Market Playground

No Rush to Buy Precious Metals

Posted 17 May 2012 — by Jeff Pierce
Category Basic Materials, Gold and Silver, Investing, Market News, PAAS, Precious Metals, Sectors, Stocks, Technical Analysis, Trading

By Jeff Pierce

There are 2 major views on the metals right now.

the bull is dead
the bull is hibernating

I’m in the 3rd group. The bull is still alive, but I would not be in any rush to buy any miners until there is a significant flush out. Let these two groups fight it out and stay safely on the sidelines until some decent trading opportunities arise. I suspect we’re getting into the range where one can expect a bounce but it’s not the sort of bounce that you buy because there really is no support below. If we were to bounce I would watch the RSI on the daily chart and if it gets back near 60 then that is the area that would represent a good shorting opportunity. Below are the stocks I’m focusing on.

That should take us to new lows and hopefully a landslide, capitulatory sell off which would be an amazing buying opportunity because at that time I can see anybody that will be stepping up to the plate to buy gold/silver stocks. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

The Real Lesson of the 2010 Flash Crash

No Comments

Posted 17 May 2012 — by Covestor
Category Communication Services, Dividends, Investing, Market News, Options, Sectors, Services, Stocks, TEF, Telecom, Trading

By Charles Sizemore

Charles Sizemore

Men are not always the best about remembering anniversaries, but there are a few that we would all like to forget. A little over two years ago on May 6, 2010, the infamous “Flash Crash” saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average swing by 600 points in 20 minutes.

What is perhaps most remarkable about that incident is that there was never a proper explanation for what happened. High-velocity “algorithmic” trading is generally credited as the culprit, but what exactly happened? And what is to prevent it from happening again? To these questions we have no answers.

The real legacy of the Flash Crash is not the portfolio losses suffered by some investors; in fact, unless you happened to have open stop loss orders that got executed, chances are good that the entire event came and went before you had time to act. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Why a Summer Rally is Possible

No Comments

Posted 17 May 2012 — by Covestor
Category Commodities, Economy, Housing, Investing, Manufacturing, Market News, Sectors, Stocks, Technology, Trading, Utilities

By Michael Tarsala

Liz Ann Sonders

The ongoing stock market selloff should be less harsh than in the past two years, says Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab’s chief investment strategist.

You can read her latest strategy update here.

Here’s a cheat sheet:

– A Q2 selloff could set the stage for a summer rally.

– Sell in May doesn’t work well in election years: The Dow has been up 4.5% in May through October in election years and up 2.6% during those months for all years. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Robert Reich — President Obama on JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM): The Dog That Didn’t Bark

No Comments

Posted 17 May 2012 — by Robert Reich
Category Banking, Economy, Financial, Government, Market News, Money Center Banks, Politics, Sectors

By Robert Reich

The dog that didn’t bark this week, let alone bite, was the President’s response to JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) bombshell admission of losing more than $2 billion in risky derivative trades that should never have been made. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Celsius Holdings (CELH): First Quarter Numbers May Have Company Positioned For Growth

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by VFC's Stock House
Category Beverages, CELH, Investing, Market News, PIMO, Stocks, Trading

By VFC’s Stock House

Another stable earnings report may have once again positioned Celsius Holdings, Inc. (PINK:CELH) as a solid growth play to consider as the company’s calorie burning, pre-workout beverage gains traction in its niche market.

The reported sales of $2.5 million for the first quarter of 2012 were up from a number of $2.2 million during the same quarter last year, but more significantly was the increase of 41% over the fourth quarter of 2011. Returns and stockpile write-off has hampered the numbers at times during the past year, but the numbers announced last week may have provided a turning point that the company can use to build momentum. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO: Think About This Before Buying

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by Covestor
Category FB, Investing, IPOs, Market News, Social Networking, Stocks, Trading

By Michael Tarsala

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) at its IPO is probably not a stock for most long-term investors to buy:

It’s not a core holding for retirees — some of whom are reported to be clamoring for it.

You don’t bet your kid’s entire college fund on it (or any one stock).

Given the 41 times forward PE, more than 3x the broad market’s valuation, it’s not for value investors.

As with any IPO, the short track record means it offers very little in terms of a research edge.

Keep in mind, it’s something you may eventually own a decent amount of in your large-cap fund, ETF or growth fund anyway.

Questions long-term investors should be asking include: Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

The Case for Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX): Analyst Upgrade May Be Justified

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by VFC's Stock House
Category AEZS, Biotechnology and Drugs, Healthcare, Investing, KERX, Market News, Stocks, Trading

By VFC’s Stock House

An analyst upgrade last week and renewed investor interest in Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX) had shares heavily on the move over the past week, a move initially sparked, in part, by positive Phase III data for Zerenex in Japan. The KERX run culminated in a renewed push through the two dollar mark before a mid-week stall left shares sitting just below that mark.

The disappointing announcement of a Perifisone Phase III failure in early April sent shares plummeting from near the five dollar mark to below $1.50 as the short term catalyst traders bailed out and created an air of panic around the potential of the Keryx story moving forward, but the upgrade last week by Ladenburg Thalmann to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ reinvigorated some new life into the KERX share price and allowed investors – who by now have well digested the Perifisone news – to take a fresh look at the potential of Zerenex. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Analysts See a Storm, Then Sun

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by Covestor
Category Analyst Coverage, BAC, Investing, Market News, Stocks, Technical Analysis, Trading

By Michael Tarsala

The latest market analysis from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) sees dark clouds, a storm, then the likelihood of a summer rally.

The latest from its technical team calls for a stock correction to the 1,250 to 1,300 range on the S&P 500, although the team recommends buying dips. You can read more here.

S&P 500 Large Cap Index – Daily

Source: Stockcharts.com

What I like about the BofA analysis is that it doesn’t throw out hard-and-fast numbers. It allows for the fact that support and resistance can be in ranges. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

The Death Of The Bull Market Is Near

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by Christoper Ebert
Category Investing, Market News, Options, Technical Analysis, Trading

By Christopher Ebert

As with all technical indicators, the Option Indices are intended to be tools to help traders plan future trading in a manner that increases the probability of a profit. Last week, it was reported here that the Long Call/Married Put Index (LCMPI) was in danger of reaching a level that would indicate that the current bull market had ended. As of May 10th, the Index had not reached that level, although it was very close. It is even closer this week. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Market Astrology: The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO Risk Trade

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by Karen Starich
Category Computer Services, FB, Investing, IPO, IPOs, LNKD, Market News, MSFT, Social Networking, Stocks, Technology, Trading

By Karen Starich

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is set to launch it’s initial public offering (IPO) on May 18th. The social media giant has an initial target valuation as high as $100 billion. Looking at the astrology for May 18th we can get some clues as to how the stock will do, and the potential risks involved with the trade.

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and Chief Executive at Facebook, recently celebrated his 28th birthday making the Sun’s placement in the IPO chart conjoin to his birth Sun. This is a powerful placement for the founder and the company to share in a new creative venture that will carry far into the future. Read More

To discuss this article or any stock, please visit The Playground Discussion Forum!

Deflationary Forces Set to Push Market Lower

No Comments

Posted 16 May 2012 — by Covestor
Category AAPL, ETFs, Investing, Market News, Stocks, TQQQ, Trading

By Beau Wolinsky

In April we saw the market reach an overbought level and took a short position in ProShares UltraPro QQQ (NASDAQ:TQQQ). The precipitous drop that followed was due to socialist election gains in both Greece and France, and we managed to identify the worst 5 day period for NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) stock indices with this trade.

We are expecting to close our position in TQQQ with one of our largest profits ever. While I’m disappointed in the annual performance of the Quantitative EFT model, my estimation of the average profit is about 8.5%, versus an average loss of 11%. The win percentage is also much higher in the backtest than the live results show. The overbought condition means that we expect the market to reverse to an oversold level, and that appears to be what has happened during the short in TQQQ through early May. Read More