TradingStockz

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:36:00 +0000

I recently purchased Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI) at $15.57 based upon my research using Investor's Business Daily. The stock is currently trading around its 20-day moving average and above its 50-day moving average. Let's see how this trade plays out over the coming weeks. I will look to exit this trade if this stock trades down over 10%.

Activision Closed Out

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:47:00 +0000

I closed out my position in Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) on 12/2/11 at $12.39 for a slight gain. This stock was part of my portfolio for around 2 years and just really never gained the traction I expected, which is why I chose to finally part ways. The main premise behind entering this stock was to capture the online gaming portfolio most notably World of Warcraft. The game and subscriptions were huge successes, however just never translated into a high flying stock.

Trade Activity 9/15/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:20:00 +0000

I closed out my position in Vale S.A. (VALE) at $27.44 for a gain of almost 6%. I'm also testing the waters on a gold down day to get into a stock that has been a high flyer and is now down over $2.50 per share give or take a few pennies. The stock is Randgold Resources Ltd (GOLD) and I'm in at $106.10. The stock is currently ranked #10 on the IBD 50 and is a leader in the industry and will hopefully continue on the weaker market.

The chart above is showing Randgold on a weekly chart as it dips and touches the 200-day moving average on lower than average volume and somewhat oversold indicators as spelled out by the stochastics.

Trade Activity 8/23/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 11:18:00 +0000

I took advantage in the recent market drop-off to pick up some additional shares of U.S Steel (X) at $25.83 and entered into a new position in Vale S.A (VALE) at $25.76.

Recent Trades 8/9/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:19:00 +0000

Picked up a few more hundred shares of Annaly Capital Management (NLY) when shares dipped into the low 17's. I also tested my Sunday theory by purchasing a Jan 2012 $30.00 call on Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) as the stock dipped into the 26 range.

Sunday Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:54:00 +0000

The market has been very volatile, I shy away from saying crazy because some folks have been anticipating a correction due to ongoing world debt issues. Whatever your take on the situation I'm wondering how the U.S. debt downgrade will impact the open come Monday morning. I'm almost in all cash except for a few shares of U.S. Steel. I think my plan tonight is to do my due dilligence and research some stocks that I wouldn't mind getting long in.

If the market remains volatile and provides huge swings up/down then doesn't it make sense to take advantage of this market via long straddle? Here is my thought process behind this and someone please comment if they agree/disagree with my consensus. If I enter call/put position on a stock, I know up front what my risk will be and how much I could lose in a worst case scenario. On the flip side, with the huge volatility it may be better than actually getting caught on the wrong side of a trade.

Trade Activity 8/5/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:29:00 +0000

I tried to double down on my position in Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) by purchasing another 100 shares on August 4th for $29.58. The stock turned against me today and kept declining, so I closed out my entire PBR position @ $28.81 for an overall 8% loss.

Trade Activity for 7/26/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:37:00 +0000

I was listening to Day Trading Radio this morning and caught a piece of his analysis of Diana Shipping (DSX), which I have watched in the past along with other shippers such as Dry Ships (DRYS). I decided to see if I could pull a profit on just a 100 shares. I'm in at $9.84

Nice Article on Annaly Capital

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:10:00 +0000

Here is a nice article on Annaly Capital (NLY), which I have been holding since November 2010. Don't forget they come out with earnings on July 25th. The article is courtesy of Seeking Alpha.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/281097-who-owns-annaly-capital?source=yahoo

Trade Activity 7/1/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Sold U.S. Steel (X) at $46.57 for a 9.34% gain since my entrance into this stock on 6/21/11

Trade Activity 6/24/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:08:00 +0000

I bought a protective put for my recent position into PBR. I should have been more diligent and protected my position when I first entered this trade. I purchased the August $33.00 for $2.19, so hopefully this gives the stock a chance to pick a direction.

Trade Activity 6/22/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:42:00 +0000

Bought Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR) at $33.00

Trade Activity 6/21/11

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Bought U.S. Steel (X) at $42.31

Bought Century Link (CTL) Oct $41.00 put at $2.75

Cleaning House

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:12:00 +0000

I moved to all cash in one of my accounts. I closed out my position in Brazil Energy (CPL) and started a position in Acme Packet (APKT) but closed out of it after taking a loss. Not sure if APKT ran its course and needed some consolidation to form a new base, but I was not going to hang around or double down to decrease my entry point. Sitting in all cash and looking for new movers headed into next week.

No Lending - A Personal Story

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:25:00 +0000

So I hear on all the shows CNBC, Fox Business, etc that banks are starting to lend again to free up backlog and get the consumer out there spending cash, so we can continue to pursue our "comfortable" lifestyles. The problem, I recently encountered was that lending comes at a rather steep price. My family and I are in the process of hiring a landscaper to redo our backyard. Rather than tap into savings, I started to look around for a home improvement loan through various outlets. I'm amazed to say that even going through various credit unions, the cost was over, 10% for a loan up to approximately $20,000. If I wanted a loan for over $25,000 then the rate decreased a bit, but was also tied to a variable rate.

We have "outstanding" credit and both employed, so the issue is not based on credit score or ability to repay the existing loan, the problem is there are still many institutions who are deathly afraid to loan to the individual consumer. At a time when banks can borrow from the fed and one another at an astronomically low rate, I would argue the government expects that to be passed on to credit worthy consumers, so we can stimulate the economy in a positive way. However, as a credit worthy consumer, I can honestly say this is still not "trickling" down to the consumer.

Recent Option Play

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:22:00 +0000

I recently sold out of my RVBD $39.00 calls for a 48.07% gain. I was in at $1.55 per call and sold out at $2.50 per call. I made a nice gain but missed out on bigger gains. With last weeks selloff I got a bit spooked and closed out of my position to realize a gain rather than letting the decay eat at my profits. The current bid/ask as I right this is $4.10/$4.30, so I'm happy to realize a small gain, but as you can see quite a bit left on the table.

Denver Trading Group

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Yesterday, I attended the 2011 kick-off session of the Denver Trading Group where the guest speak was Patrick Ceresna of optionsource.net and eminisource.com. During this event he covered five main topics, of which, the ones I found most interesting were: Swing Trading for Stock and Option Traders who still have Day Jobs and Intermarket Relationships. The Denver Trading Group meets once a month and usually runs from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. There is usually a wealth of information to digest, so I usually take notes on some key points during the discussion. Here were my key takeaways or comments from this session:

*As more people use a specific Technical Analysis technique it has the potential to become marginalized

*Trade the trade, don't trade the money

*It takes discipline to keep yourself disciplined

*Selling covered calls is the same as put writing

*Use protective puts

*Intermarket Relationship (bond market, currency market, commodities market, stockmarket, and real estate) is not tracked as much as it should be

*There are traders who fade the beginning investor and counter their trades to take advantage of the beginner's lack of knowledge

People who attended this session were given a complementary 30-day membership with no credit card required to both of the websites listed above. I plan on signinng up and seeing more of what they are all about. The worst that can happen, is that I become a little more educated.

VMWare

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Yesterday I tried to ride the upward trend on the increase in Silver prices by getting in on Silver Wheaton Corp (SLW), so I got in at $39.35 and the stock reversed quite aggressively, so I got out at $36.93.

Today, I bought a Feb $100 call on VMWare, INC (VMW) for $3.30. Using the "Option Calculator" provided by the CBOE site, I got this at a discount.

New Trade for End of December

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:02:00 +0000

Small volume the past days to close out 2010. I've decided to get in a stock I traded a few years ago and had relatively good luck with, which is Joy Global INC (JOYG). Looking at the past few weeks it broke out of a small base, so I'm looking to take advantage of that push up. I'm in at $86.98

Playing with the Trend

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:26:00 +0000

I'm going with the upward trend in the steel production and have messed around some more with U.S. Steel (X) and AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS). I got back in AKS at $15.94 and entered into another Jan 2011 call on X at $2.70 and closed the position at $4.30.

This morning I bought some Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) on a breakout in the technicals. The tricky thing with this week will be volume since we are going into the Christmas week.

Update: Got in on CHK at market open at $23.93 and sold out 14 mins later at $24.64. As I am updating this, I left some profit on the table the high was $25.04.

Going After Dividends

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:25:00 +0000

I've been following this stock literally for a few months and finally decided to buy some shares. I don't remember how I originally came across this stock, maybe in a magazine like Worth, Money, or Kiplingers. Anyhow, the first thing that caught my eye was the large dividend of just over 15%! That is a huge number and I was immediately intrigued, however stocks with large divideds can be tricky, so you need to do some due diligence before just jumping in.

As I stated, I have been watching this stock for the last few months and it has been trading in the $16 - $18 range. Since the interest rates are going to remain at low rates, this may be a stock that people such as myself get involved in.

Here are just a few bits of numbers that I have compiled as an example and of course are all based on timing and dividends earned:

* Buy 100 shares @ $18.00 = $1800.00
* If the price stays in that general range you are looking at approximately $270.00 in dividend payout for the year ($1,800.00 x 15% = $270.00).
* Even if the stock drops a couple of dollars, then you still come out on top due to the large dividend already received. This provides a bit of top cover for your initial investment.
* Say the stock drops to $16.00 now your investment is worth $1600.00 ($16.00 x 100 shares = $1,600.00)
* You already received the 15% dividend
* So you are still up $70.00 on the initial investment ($1800 - $1600 = 200 loss)
* But you received $270 in dividends, so ($270 - $200 = $70 profit or 3.88% gain)
* The gain received is still larger then you would get from an institution, so I veiw this as a well placed investment.

So can I get a drum roll.........The stock I have been talking about is Annaly Capital Management (NLY)

Precise Trades

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:24:00 +0000

I completed two trades (1 option/1 equities) trade within the past 2-days. The first trade was an option trade on U.S. Steel (X). On October 15th, I purchased 1 Jan $49.00 call at $2.48 and closed out the position on November 9th for a 47% gain. In the same vein, I was keeping with the metals, so on November 1st, I purchased 100 shares of AK Steel Holding (AKS) at $12.95 per share and sold at $13.91 for a modest 6% gain.

Today, I picked up a small amount of shares in CPFL Energia (CPL) at $72.67 as they go into earnings. There earnings announcement is scheduled for 11 November, so hopefully a nice pop to the stock will be coming, not to mention they have a nice 7% dividend on the stock.

Closed All Short Positions

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:44:00 +0000

I've decided to quit fighting the market, which makes no sense whatsoever with regards to market sentiment. I've closed out my positions in SDS, QID, and DXD. I guess this is a lesson learned the hard way. I've tried to legitimize in my mind why the market should be headed downwards, but I guess if the government wants to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at the problem, then that is enough to sway the market and other investors.

I believe we are headed down a very slippery slope and am really struggling with having a positive outlook on the U.S. market. Lack of jobs, continued uncertainty, inept legislators, and a poor housing market....what's not to be positive about? I envision that many people are going to get hurt again, so I'm going to keep my investments small and precise.

Pre-Market Purchases

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:18:00 +0000

I just purchased some shares of QID in the pre-market at $14.34. I'm dumbfounded at the gold pricing hovering near $1360.00 and how the market continues to trend upwards, so I'm trying to leverage that by shorting the NASDAQ via QID prior to the job numbers coming out tomorrow.

Artist Jordan Chapin

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:01:00 +0000

I mentioned my trip back to Seattle a few posts back and the fact that my brother Jordan Chapin is an artist and I will be his first customer for a customized hat. Well he now has a website to display some of his work, which I have added as a link. He is very modest and his site is still under construction, but I am completely amazed at how artists such as my brother and many others can transform any type of blank canvas into their own unique design. I'm thinking about having him do a money/stock theme later down the road, in the meantime, check out his work and he can truly create customized work from any concept, photo, etc. Thanks!