Downtowntrader

Stock Chart Analysis HL

2009-11-03T22:25:00.002-05:00

Stock Chart Analysis HLHecla Mining Company (Public, NYSE:HL)I wrote an article last week for Investopedia mentioning that there might of been a buying opportunity present in Silver and in it I mentioned Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) as a silver miner to watch, as it was close to testing an important support level. The support level mentioned was the $4 level, which was a prior high back in June

Stocktwits Charity Poker Tournament Wrapup

2009-10-26T13:33:00.009-04:00

I would like to thank everyone that participated in helping us raise money for the TS Alliance through our first ever Stocktwits Charity Poker Tournament last evening. The tournament was a blast, as 38 Stocktweeps gunned for each others chips online. There was some drama with top bounty man Howard Lindzon initially zooming to the top of the leaderboards, and Brian Shannon almost busting out in

Stocktwits Charity Poker Tournament Update

2009-10-16T15:20:00.012-04:00

I continue to be amazed by the generosity shown by the members of the Stocktwits community. I originally expected a few signups to the tournament and to maybe raise a halfway decent amount for the TS Alliance. Completely unexpected by me was the unsolicited generosity from people like @johnwelshphd and John Lee (@weeklyTA) who have made donations directly to the charity. Also, Phil Pearlman has

Stock Chart Analysis MCO

2009-10-15T22:50:00.003-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis MCOMoody's Corporation (Public, NYSE:MCO)There is an interesting pattern developing in MCO and the resolution could lead to a big move. MCO broke down from a consolidation in September on a large increase in volume. This move came after several months of drifting lower, as it corrected a sharp move higher from March through May. On a weekly chart, MCO still looks like death,

Poker Tournament Update

2009-10-13T15:00:00.002-04:00

First off, I would like to personally thank @johwelshphd for offering a huge reward for anyone knocking out Howard Lindzon from the Stocktwits Charity Poker event. He has pledged $200 to any of his followers that knocks out Howard, plus an additional $200 directly to the charity. This is a total contribution of $400 and frankly, surprised the hell out of me. I am extremely appreciative of his

Stocktwits Charity Poker Tournament

2009-10-09T16:51:00.002-04:00

I've been working on organizing an online Poker tournament for charity for the past few months. I reached out to the folks at Stocktwits.com and they were more than happy to help a lending hand, for which I am very appreciative. I decided to organize this event to help a friend of mine who has a child with Tuberous Sclerosis and raise money for the TS Alliance. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is

Stock Chart Analysis GLD

2009-10-08T23:18:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis GLDSPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (Public, NYSE:GLD)I posted this chart on Chart.ly the other night and mentioned it had the sausage link pattern setting up. This is a simple reference to how the bollinger bands resemble sausage links when a stock is trending strongly. Basically the bands expand as the stock rallies and contract as it consolidates. Often, the bollinger bands looks

Revisiting the Education Stocks

2009-10-02T15:50:00.002-04:00

excerpt of an article I wrote for chartadvisor.comBack in June, we took a look at stocks that trade in the education sector. At the time, we noted how the group had managed to avert a breakdown and appeared to be on the rebound. The group had been in a correction for several months, and had continued to weaken even as the markets bottomed during the spring. But after a brief move lower, education

A Look at Coal Stocks

2009-09-30T19:10:00.002-04:00

Back in May, we discussed possible accumulation in the coal sector based on solid price action that was occurring in some of the stocks. Many of these stocks were clearing bases on good volume, and were in the process of consolidating the initial breakout by trading in bull flags. In general, this group did indeed move higher following their May breakouts, and ended up building new bases in the

Stock Chart Analysis PALM

2009-09-28T23:10:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis PALMPalm, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:PALM)I'll have to admit, I am a little surprised by the recent strength in PALM. It looked like the stock was getting tired back in June after the exhaustion gap on huge volume, and for the most part it was. PALM proceeded to pullback to its 50-day moving average in July, and then lost that level as support a few weeks later. It really looked

Market Summary 9/25/2009

2009-09-27T13:19:00.001-04:00

The general markets made their second trip down to test their rising 20-day moving averages in less than a month, even after tagging new recovery highs earlier this week. The Federal Reserve issued their policy statement on Wednesday afternoon, as is common; there was plenty of volatility surrounding the announcement that afternoon and through the end of the week. While the markets continue to

Stock Chart Analysis ZION

2009-09-21T23:11:00.004-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis ZIONZions Bancorporation (Public, NASDAQ:ZION)ZION has been one of the most reliable stocks for me on the short side over the past year. It seems every time there is market weakness, ZION has been there for me as a financial stock that would drop quicker and further than many of its peers.However, something changed over the past few months. ZION started failing as a short. In

Stock Chart Analysis XTEX

2009-09-14T22:03:00.003-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis XTEXCrosstex Energy, L.P. (Public, NASDAQ:XTEX)Natural gas has been a popular trade this year, particularly by long traders attempting to pick a bottom in the commodity. Despite several attempts at a rally from new lows, the commodity as tracked by the United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (Public, NYSE:UNG) ETF has been in a death spiral for over a year. While UNG has some

Stock Chart Analysis ABK

2009-09-13T17:17:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis ABKAmbac Financial Group, Inc. (Public, NYSE:ABK)There is an interesting pattern developing in ABK. While I won't speculate as to the fundamental picture for this fallen company, the chart in ABK is following a similar pattern to other "broken financials" such as Citigroup Inc. (Public, NYSE:C), Fannie Mae (Public, NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (Public, NYSE:FRE). Each of these

Stock Chart Analysis C

2009-09-11T00:08:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis CCitigroup Inc. (Public, NYSE:C)I've been long a few calls in Citigroup from it's initial breakout, but I may be adding to the position here soon. C has been developing nicely, and in the chart below I highlight what it is I am looking at and why I like it. C cleared a multi month base in late August and has been consolidating above the breakout area for a couple weeks now.

Stock Chart Analysis RIMM

2009-09-06T22:01:00.004-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis RIMMResearch In Motion Limited (USA) (Public, NASDAQ:RIMM)There is a pretty interesting chart setup developing in RIMM. RIMM has been flying a little under the radar recently with all the recent focus on Gold Miners, Financial Stocks, and even American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG). Even in the mobile phone space, its all about the Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) I-Phone or

Stock Chart Analysis GLD

2009-09-03T23:49:00.004-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis GLDSPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (Public, NYSE:GLD) Really nice follow through by the metals complex today after a strong move yesterday. Volume has been rising on move higher, and everyone is wondering if this is "THE" gold breakout that they have been waiting for. The one thing that has stood out to me recently is how Gold and Silver are holding up even on days where the dollar is

Stock Chart STAR

2009-08-25T22:01:00.003-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis STARStarent Networks Corp. (Public, NASDAQ:STAR)I mentioned a few times on twitter over the past couple of weeks how STAR was looking bearish to me. Nothing has occurred on the chart to sway my initial thoughts, and in fact, I initiated a short position in STAR last week, when it appeared to turn down after testing its declining 20-day moving average. While the vast majority

Stock Chart DV

2009-08-20T01:07:00.003-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis DVDeVry Inc. (Public, NYSE:DV)I've mentioned a few times recently on twitter, that education stocks have been quietly improving. DV, is a perfect example of an education stock that has been improving, after threatening to breakdown from a multi-year base in May. It grinded out a bottoming pattern from March through early August that could be classified as a reverse head and

Stock Chart SNDA

2009-08-14T17:36:00.003-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis SNDAShanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd ADR (Public, NASDAQ:SNDA)The general markets continue to hold up, and have been basically trading sideways for the past two weeks. While overall this is probably more bullish than not, I continue to look for some bearish charts in order to remain flexible and even a little hedged. SNDA is one chart that looks pretty bearish to me, with

Stock Chart OIH

2009-08-10T23:13:00.004-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis OIHOil Service HOLDRs (ETF) (Public, NYSE:OIH)Typically oil and commodity type stocks are late cycle plays, and being that we are either in the middle of a bear market, or optimistically in an early bull, I haven't been too excited about any sort of trending move in the group. While, there has been opportunities on smaller time frames, I have been ignoring the sector as a

Is Gold ready to breakout?

2009-08-06T09:26:00.004-04:00

Here is an updated marketclub video in the spot gold market. Adam takes a look at where gold is and whether its ready to breakout or not. Not to spoil the video, but things are shaping up for a breakout as Gold continues to set higher lows on the daily chart and inches up towards resistance in the upper 900's. Click on the Link below to watch the free video.Enjoy,Joey

Stock Chart QSII

2009-08-05T19:00:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis QSIIQuality Systems, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:QSII)I don't post frequently on the longer term setups I am watching, as my main focus is on swing trading for a holding period of a few days. However, I always keep track of weekly charts to let me know from which side the wind is blowing. If I'm going to lean one way or the other, I prefer the longer term trade in my favor.When

Exit Strategy - The Chandelier Stop

2009-07-30T00:22:00.002-04:00

Taking profits is one of the hardest things for a trader to learn once they get past the basics. There are a myriad of strategies a trader can employ, each with their pros and cons. I've mentioned how I use a volatility based exit strategy called the Chandelier Stop a few times on this blog and twitter, and it is the subject of an article I wrote for SFO Magazine. It came out in this months issue

Stock Chart BKE

2009-07-27T23:25:00.002-04:00

Stock Chart Analysis BKEThe Buckle, Inc. (Public, NYSE:BKE)While I've been bullish for the past several weeks, I always have a few short ideas in my watchlist in case I am wrong on my market analysis. I also like to have some short setups available in case the markets get overbought and begin to reverse. I don't want to bail out on positions that are behaving well, but I also don't have any