Trades: GMCR and AAPL

I exited the AAPL short today at $183 for a nice gain. Stock is nearing support. If support breaks, I may re-enter.

This morning I entered GMCR SHORT based on the breakdown-pullback setup. Stop is above the moving average.

Breakout-Pullback Setup: CSH

CSH has been trending nicely. It recently broke out and has now pulled back to support.

Short Setup: FUQI

I pointed to FUQI as a short when it was around $30. I took the trade, which would have been successful had I used a wider stop. It's now broke down below the 50 day moving average and is showing distribution in the volume pattern. I will short on a pullback to the moving average, as long as strength is not on strong volume. The setup here is moving average breakdown off a topping pattern.

STEC Short Entry: Time to Take Profits?

Is it time to take profits in the STEC short? Entry was made back on September 24th at $30.75., so we are looking at a 15-20 percent gain.

My general approach to exits is to set a target based on support/resistance levels and take a partial profit at that level. As you can see from the chart, a consolidation zone is in the $22-25 range. Thus, I took profits yesterday around $26.

After taking profits, I move my stop to entry to "lock in" the initial profit. This allows me to stick with the trade if it continues to drop, without worrying about giving back too much. If price reaches the 200 day moving average, I'll take full profits.

The X Short Trade

On Friday I pointed to the X short setup, if X was to pullback to the 50 day moving average. We got that yesterday. As noted to Trade Report members yesterday, I took the short entry, with a stop just above the moving average.

This is a variation of the breakdown-pullback short setup.

Moving Average Breakdown in U.S. Steel (X)

X has broke down below the 50 day moving average and looks good for short entry on a pullback or weak bounce.

CPLA Short Setup

CPLA is showing a classic breakdown-pullback setup. The stock broke down below teh 50 day moving average with strong price bears, and now is in the midst of an orderly pullback to resistance.

Setup: Breakdown-Pullback off Trend Failure

CALM broke down from a parabolic uptrend. I'd like to enter short on a weak bounce.

Short Setup: ACI

Another day of bounce would setup the perfect short in ACI:

Short Setup: NTRS

I went short NTRS this morning. The stock has broke down below support, pulled back and shows a negative volume pattern.

Trade Report Video Podcast

Last night I included my first video in the Trade Report. I'm still working on the video quality, but it will still give you a good idea of my game plan for the coming days.

Buy the Dip

I'd suggest most traders continue to stay on the sidelines. If trading, my preference right now is short term long plays. Homebuilders and airlines look good, but only on pullbacks.

Commodity Game Plan

I know a few people who are using this morning's bounce to deploy more energy shorts. However, I'm going to wait for a few more points to add to my existing short positions. While I agree we may get a quick drop here, risk/reward is not great until we get entries closer to the top of the breakdown bars.

Take a look at the charts of MOS and X, my existing short positions.

Ideal MOS entry: 100-102
















Ideal X entry: 126-128

Trade Entry: VISN

I bought 400 shares of VISN at $18.38.

This stock was highlighted in today's trade report, with a buypoint in the $18-19 range.

The Setup: Breakout pullback . Volume pattern is solid. Stock is pulling back from recent highs and seems to be showing strength at moving average support. The pullback has been somewhat volatile. However, strong volume pattern still makes this setup attractive.

Risk: Stop can be places under the 50 day ma or the bottom of Friday's support confirmation bar. Target is the recent high, in the $24-26 range.

Breakout Play: RBN

Don't tell RBN that the market has been in a downtrend. Beautiful earnings breakout play. I entered today with a small position and will likely enter again on a pullback to the breakout point ($45-46).

Trades: POT, DZZ and NFLX

As noted in comments, I made a few trades.

I covered 100 shares of POT at $194.36 (short entry at $208.77) for a $1441 gain (+6.8%). The stock was 4 points from my target, but today's drop was too good to sit back. I may enter again on a bounce.

I exited 400 shares of DZZ at $29.10 (entry at $26.60) for a $1000 gain (+9.3%). I have to admit, this trade is satisfying considering the criticism I received on entry. DZZ is a leveraged gold short.

I went short 300 shares of NFLX at $32.23. This is a classic earnings breakdown-pullback setup. My stop is above the long bearish candle formed two days ago