimited risk in either direction. The maximum profit potential is the credit of $44,980. The lower and upper break even underlying prices at expiration are $33.40 and $39.60. Knowing the characteristics of short strangles, the passage of time helps, a large move in the underlying hurts, and an increase in volatility hurts.

The 52-week range for JCP is a low of $19.42 and a high of $37.48. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. reports earnings tomorrow before the opening. JCP traded 16,790 contracts today compared to average volume of 12,790. According to Google Finance, JCP has a higher Price-to-sales ratio of 0.49 compared to competitors SHLD and M. SHLD reported earnings before the open today and shares have dropped 5.54%.