Today's Trades, Watchlist

I sold all 600 shares of QID at $50.61 (entry at $49.85) for a $456 gain (+1.5%). I exited before hitting my target price. I'm worried that the recent strength in semis could lead to an upward breakout in the Nasdaq.

I bought 100 shares of GS at $214.45. It can be nerve racking buying hard dips in financials. However, this stock, and sector, has persevered through every dip over the past 6 months. I looked at many of the major financial stocks, and of course, GS is the cream of the crop. While all have been buys off dips, only GS has consistently held up at the 20 day MA (mid Bollinger Band). This is a sign of a strong stock in a mean uptrend.


Watchlist Notes:
FFIV: pb 76-77, stop 75
NTEL: overbought. short strength?
AKAM: pb to 50 MA
SSRI: buy pb to 20 MA
AL: HTF
RYI: HTF after BO
VLO: buy pb to 57
EWZ: buy pb to 20 Ma

This watchlist is merely a list of stocks to watch. It is not a buy recommendation. Even if a stock meets parameters listed, other factors may cause me not to trade the stock. For example, a high volume decline to buy target, rather than a low volume pullback.

abbrevations:
pb=pullback
HTF=high tight flag formation
BO=breakout
MA=moving average

Trade: LEH

I bought 250 shares of LEH at $82.64. This is a speculative play along the lines of the AKAM trade. My target is the recent highs at $86, and my stop will be placed just under the 50 day moving average, around $80. The brokers have been strong over the past few months with dips providing good entry points.