DNR - target hit for itsy bitsy tiny weenie profit

Got into this trade back in middle of December, approx 6 weeks ago and this thing has just been going sideways ever since. Oh well, you sometimes get that.

It did FINALLY hit it's target today, here's the chart:

The amount of sideways action just killed my profits. I sold my long call today for $2.10 and originally bought it back in middle of December for $2.00. So, I made 10 cents, minus commissions due my broker brought me down to 7 cents (i.e. really $7) with an ROI of 3%.

Hey, $7 is $7 - now I can hit Five Guys for a burger.

One other note of EXTREME IMPORTANCE - when you HIT YOUR TARGET you MUST take your profits. Even though I didn't make good profits, my target WAS hit. Do NOT hold out for more by HOPING that the stock price will go higher. Once your target is hit - it's then more of a guessing game and you no longer have your edge.

Remember, I'm a trader, NOT a gambler in the stock market. If there is no edge in my trade, then I don't want it.

Glory to God for this trade - thank you.

Profits taken - GLW

God's grace raining down again - thanks for the present!

Here's the chart of GLW:

After we got in, the stock pulled back and put in a higher low - which is great! I don't mind pullbacks, you gotta expect them, but after they put in a higher low, then that's a good indication that the bulls are going to keep pushing things up.

We had earnings come out today in this stock. I don't know if the earnings were "good" or "bad", all I know is that the reaction to the earnings was positive. The lesson in the last sentence - you DON'T CARE what the earnings are, all you care is how the market REACTED to those earnings.

Anyway, the market reacted quite positively to the earnings and popping the price right up to our target of the $20.90 zone. This was a little under my line - but my line is just an AREA, and once you get a nice pop like this and you get that close to the area that quickly, then take your profits and run.

I sold the long May 18 Call for $3.30, which gave me a NET profit of $0.74 in 9 trading days for an ROI of 28%.

That's what I call a nice gift!! Now, I enter the information into my trading log and I look for the next set up - it's one big merry-go-round, keep taking profits and keep getting into new trades - over and over and over....

New Trade - DDR

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

Got into a new trade today with DDR. Here's the chart:

The "official" entry on this was Friday (yesterday was a holiday and the markets were closed). This is what we've got - we've got higher lows with the sellers holding the line just under $14.50. Technically, you could call this an "ascending triangle" - it doesn't matter what you call it - the buyers keep coming in and buying this stock at higher and higher prices so we are bound to get back up to that $14.50ish zone and very well MIGHT blow beyond those sellers for a breakout.

My trade is simply to get back up around that last high before the sellers step back in - so right around the $14.25ish area.

One thing I want to show you is what happened in just today's trading - here's a 5 minute chart of that. Nevermind the green, it's just my highlight. However look at the last few candles with that blue circle - notice how those prices jumped up! Now, look down at the corresponding volume - nice spikes in volume while those prices jumped up. This tells me that the buyers came back in at the end of the day and started pushing those prices back up. That's exactly when I got into this trade.

Sometimes, by honing in even further via an intraday chart, you can get an even better idea of what the buyers and sellers are doing.

Enough of my soapbox. I bought the April 12.50 call for $1.48 and expect this to get back up to the $14.25ish zone in about 2 weeks or so. Or, it can go sideways. Or, it can go against me and stop me out (yellow zone). Or, just whatever. I really don't care, as I'm trading with an edge and with a systematic approach and with the help of the LORD, I'll continue to prosper in my trading.

I'm now full in my trades. I can't take on any more trades until I start taking profits. I generally trade 50% of my total trading account. Why? Because if the market falls apart then at least I've got 50% left to rebuild.

Let's make some profits now.

New Trade - MAS

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Here's the chart:

We've had 2 consecutive closes above resistance (actually we had 6 consecutive closes, however the trading account has been maxed out in trades and today I had room for a new trade). If you look closely at the second day's close above resistance, if I would have entered at that point, then today I would have already had some profit built into this trade. But, I still think there's some room to move up. Gotta pull up a longer dated chart for the target:

The target (i.e. next level of resistance above) is approx $15.25. I bought the April 13 Call for $1.80.

Another nuance I want to point out is this: look at today's close. Ever since this stock broke above resistance, the sellers have come in around $14.07 (the recent high) and drove down the prices to $13.79 and lower. But, today the closing price was $14.00 putting the bulls right into this little zone and further overpowering the bears. I wouldn't be surprised to see some major moving up next week. However, nobody (but God himself) knows where the price is actually going to go.

So now, we simply wait and see what happens.

New Trade - GLW

Matthew 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

I'm asking you, Father in heaven, for my good gift of a profitable trade.

Here's the new trade, GLW:

I've had 2 days close above resistance, so we're off and running up to the next level of resistance. I like how the sellers pushed the buyers back down hard at the end of July/beginning of August, and the buyers have just methodically been working their way back up to that resistance level.

You'll also notice how there was a time in October where price just went sideways for awhile. This was kinda the last stand for the sellers before the buyers started really stepping up the pressure. I'm looking for this to go up to the next level of resistance fairly quickly, probably a couple of weeks.

A longer dated chart here shows the next level of resistance and our target of approx $20.90

I bought the May 18 Call Options for $2.56. That's quite a bit of time, but it was the smartest choice closest to 90 days out. Tons of time for this to work, but again, I don't think we'll need all that time - only time will tell.

Thank you for this profitable trade God!

New Trade - MTW

Proverbs 3:1-2 "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity"

Got into a new trade today, MTW:

This is my "2 days close above resistance" type of trade - even though it's been 4 days. This old resistance/new support was the line in the sand where the sellers pushed down the buyers. Now that we've had a couple of days above resistance, it seems that the buyers have overpowered the sellers and now I'm looking for the sellers to retreat to the next "line in the sand", which should be the next level of resistance above.

Here's a longer dated chart showing this resistance level:

I bought the March 13 Call Options for $1.55 and looking for the stock to go to just below that next level of resistance above - approx $15. I put a mental stop below the last couple of lows where the buyers came in to push price higher - see the yellow rectangle from the first screen shot.

By God's Grace we'll have another profitable trade!

CBS - early profits

Thank you LORD for you blessings raining down on me!

Took early profits today in CBS, here's the chart:

I had plenty of time left for this trade to work out, but I took early profits today for the following reasons:

1. We just had a big move up (white candle 3 days ago) and it looks like the sellers might push back a bit here.

2. An alert came through that there was an order imbalance for the sellers. This means that a huge amount of sell orders were coming in. So, there's a good chance this stock will go down (at least temporarily before going back up).

3. There were some other good setups to use this same trading money for today.

4. A bird in the hand...

So, I took profit. This was originally bought for $2.50 and I sold it today for $2.95 for a $0.45 gain in 17 trading days for an ROI of 18%.

Nothing spectacular, but still a profit. It's the consistency you want, just consistent profit. Yes, there will be losses. Yes, there will be BIG QUICK gains. But, it's these type of consistent profits you want.

It's kinda like baseball, you want to be a consistent hitter. Just keep going for those base hits - don't try to knock every trade out of the park - or you'll end up striking out more than hitting home runs.

PDE - target hit - profit taken

Glory to God!

A quick move up to the target in PDE. Things will get better for you Mr. Stock Market - you shouldn't have taken the other side of my trade, but there are other's out there to trade with...

Here's the chart:

I wish every trade could go this way - but I'm not living in the dream world, so I'll just take them when I can get them. Besides this helps to offset the XLU loss I took today.

This was a quick 4 day trade straight up to our target. Originally bought the call option for $1.40 and sold it today for $2.10 for a $0.70 profit and a 50% ROI.

Great success...

LOSS - XLU

Well, you can't (and most certainly will NOT) win them all, so no crying!

Losing is part of trading and should be expected, if you don't expect to lose every once in awhile then you shouldn't be trading and should instead just pretend trade in Never-Never Land where you always make a profit.

Here's the chart:

As you can see, as soon as I got in way back on November 1st, 2010 (long ago before all the holiday rush), the trade went up TO WHERE I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN INITIAL PROFITS. (read: "mistake"). After it went up, it then dropped quite a bit and then has been very slowly drifting higher.

It very well MAY go up and hit my target before the option expires next Friday. However, I'm not going to take that bet at this point, instead I decided to sell the option, get some money back and use it for better trade set ups. That's called "money management". You MUST constantly look to maximize your returns - so if that means getting out quicker, or cutting loses, or taking earlier profit - then so be it. You want to constantly be mindful of the entire portfolio and work toward maximizing profit.

Enough of the lessons. I originally bought the option for $2.03 and sold it today for $1.64. I was actually quite amazed it was still worth that much, especially with only 9 days until it expires - that's called the Grace of God right there.

So, I took a $0.39 loss for an ROI loss of 19%. Should have been much much worse.

What did I do after I took the loss? I logged it in my trading journal and looked for another trade to enter - THAT'S WHAT YOU DO AFTER A LOSS - YOU KEEP TRADING AND JUST BRUSH IT OFF.

New Trade - PDE

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

My path is the trading accounts of Wall Street...

Got into a new entry today - PDE. Check out the chart:

I like this trade for a few reasons:

1. We aren't "officially" in an uptrend, because we aren't getting higher highs - however we are getting higher lows, which means the buyers keep coming in and buying higher (i.e. they are getting more aggressive).

2. Since we aren't getting higher highs, but are getting higher lows, we are developing an "ascending triangle" - which is very bullish. If we get ABOVE resistance, then we'll have some good upward movement potential.

3. Analysts upped the price target on this stock to $34 - which is above the level of resistance.

So, I'm initially looking JUST to get back up to the resistance level, which we've hit several times since the beginning of November. I may get lucky and get a good jump right up through resistance on a big candle, but that's a secondary goal. Just looking for a quick move back up to resistance.

I bought the February 33 Calls for $1.40. In my short quick trades, I'm looking for the NEXT expiration month out and ATM options. You can see my stop in yellow - 2 levels of support.

Now - let's get our money from Wall Street!!

LEN - profits taken

Another profitable trade - thanks Lord!

Took profit on LEN today, here's the chart:

I didn't get out at the top of the candle, as it moved early and quickly today. I'm sure it will eventually go back up to the exact target, but we're close enough AND in just a few days (after the weekend) earnings come out - I'm too close to the target to play around with earnings.

I don't like earnings in general, they're more of a gamble than anything and I'm NOT a gambler when I trade. I trade with a definitive edge over the market and do my gambling when I'm in Vegas.

I originally bought a May 17 Call Option for $2.73 and sold it today for $3.30, giving me a $0.57 profit for a 20% ROI in 13 trading days.

So, the market triple dog dared me and I won - time to enjoy the prize!

HST - took profit

Thank you Mr. Scrooge! HST got close enough to my target today - no sense in squeezing pennies and being a Bah-Humbug. Here's the chart:

Sold my long April Call for $2.70 (originally purchased for $2.35). So, made a $0.35 return for a 14% ROI in 12 days.

I'm going to tweak my weapon of choice for these shorter trades. I'm going to buy the next month out options around the ATM (at the money) strikes - looking for Deltas around .40-.60. If I had done that on this trade I would have had a 36% ROI instead. You gotta keep on sharpening the sword and keep on improving.

Thank you LORD for this successful trade!!

Welcome Back

Welcome back to the market everyone! Apparently the big money folks got back from their 3 week vacations, which is very normal. Once the big money goes away, then the market usually (but NOT always) just drifts sideways and upward through the end of the year.

The way to tell when the big money has come back to the market is with a surge in volume and usually a nice decent-sized candle vs. the candles from the prior 3 weeks. Looking at the chart on SPY below, you'll see all this.

So, yesterday, 1/3/11, we had a spike in volume and a bigger candle - big money is back to work again - WELCOME BACK, LET'S GET TRADING.