It’s Been a While….

It’s Been a While….

Whats been going on?

After a few months of down time I will ease my way back into this volatile market. On a good note, in the down time I have had I educated my self in the world options. I will be posting more about options in the future as I have been paper trading different options strategies. I also have been raising some cash that was lost in the hits I was taking in the market.

My plan will to be posting more watch lists, as well as interesting articles dealing with options and how awesome they are at limiting the risk on trades. In addition I will also be posting about the recent books I have read and my opinions on the market we are in.

I look forward to updating the site and tackle this volatile market.

Stock Watch 3-1-2010

Stock Watch 3-1-2010

Got a nice 9 stock watch list. Mostly comprised of breakouts which are my favorite. ISSI was my trade last week check out my summary here.

MCG Capital Corporation (MCGC) – MCG Capital Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in investments in middle market companies. This stock got a nice spike on Friday on speculation of future earnings. The best part is that it is a technical break out at $5/share and has volume behind it to propel it forward and spike good. Potential buy for quick gains on Monday, will watch the action in pre market to see where it might go.

China Armco Metals, Inc. (CNAM) – This stock got a 16% spike on Friday from an announcement that they received a line of credit from ING bank for 15million dollars to Expand Its Distribution Business in 2010. It is in the technical break out range right now, no telling if this could keep going or if this is an opportunity to sell into it. I will watch this to see if volume picks up and price action leans towards a higher breakout, potential buy for a swing trade if it does.

Atlas Pipeline Holdings LP (AHD) – This stock gained 14% on Friday on speculation of 2010 earnings as well as speculation of a 34% growth in shale reserve in the Appalachian region. I did trade this stock not to long ago in an intisipation of a breakout. The breakout failed and I was stopped out, I took a tiny 2% loss in the initial investment which was no big deal. With this news release it will test that breakout out point once again at $7ish/share. I will watch to see if it can break it and hold, only then will I try it once more for a breakout that could potential run big!

Magellan Petroleum Corporation (MPET) – Got a gap up in Friday with a 13% gain putting this in a technical breakout range. The only problem is I have not found the cause or reason for such a spike in price, no news, no P/R’s, and not even any stock promotion. This causes some suspicion for me. On the other hand since this is a technical breakout it could be a potential buy for a quick day possible swing trade. Although I must find out why it is spiking so much in the first place before I get in so I can calibrate what type of trade it is and how to play it. With this in mind sitting on the sidelines wont be a bad idea until the time is right.

Wave Systems Corp. (WAVX) – This stock has just been on a huge momentum move, almost defined as going parabolic with nothing but green days and no pullbacks yet. This is technically breaking out from $3/share. I can see this running a few more days, this would be a good opportunity to short into this spike as I missed the breakout. Will look to short on the first sell day for a quick gain if it happens.

Interpublic Grp Cos (IPG) – Is right on the cusp of a breakout at $7.50/share. It was up 11% on Friday from financial news as well as the hype around advertising spending increasing. If this stock can break threw it could spike if the price action is right. Potential buy if it can power threw.

Tuesday Morning Corp (TUES) – This one is breaking out nicely, it got a 7% gain on Friday. I am not sure if it is due to the breakout or for the company’s director Robin Selati resignation. I will just watch to see if it will continue its momentum or it will sell off and become a short opportunity.

TASER International Inc. (TASR) – I have been watching this one for a few days as it does not know what it wants to do. There is also controversy surrounding this company which makes it unpredictable as to which direction it is going to go. On the other hand, volume is slightly fading as buyers are leaving and as it is hitting tiny resistance. This could end up being a potential short. Will just sit and watch.

Trade Details Of Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. (ISSI)

Trade Details Of Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. (ISSI)

Well a couple days after I got in it finally happened.

It was only a matter of time before this stock would have a pull back and stop its parabolic move. I got into this stock way to late at $8.40/share which I am disappointed with myself for not jumping in when I wanted to at $6/share when it made its first breakout!

The Trade

I went long on ISSI at $8.40 and as it went up so did my stop. As I new the stock was approaching very heavy resistance I had a feeling that this might be the time where it would pull back. In response to this feeling I moved my stop up quit a bit to lock in some profits. Yesterday was the day it sold off over $1/share, I was stopped out at $8.71/share very early on. I made roughly 4% on this trade, which to me a profit is a profit.

5 Day chart where I bought in and where I was stopped out at.

1 Year Chart

Overall

This is a great stock and with a company that looks to be turning around their business model. As the blew away earnings last Qtr this will still be a great company to invest your money in. Since this stock did do a pull back I will look to go long on it in the near future as this stock can obviously run when it wants to. Congrats to those that got in early when I posted my watch list where I first mentioned this stock and made some killer profits.

Stock Watch 2-22-2010

Stock Watch 2-22-2010

Thanks to better market conditions I am getting better plays, here is a list with 6 stocks and 6 ways to make some good steady gains. I am currently in ISSI and up about 3% thus far with a small position.

Xenoport, Inc. (XNPT) – This company is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers products that utilizes the body’s natural ability to over come disease. This stock had a nice 25% gain on Friday on speculation of better fda news for a drug this company is working on. They received a response letter from the FDA concerning there restless leg syndrome tablets, which pretty much states there will be further delays in the approval process as this drug is not producing good results read the 8-k here. In the past month the stock took a huge dive from $19ish/share to low $6 range from bad news. The news on Friday took this stock higher as it speculates on better results from the drug. I will watch this as this could be bouncing off the bottom in attempts to fill the gap, although this company’s drug does not look to good going into approval.

Newpark Resources Inc. (NR) – This company brokeout on Friday on good earnings and speculation of the future growth of this company. What attracts me is the breakout and its low price as it sits at $5/share, it also held this level threw the close on Friday which validates how strong it is and its potential to keep going. Potential buy.

GFI Group Inc. (GFIG) – Huge spike on Friday on the outlook of the company and its earnings. It hit resistance on Friday and did not breakout on a 15% gain, it hit the $5.50 mark and sold off from there. If this brokeout past $5.50 this could be a buy on quick gains. I will watch to see what happens.

Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. (ISSI) – This stock is a monster and is unstoppable, it is in what some call a parabolic move that has no explanation. Well it does have an explanation, this company has turned around big time! The company blew away earnings and has a great balance sheet why wouldn’t this stock go parabolic after it has been on the floor for the past few years. I finally got into this stock on Thursday at $8.40/share, a very small position since its not exactly where I wanted to get in at. This has turned into a very nice swing trade, I will only sell when I see signs of it topping or when I reach my target price.

Dataram Corporation (DRAM) – This stock has been gaining momentum on a better outlook for the company. It signed an agreement with Government Acquisitions, Inc which works directly with the federal government, this agreement will help DRAM and its market share tremendously. On Friday it spiked from $2.90ish to $3.50 on this partnership deal. DRAM is an old company and has been around forever, this stocks price is going to get a nice lift from all of this. Potential buy and nice swing trade.

TASER International Inc. (TASR) – Taser blew away earnings on Friday as it posted its 4th qtr profit. What is interesting is it was already on the verge of a breakout at the $6.50 level and with this news and gaped up and surpassed it nicely. Potential buy if it can hold.

Stock Watch 2-16-2010

Stock Watch 2-16-2010

Well it has been a while since I gave a watch list, this is due for the lack of plays with a horrible correction in the market. The only play that was just beautiful threw it all was “ISSI” which was on my last watch list and I tweeted a hundred times. So here is the new 9 stock watch list, this one has some good ones!

PositiveID Corporation (PSID) – PositiveID Corporation provides radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare sector. This stock got a nice 21% jump in price on Friday due to a bounce in the market and uplifting P/R’s relating to healthcare or obamacare. On a technical level PSID is right on the edge of a breakout at $1.50ish/share. Looking at the past few months on the chart, this stock spiked huge and slowly faded back down. If the volume picks up some and breaks out once more, we could see another spike in the price but I am sure it wont last long due to how horrible of a financial position this company is in, there balance sheet is horrendous. potential buy when the volume picks up and breaks out around $1.60 range for a quick gain, definite short when it starts to collapse as we can see it will and when it does it really goes red!

Westport Innovations Inc. (WPRT) – This company does research, development, and marketing of engines and fuel injection systems that use gaseous fuels, including natural gas. This stock had a good 14% gain one Friday from the news of good earnings and an uplifting conference call. They added a nice amount of revenue to there balance sheet as well as gaining ground on future innovations. On the charts it seems to be slowly but surely gaining towards higher ground. What I will be watching for is when it hits the $14 mark, could be some heavy resistance, although with good volume it could push threw and breakout that is when I will be there for the push as this stock could run and make for a nice swing trade. Potential buy.

Microvision Inc. (MVIS) – Engages in the development of miniature display and imaging engines based on its integrated photonics module technology platform. This company recently had a change in directors and released there 8-k reporting that. On Friday they also received a fluffy news report on them receiving top honors at macworld for a there lazer pico projector. Whats interesting is the chart, it seems to have hit support around $2ish and is starting to bounce. it tested this support a few times an held which to me validates it is strong. This is a potential buy on a nice swing trade, as I see this bouncing and possibly spiking on this new attention the company will be getting regarding their award and new product.

SkillSoft plc (SKIL) – Company provides on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions for enterprises, government, education. Well this was the big news on Friday, as SKIL received a buyout offer at 1.1billion dollars or $10.80/share from a private equity firm see the P/R here. This sent the price soaring 13% of course, although this was a sell into opportunity for a lot of investors. This will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of days, which this will either move the stock higher as this is in a technical breakout area or just sit and consolidate right here which is the likely story.

Athersys, Inc. (ATHX) -A biopharmaceutical company. This company has been getting a lot of attention from its recent news of getting 2 patents “Athersys Inc (ATHX) said it has been granted two U.S. patents that cover its proprietary MultiStem technology” which as made this stock soar, read the P/R here. Just on Friday the stock made a 12% gain which helps this uptrend the stock is in. The volume is also increasing as this news spreads. Hopefully this is the begging of another huge spike in the price as seen before, on the other hand with that spike can a fading sell off. But with the 2 new patents this stock should gain a lot of momentum as it is capturing my attention for a swing trade. I feel if it can reach and hold $4/share, this will be my entry as this can return back to the $6 mark and maybe in surpass it!

GenVec Inc. (GNVC) – A clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. This I know from the past is a very shady risky company to deal with. This stock I was hesitant to put on my list. On the other hand there are profits to be made here. Now you could buy this little short squeeze as it continues higher, but as we can not predict when the sell off will take place, I would not go long here for the reason of how shady this company is. I on the other hand will wait for that spike to start showing signs of failure and short it as we can predict that this will happen and when it does it will come crashing down hard, just take a peek at the chart. So I will sit back and wait for the sucker buyers and the pumpers to keep at it and wait for the first sell day to sell into and ride it down as panic selling takes place! Potential short if I can find shares, either way it will fun to watch if it happens.

JDS UNIPHASE CORP (JDSU) – This Corporation provides communications test and measurement solutions, and optical products to telecommunications service providers. This stock is the one to watch for easy gains. This company got an upgrade from Morgan Stanley and it also released a better earnings report on Friday making this stock gain over 6%. The chart is just beautiful, it is in the technical breakout range right here as it surpassed the $9/share mark. Not only has attention on the company risen but so has the volume, if this continues there will be no doubt it will breakout nicely. potential buy for a nice swing trade, which it sees no resistance till it hits a 2yr small resistance of $10 and a 2yr high of $15.33.

Epicor Software Corp. (EPIC) – This company designs, develops, markets, and supports enterprise application software solutions and services. Not much to say on this one, except its outlook for future earnings are great. I am just adding this stock to my list so that I can watch it to see if it can breakout at $9/share which it probably wont happen for another few days if it can. Just watching for now.

Integrated Silicon Solutions (ISSI) – Ahh the one that got away from me. This is still a potential buy and swing trade as no matter what the market is doing it keeps pushing higher. This stock gives ample opportunities to get in on an intraday level, as it dips and then powers higher. I am still beating my self up over not jumping in where I wanted to at $6/share as it now sits at $7.65, I was dead on with this….

SEC Workers Caught Looking At Porn Instead Of Working

SEC Workers Caught Looking At Porn Instead Of Working

One Supervisor Tried To Access 1880 Sites In 17 Days

This is just hilarious and had to share. Goes to show what the SEC does instead of cracking down on all the fraudulent acts on wall street.
washingtontimes - sec-workers investigated for viewing porn at work

businessinsider

Find Out If Your Speculative Stock Is Being Promoted

Find Out If Your Speculative Stock Is Being Promoted

Stock Promotion

If you have followed speculative stocks for a while you should know that their is a degree of promotion or manipulation when it comes to small companies. What these companies do is higher a stock promoter to promote their stock by sending out mass e-mails, P/R, “Research Reports” ect.. Most of the time those stock promoters are compensated in freely traded shares or actual cash money. With promotion comes spikes in stock price followed by a dump, knowingly called a pump and dump.

In this article I will show you one place were you can type in your small cap, micro cap, speculative stock or if you just have suspicion in a company’s ticker symbol. This tool will bring back a listing of promoters if your stock is or has been promoted. This list will also have have dates when issued and if that promoter was compensated or not. Let me show you how.

Finding The Promoters

1.)Go to www.stockpromoters.com , I have found it best if you register to use this site, so go ahead and register an account. It takes not time at all, I also suggest using a e-mail account that you don’t care about because they will send you daily news letters with the latest promotions, if that is something you want to get then by all means use your regular e-mail account.

2.) Once registered and you verified your account, login and navigate to the left hand side of the page and look for the “Search StockPromoters.com” text box.

3.) Enter the ticker symbol that you want to check out and click search. For this example I will use NXTH as my ticker because I know for a fact it has been promoted in the past.

4.) Explanation

So here is the list of Promotions, it includes the promoter name and the date the promotion starts. What is funny is sometimes those promoters are on StockTwits and do a little promotion there as well. so as you read those lists keep an eye out for familiar names. One example form the list above is “OTC Picks” they are on StockTwits and pump there picks on there as well, just something to keep in mind when reading those tweets on StockTwits.

5.) If you are following along with me click the first link or the company name, and a list will appear with the promotions. I have pictured just one of the many promotions, highlighted are the most important aspects to pay attention to.

6.) Note

The key information is the promoter, the date, and how the promoter was compensated. If the promoter was compensated in cash then they will just do what they were paid for and push out some e-mails or a research report. On the other hand if they were given freely traded shares that promoters is going to pump really hard so they can sell into the pump and dump their shares on the suckers that bought into it.

Profiting From The Promotions

So if you find your stock is being promoted how could you profit from the promotion? Well I do not recommend buying into the pump fore you do not know when it dumps, although some have gotten lucky buying in. So, we wait for the signs of selling when the promotion is over and short the stock! I mean we know it will not hold those $1 plus spikes, we do know it will sell off and crash, which is the only predictable thing we have. When you spot a promotion and see it spiking hold back that trigger finger and gut felling to buy into it as this is your first instinct. Do not think you are missing out on easy gains, the easy gains come from the fall of the stock, have patients. The hardest part of profiting from the sell off is finding shares to reserve so you can short it. If you can get your hands on some shares then you are set when the sell begins.

You can also see theShort Interest in a stock to see just how much of the float is betting against the stock in the first place. So when the dump is on you will know, it usually will be the first sell/red candle day as well as the volume starting to fade as buyers leave. All signs setting up for the sell off.

This is what happens!

The promotion, nothing but green days, then out of no where the huge dump!!! This chart is classic and is ridiculously funny, which makes for a prime example.

Combine This with….

Combine this tool added with my ways of finding those spec stocks and you have built your self a speculative stock strategy with an edge!

Check out these 2 articles:

Finding high growth speculative stocks

Finding the latest HOTT stock picks!

Hope you enjoyed, please share your thoughts below

How To Find Speculative High Growth Stocks

How To Find Speculative High Growth Stocks

Finding High Growth Stocks

Well we learned how to find those hot stock picks already, but how do we find those speculative high growth stocks or what might be called “Diamonds in the Ruff” just waiting to be discovered and traded? I will once again reference a great tool yahoo finance offers, that allows us to screen for those types of stocks and hopefully profit from them. We are talking about stocks that have a high 5yr growth percentage of 50% – over 500% in speculative growth, no we are not talking about those lame sub-penny stocks that are almost impossible to forecast. We are talking about actual companies that have a lot of potential and are on the move. One warning though, some of theses companies may pay for promotion and might be involved in manipulation in the goal to help promote and raise money ( I will do a how-to later on how to find out if those companies are being promoted or not), but with good research you can determine what is good or not.

Enough Show Me How!

1.) Go to the Yahoo Finance page.

2.) Hover your mouse pointer over the investing tab, pictured below.

3.) The select the “Stocks” category and click it.

4.) On the left hand side you will notice a text box that says “Inside Yahoo” Click the “Stock Screener” link.

5.) In the section called “Launch screener” select the “Launch HTML” link I highlighted it in the picture. The application version is a little complex and I like to keep things simple and stick the the HTML version.

6.) You are now brought to the screener section. You could just bookmark this link as it takes you right there, but it is nice to see how you actually can get there from the home page.

- Above you see where I highlighted the important factors when doing a basic screen, you can however use other parameters to fine tune a search but for this tutorial I will show you what I use.

- For a simple search in the “share price” section I selected the 1$ as a minimum and left max as any, just to get a nice long list.

- Under the “Analyst Estimates” section, look for the 5yr EPS Growth which I also highlighted.

- Click the drop down menu and select “Up more than 50%”

- Click the button that says “Find Stocks”

You are then brought to a page that looks like this -

- As you can see you are given a great big list of a lot of speculative stocks

- Notice under the 5yr Growth column the high percentages *Note, to arrange by highest to lowest just click the 5 yr Growth link at the top of the column and it will arrange them however you would like.

The List

Here is a list of stocks where you can start your research and analyze them to determine if they can become potential plays in the market. I have found a lot of good stocks this way that have made me a nice chunk of money.

Please feel free to comment on using this method, maybe you can teach me something I don’t know. :)

Van K. Tharp’s “Super Trader” Book Review

Van K. Tharp’s “Super Trader” Make Consistent Profits in Good And Bad Markets

Wow, this book was a great read it truly was. It was definitely different from all the rest of the trading/investing books I have read. When I first came across the book, the words “super trader” caught my eye, well cause you know I want to be a super trader.. I picked it up and skimmed threw it and found it to be different from a lot of the trading books. This one focused on 3 topics, topics that I think are the most important and overlooked in the trading world. The topics were, the psychology or mindset of a trader, the trading plan one needs to be successful and position sizing. All of which he covered in great detail. This book was a very very easy read without to much jargon, it really kept you wanting to read more.

The Mindset

Tharp is not only a very good investor but he also has a great wealth of knowledge in the art of NLP(Nero linguistic programming), which goes hand and hand when dealing with the thought process or the psychology of trading. He knows exactly what one goes threw when trading, exactly the thought process, the emotions, stress ect. The part dedicated to psychology was the longest and most in-depth, he really wanted you to figure you who you really are threw various questions he would ask, or exercises he would ask you to do. Now, it did take some getting use to when reading, on the fact most people would pick this book up and immediately expect to read about trading/investing or how-to’s ect. Not this book, this was strictly a book on honing in on the true details and foundation one must have in order to be successful in the markets. This section really was a life lesson on the thought process of an individual and he does tie it into trading psychology which makes it very unique and interesting.

Building a Trading Plan

This has got to be the most over looked and undervalued thing regarding trading. A lot of other traders I have met never really sat down and drawn out a trading plan a guide to how this individual was going to trade and be successful at it. Most just want to get in and make as much money as possible, come to find out they become a statistic in the 90% of traders who lose money. Tharp hammers this into your brain that you must have one in order to be successful. He will also walk you threw and help you build one by asking a series of questions and jogging your mind about who and what kind of trader you are. This in turn will jump start your ability to write out a trading plan and actually following it no matter what!

The importance of position sizing

Out of all the topics I think this one really hit home with me, I truly got the most out of this section. I actually never realized the importance of position sizing and how it can effect your profits. I mean I know about it and i know what position sizing is, but not the way Tharp put it. He really broke it down and it explained it in great detail, aswell as giving you a formula to come up with for deciding your position in the market. ie: number of shares you should buy determined by the amount of risk you are allocating to the trade ect.. Now that does sound easy and I’m sure everyone does it but not like this. I guarantee he will open your eyes when he explains his method and the reasons behind it, it makes complete since.

Overall

If you are looking for a how to book or a book to teach you how to trade or start investing, this book is not it and I would direct you to this one. On the other hand if you have found yourself struggling in the market or need some guidance or just want to gain insight on a different perspective of trading then this book is a must read for all skill types. I strongly encourage everyone to read this book!

You can grab this book here: Super Trader, Expanded Edition: Make Consistent Profits in Good and Bad Markets

Intel (INTC) Reports Great Earnings Does This Add Fuel To The Tech Sector?

Intel (INTC) Reports Great Earnings Does This Add Fuel To The Tech Sector?

Intel beats expectations!

Wow, so the company everyone was waiting to hear from today was Intel! The consensus on the street was Intel was going to make .30/share with boasted revenue. After the anticipated wait after hours, they released the EPS of .40/share with a revenue increase of 28%, which sent the stock higher by 2% in the after hours read the P/R here. This is the chart of INTC, it’s obvious it has been doing good in the economy and as sales and revenue increase, this report just proves how well the company is doing.

Tech sector boom

What does this say for the technology sector? Not only has tech been the leading sector for percentage gains and topping charts across the board but it’s also the most watched next to the financial’s. With Intel being the first to show signs of how the sector is doing, does this set the trend for all other tech? Lets look at the XLK SPDR which is the tech ETF.

As you can see nothing but a strong up trend. I see this trickling down to all other tech companies and making this as a sign to buy into it!

I will be on the hunt for some good tech plays to get into, that will follow the success of Intel. :)

Check Out This Pump And Dump (IMGG)

Check Out This Pump And Dump (IMGG)

Pump and Dumppppp….

Ever wanted to know what a pump and dump looks like? Well look no further with the latest one by Imaging3 Inc. (IMGG).

IMGG chart

Look at that chart….

Just look at this ridiculous chart pattern, it is nothing more than a blatant pump and dump. Let see, starting in September it was trading around 3 pennies then less than 2 months later it hits a high at $1.95, making most if its gains within 2 or 3 days. Take a nice glance at the volume, it was once trading less than a few thousand shares a day, then all of a sudden it’s trading 7million + shares a day hmmmm.  Then, less than 2 months after the high, the stock takes a nice big red dump and now sits around .60cent/share and still falling.

The Cause..

1. Stock promotion.

2. Message board hype.

3. Stock manipulation.

The Promotion

This stock was being promoted by standoutstocks, picksthatmove and the main one StockPreacher just read their disclaimer. As you can see here, StockPreacher released their “Report” on IMGG  November 10th. OK, now look at the chart find around the time of November 10th…..Yea it spiked huge on this stock promoters pump. Read the disclaimer, they spill their guts there! These promoters are usually compensated for these “Reports” in cash or a number of freely trade shares. Which if they receive those shares, of course they are going to pump this thing and then sell into that. Oh it gets better, check this post on IMGG man does it sound good, then have a laugh and reed to comments below the blog post….. Read it here.

The Hype

Message board hype is my favorite. As you read message boards on sites like yahoo, InvestorsHub and TheLion.com, you can see idiots thinking this is a real company making big moves. All the talk and hype is just code for they want to pump the stock and suck in all the suckers to buy it, push the price higher and then sell it short or sell into that hype.

The Manipulation

I mean if you are a smart person you will do your own research and find out how much of a scam this company is. First, just check out the garbage balance sheet here. Then you can look at their SEC filings and see that they are having problems and not making any money at all! Also their “Products” are also garbage and nothing more than a scam!

Look at what they do, they are a “Developer of a breakthrough medical imaging device that produces 3D medical diagnostic images of virtually any part of the human body in real-time”, Big whoop that sounds profitable doesn’t it? haha..

OK, now look at the latest news from IMGG; they are hosting a conference call to update share holders of the FDA submission.

Read the article here which was released yesterday “The purpose of the call is to update Shareholders and other interested parties of the current developments with the company’s 510k FDA submission” which the FDA is asking for more information regarding their submission because of earlier conflicts. This conference call and the anticipation of FDA approval could cause for another spike in the stock, keep your eye out and do some research so you don’t fall into the scam just profit from it. :)

What do you think?

Stock Watch 1-12-2010

Stock Watch 1-12-2010

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX) – This Company produces and sells ethanol in the United States and had a huge trading day. The stock had a 59% gain from an open price of $1.50 to the high of $2.75. This was a definite short squeeze if you check the chart out here. It also started to sell off a lot of its gains after it hit the high mid day, pretty much people selling into that spike I don’t blame them. This is huge potential short if you can find shares.

McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) – This Company through its subsidiaries engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas offshore. This stock is up huge on news of the new gas find off the Gulf of Mexico (read here) which created a 52% gain from the day’s range of $10.98 – high of $14.08 and holding. This was huge and exciting news for the company, as I see this as a starting point for the return back to its 2 year high of $35.52/share. On the charts here, it has a breakout point at $15.84ish and if it can break that it would not see resistance till $22/share. Potential buy!

Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited (EXXI) – This companies stock also benefiting from the news of the find of gas in the Gulf of Mexico. The stock had a 39% gain on the day, had an open price of $3.16 with a high of $3.69 and holding. I don’t see this one running to much it has a 2 year resistance level at $3.53; this will be the test if it can break it or sell off right here. I will just be watching this one. Check the chart here.

Tuesday Morning Corp. (TUES) – This Company operates as a closeout retailer of upscale home furnishings…boring! But the stock had a nice 32% gain on the day from good news of its qtr2 speculation of it beating earnings estimates as it sees sales up 5%, read the full P/R here. The company does have a good amount of revenue coming in, although it has just as much debt as it does cash on hand. The short interest has also increased by 5%. On the charts it has a lot of resistance at $4.50ish area, I would only get in if it can break that and if the speculations are true and it beats earnings estimates. Just watching for now, check the chart here.

GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. (GTCB) – This Company is being pumped by promoters and its hype around FDA approval of a drug. The company is garbage and very sketchy. The stock has been coming back some with a price spike today, as well as from the updated news of FDA approval. It’s funny as you can see from the chart here; it spiked and finished in the red. This will be nice to see it run a couple more days and then short into that.

Misonix Inc. (MSON) – This Company spiked 21% from news if it’s new distribution agreement for Peru. It also recently released earnings of $-.17/share but on the charts has been spiking some, to me it seems a mix of this deal and short covering. It has a lot of resistance at the $2.60ish area which it tested and failed to break today. If it can break it could be a huge breakout for this stock, but I don’t see that happening. Potential short, Check the chart here.

BioFuel Energy Corp. (BIOF) – This Company engages in the production and sale of ethanol. The stock had a nice 20% gain on the day with a price range of $3.42-$4.15, although it had a slight sell off in the afterhours back down to $3.45. The beauty of this stock is the chart. It is on the verge of a breakout right here at $4.12ish. I will wait to see if it gaps up tomorrow and breaks out, this could be a nice buy if it can. Check the chart here.

China Infrastructure Investment Corp. (CIIC) – This barley made my list; it is a china play which means “Sketchy”. Today the stock had an 18% bounce from its support at $2.00/share. This was a pump and dump as you can see from the chart here, it spiked a few days then completely dumped, which if you could find shares would have been a nice short opportunity which could explain its gains today from everyone buying to cover. This does have the chance to spike again, which you could buy the bounce but would be risky because the dump is over and it could trade towards the downside from here. Check the chart here.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) – This stock is the one to watch, as it is on the verge of FDA approval and on the verge of breaking out big time. Good news could make it happen. It is currently at that breakout point in the $15.77 area, if it can break threw it will be a nice breakout buy where its next resistance is not until the $19 area. The volume is also picking up as it gains publicity from the drug news and the talk about health care all over the news. I will watch this for a breakout buy, check the chart here.

TASER International Inc (TASR) – This Company still getting the hype around airport security, it manufactures devices for security not only for the private sector but also the government. Today it had a nice 11% gain and on the charts it is a technical breakout (yea I love breakout buys) Which if it holds, can be a nice swing trade as it rides the hype wave, and the sell signal being the first red day or it starting to retrace back to the support level of $5.80/share. I see it gaping down in the morning, and if the bulls are strong will pick it right back up and keep going on strong volume, otherwise watch for the dump as this can be a risky trade. Check the chart here.

ThinkOrSwim (TOS) Broker Review

ThinkOrSwim (TOS) Broker Review

First Impression

When I was on the hunt for an online discount broker I had really no Idea what to look for. I came across what had seemed like hundreds all with different rates and claims, which was all just a load to get you to dump your money in their account and trade with them. I wanted the best but not pay all the platform fees and other hidden fees and outrageous commissions. I then kept hearing about this broker called “ThinkOrSwim“, to me I was like “wtf is thinkorswim, does not even sound like a broker”. So I checked them out and for about an hour on their website reading about them and what they have to offer I was pretty blown away. One problem, they wanted $3500 minimum to start your account with. For me at the time I did not have that kind of cash sitting around just to put in a trading account. Although I did register on the site and downloaded their trading platform to get a feel for it while paper trading. More on the platform later… I was itching to sign up with ThinkOrSwim for what they offered and so on but I just did not have that exact amount to start with so I decided to e-mail ThinkOrSwim to kindly ask them to make an exception for me :) . In the e-mail I simply told them how much I have heard about them and the reviews they were getting and blah blah blah. I then asked if the minimum to open an account was strict and no exceptions, that I only had $2500 to start with and would I be able to trade and be excepted if you will. To my surprise I got a prompt e-mail back less than 24hrs later stating that they would love to make an exception and allow me to trade with that amount. AWESOME, where do I sign?… The point to all this is how fantastic the customer service is over at ThinkOrSwim I could not be happier.

Commissions

ThinkOrSwim has a pretty decent commission base. They advertise $9.99 a trade or a per share commission with a minimum of $5. Which I will admit the commissions have eaten me alive lately but that’s no one’s fault but my own. **Side note, I have heard a rumors that if you talk to ThinkOrSwim and tell them that their commissions are high and that you are thinking about going somewhere else that they will cut you a deal. From what I have herd they will give you like $4 a trade unlimited shares. Which for a day trader this could be a very nice deal! I have not tried this out, I have heard of several people doing this, the only down fall is that it does not last forever, I think they give you a time period at which you can get that commission for like a few months or even a year. The point is ThinkOrSwim will work with you :) .

Trading Platform

ThinkOrSwim Platform

I think their trading platform is phenomenal. They update it all the time, constantly giving you more and more features to use. Please go and download it and try it out for yourself here.

They do offer a web style trading where you can trade threw an internet browser, which it looks and feels just like the platform.

The charting on the platform is just incredible, any feature or indicator is offered and they are always coming up with new things to add.

The only down fall to the whole platform is there Level2 quote system, which in my opinion is garbage compared to a lot of other brokers level2 systems. On the other hand the rest of the platform makes up for it. Hopefully they will upgrade that system soon.

Short List

ThinkOrSwim is widely known for their great list of Easy to borrow stocks and having plenty of shares to go around. Although some have noticed ever since TD ameritrade took over that list has gone down some and is not as good, which I think is not true. In order to get those shares to short, you must open up a live chat with one of TOS representatives and ask if there are shares, if there are you can tell them how many you want and they can place to order for you or you can just reserve them until you would like to use them. Now on the platform when you enter a ticker symbol in, on the top right hand corner will be a spot where it will say “ETB” or “HTB” which will say whether shares are available to borrow. **Side note, even if it does say “HTB” i still make an attempt and ask anyways which i have been lucky a few times and gotten shares to short.

Overall

I could spend hours detailing every feature that ThinkOrSwim offers but I won’t since you can download it and try it out for yourself :) .

This is the broker I use and highly recommend for any level trader. Also if when you do register and fund your account they will send you a ThinkOrSwim monkey in the mail, no not a real one but a cool stuffed animal.

ThinkOrSwim Monkey

Stock Watch 1-11-2010

Luna Innovations Incorporated (LUNA) -This company engages in the research, development, and commercialization of technologies in health care. The stock had a huge 71% gain from it’s open at $2.74 – $4.50 with an extra 1% gain in after hours. This reason for this huge spike came from the P/R issued that stated “(LUNA) said Friday it will expand its development and supply agreement with Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) to continue providing its shape-sensing technology for Intuitive products. report here” which lead to the spike. This companies balance sheet is a mess, the market cap is only 50million with 5million in debt. This spike was not from only good news but definitely from all the shorts covering. This will be interesting as to how it will play out on Monday, i think this could be a good setup for a short. I will only short if i can find shares and if it starts to fade through out the day. Check the chart here.

WebMediaBrands Inc (WEBM) – This is a media company that had a nice 26+% gain on Friday breaking it’s previous high of $1.30/share, which is considered a technical breakout. The question here is will it hold and keep going? I doubt it on the notion that it faded a lot towards the close with low volume and i see a morning sell off. This will be a potential short for sure.

Methode Electronics Inc. (MEI) – This company manufactures component devices worldwide. The stock got an analyst upgrade to outperform which made the price spike 25% from $9.53 to the high of $11.34. It had a breakout point at $9.80ish and surged higher from there with a strong finish late day. I see this stock coming back down some which will be a great buy on the dip to see it return to it’s 2 year high of $14.19/share. This company is so so on the balance sheet, it has a good amount of revenue coming in with 0 debt. I think this was one company beaten down by the economy and is starting to come back nicely. The short interest has also decreased. Potential swing trade if i can get in when it dips a little lower. Check the chart here.

CPEX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPEX) – This Pharmaceutical company has a recently completed a phase 2 clinical trial of Nasulin a diabetes drug that helps a diabetic’s insulin levels. The results of the test are expected to be released a t the beginning of the second quarter of 2010. Friday a P/R was released stating that “(CPEX) confirmed that Arcadia Capital Advisors, LLC and its principal Richard Rofé, who hold approximately 12% of outstanding shares, have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notice of intention of Mr. Rofé to make an unsolicited contingent offer to purchase the remaining shares of common stock of CPEX for $14.00 per share.” this of course spiked the stock price from $11.75 – $14.05/share. This is good for the company and share holders. On the other hand the shares outstanding are 2.5million and the float is only 1.84, so this thing can go wild with any news in a short period of time. I would watch this the next coming days to buy into, because this stock can climb fast! This reminds me of (VRMLQ) and its price fluctuations, CPEX is a Potential buy, check the chart here.

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (CYTX) – This company engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of medical technologies to enable the practice of regenerative medicine. It also just got FDA approval for a “fat transfer device that can transfer a patients fat to other areas of the body for cosmetic purposes”, sounds pretty ridiculous to me but they actually got approval and the stock spikes 12%+ check the P/R here. This company is in the hole big time as far as revenue coming in, this will definitely bring more in. On the other hand it seems the stock did not want to hold its gains and actually went negative on the close, which could mean a lot of people were taking some profits and selling into that spike. 18% of this stock float are short which if they cover could really send this stock soaring. If it can hold and here and and i see some big buy orders coming in, this could be a nice setup for a swing trade. Potential buy, check the chart here.

ICX TECHNOLOGIES INC COM (ICXT) – Here we go again the same airport security stock coming up on my radar. This stock does not want to make up it’s mind, it spikes and then falls then levels off around $7.50ish and now is starting to spike again. This reminds me of NLST when it was doing this, it was teasing everyone but those who held on threw the ups and downs really made money as it just keep stair stepping higher. ICXT does want to power higher although the volume is starting to fade and bulls starting to get weak, i still think this is a short all the way unless it get’s more news coverage. Check the chart here.

Inspire Pharmaceuticals (ISPH) – This pharmaceutical barley made my list, it made it only because its on the verge of a breakout. It spiked on Friday due to short squeeze IMO there is no big news for it other wise. It also lost half of those gains in after hours as everyone sold that spike. As you can see from the chart here, it is right there at the breakout point but it needs a good push to get threw that resistance. I will watch to see what it does, i don’t think it can do it.