Trade: Short BAC...winner

21-OCT-10:

I entered BAC on Tuesday based on a retest I had been waiting for since the first breakdown. I also didn't want to get in ahead of earnings on BAC...

Last Thursday BAC broke down really hard on the hourly chart...astute traders could have gotten in Friday morning as a retest occured at the open...that was the really easy money.

However, BAC was reporting on Tuesday. I wanted to be patient and wait for the indicators to line up and I was actually hoping it would happen after earnings report...well it did retest into earnings on Monday afternoon. Lucky for me it kept having a little bit of strength into Tuesday afternoon.

Post earnings enthusiasm wasn't that great as volume wasn't strong. This is a good case of interpreting multiple timeframes to my advantage. First, the overall picture on the daily and hourly charts had confirmed bearish...so any "bullish" behavior was an opportunity to get short.

The 11 AM hour showed a Doji candle...followed by a decent red bar for 12PM...Also, the DMI kiss was nearly in effect...So I watched the 15 minute chart unfold and I looked to my trusty 13 EMA on that timeframe. It closed under it right around 12:45PM I decided to take the trade figuring risk reward was decent.

I took the trade when BAC was trading at around $12.30 the top of the day was put in at $12.45...15 cents risk...not bad.

I also looked at the options chart for the Nov $14 put...it was retesting on the bullish side.

Then I picked a target figuring the recent low of $11.74 was a decent place for this baby to go if it were to go down. So I had about $0.15 risk and $0.55 reward.

This was a very easy trade to place. I emailed Bob Lang about it and he said it wasn't good for him...overcoming that comment was probably the hardest part of the trade.

Anyway I fired off 29 contracts of Nov $14 puts for $1.78 each...total outlay $5162

I took profits later that same day as my target of $11.74 was reached I sold 9 contracts for $2.30...$2070

Today I sold 8 more around the accounts for $2.60...gained another $2080

I have 12 contracts still riding the wave here.

Right I have recovered all but $1012...which means the 12 remaining contracts have a cost basis of $0.84.

Currently they are trading at around $2.65...which makes the position worth $3180..overall this is a 41% winner thus far. In only a few days.

On $14 puts that means I can watch BAC come all the way back to $13.15 with comfort knowing that I will not loose one dime...

It just so happens there is a tremendous amount of chart resistance at $13...so at the very least I think I make $180

But at the very most I make quite a bit more.

My current target for BAC is right around $11. I used Fib extensions to get me that target since no time frame is now helpful..it is outside all the bands on all the charts and there is no chart support anymore. The 13 EMA on all timeframes is at or below $12 further making these worth something like $2.

BAC could very well be a shitstorm given the foreclosure/trustee loan documentation bullshit. During their conference call they said all was hunky dory with their foreclosure process. Then later that afternoon PIMCO, the NY Fed, Blackrock, and a few other decided to call their bluff and sue their asses for $47 billion in toilet paper they claim BAC has screwed the pooch on.

That is really why I have made some money on this...BAC is like BP during the early days of the oil spill...I think the easy money has been made but more money may still be there for the taking...

Those who have not yet gotten on board...tread carefully and pick decent strikes...and be patient for a retest.

Charts:

1hr:

15 min:

Nov $14 Put Hourly chart:

4Hr BAC chart (Look at the volume here):

More exits from Headley

So some winners were exited today...though not without watching an ensuing rally which left some money on the table...such is life.

Anyway exited FCX for $9.30 on each contract over 9 contracts that's a $2,385 profit.

Exited ICE at $7.10 each so again over 9 contracts $450 profit...

Overall a great day in the books...not much to complain about...but both these issues rallied higher after the fill came through...that's alright.

Trade: Long CHKP...winner

12-OCT-10:
Get out of CHKP calls at a price of $3.50...it continues to rally but I employed the discipline of getting out at at least 30% gain...I need to do this more often.

Since I picked these up for $2.35 each and we had 22 accross the accounts..that's a cool $2,530 in profits.

Today I am looking at TSL and it is rallying hard and I would have once more been green on that trade...but the key is that I was already green on that trade and I didn't do what I did today with CHKP...just get out...move onto another opportunity...There is no shortage of opportunities...and that's the key to the trader's mindset.

Get out when the going is good.

Then find another party to join.

Here is hoping that CHKP is the first in a long string of a new mindset for me.

7-OCT-10:
First off...Got orders to enter FCX today from Headley in the Sniper service.

BOT 9 contracts of OCT $85 calls for $6.65 each..this was a good entry point as it was retesting.

Some would say going long today would be a silly thing to do...with NFP coming out tomorrow and all that risk out there...and all the overbought conditions and resistance overhead etc.

Speaking of which...After NFP comes out tomorrow morning...I will have my own persepective on the jobs situation and I can truly say that it is unique in that nobody else talks about jobs like I will tomorrow.

I said fuck you there are really strong trends out there and many of them are worth a few points and that's all I am looking for now.

New philosophy is that I want only about 30% gains on these options...most of the time that is a very small move in the stocks like 3% or maybe 5%...depending on delta etc.

Anyway last night I was back onto the scans (hadn't done that in a while)...so in scanning I now go over a few scans...I still go over the daily scans for breakout and retest candidates based on accel bands and %R...then I do a few high volume scans as well.

Anyway, in digging I then look at things that are jiving on daily and hourly time horizons.

Enter CHKP...I liked the chart in that it had broken out was in a strong uptrend...and had a decent retest on the hourly chart already...(DMI kiss was in effect).

So this Am I waited to see the action on the 15 minute chart and my final arbiter is the 13 EMA...I like to see a close over the EMA then a confirmation close above that bar's high. We sort of got that with the last bar of yesterday closing right on the EMA...then confirmation this morning at the open. I waited for that fat green bar to pull the trigger.

BOT 22 contracts of NOV $36 Calls for $2.35...looking to exit at $3.05 ish

Charts:

Hourly:

15 Minute:

Daily:

Trade: Long F...winner

30-SEP-10:
I put in a trade trigger during my time in Paris for this to get out at $1.70...this was because these were weeklies and I didn't want to be in them for a long time and the market has been choppy.

Across all the accounts this was about $1,000 winner as the trigger was fired on the 21st of September...not bad for 5 days.

Not much per account but overall it was a good trade.

Chart:
Hourly

16-SEP-10:
In my scans today I picked up a high volume rise in F...The uniqueness of this move is seen on the hourly (and even the daily) chart. The volume was big today in Ford and the bollingers on the hourly chart had gotten really tight and in sinc with the accel bands etc...so I watched the 15 minute chart after the breakout to see if I could get a retest to get in. I watched it come towards the 13 EMA and bounce and while there wasn't a true retest at that stage, I figured it was decent enough to get in at that point.

So I played the weekly options expiring next week (issued today). Picked up the Sep 24th $11 calls for $1.50 each.

Unfortunately I had a meeting and couldn't wait for a true retest...which did happen just after I left my desk...(of course) so I probably missed out on a dime here...but that's the breaks when you have a stupid day job.

A decent target for this is the 80 period daily upper bollinger band...if it is launching it could hit that by next week...that stands at 13.40...So from my purchase price it will probably net me $1 per contract...66% winner wouldn't be bad at all.

Charts:

Hourly:

15minute:

Daily:

Trade: Long OPEN...winner

15-SEP-10:
Update...in true trader mentality I decided it was time to get rid of OPEN and take my profits...Sold the contracts today for $9.00 a piece...a profit of $250 per contract....accross all the accounts (9 contracts) that's a profit of $2250..that's more than my wife makes in a month so I am happy with that...I think that's probably a new goal of mine...to make enough on one trade to cover my wife's salary.

This wasn't a homerun but it was a good double... but I have very little faith in this rally at this stage and traders take their profits when they can...OPEN may very well keep running but I am at peace with that. I am trying to think more like a trader and less like an investor...there are multiple opportunities just like OPEN that happen everyday...So I will get on board those and get off board just as quickly.

13-SEP-10:
Decided to enter into a long today despite the market being near the top of its recent range. Some stocks are simply not giving up the goose or (as in OPEN's case) looking like giving up the goose then finding support at key levels and demonstrating retests.

OPEN has been on my side radar for a while because it consistently appears on IBD's Stocks on the Move. While I have missed the ride until this point, today's gap and subsequent sell-off offered a nice opportunity for entry on a very short term basis today.

Today OPEN popped out of the bollinger bands and followed through by confirming in the 2nd hour of trading. Then the fade began and that took us until about 2PM. The hourly chart was showing a %R retest and the 15 minute chart was showing a DMI kiss in the making along with a CCI retest.

I checked this out with more scrutiny because I noticed that the options in the 50-60 strike range had high open interest and the bid/asks were decently tight...also the chart of the option itself was showing a retest on %R as well...

I then watched the action in the underlying itself as it neared the bottom of the day's action...the bid/ask spread was very wide and no business was transacting...within a few minutes they came together and the stock put in a fat green bar on the 15 minute chart.

I pulled the trigger at that point on the October $55 calls for $6.50 each...

A decent target is around $8.80 which is where these options traded earlier today prior to pulling back.

Charts:

1hr:

15 minute:

4hr:

October $55 Call 1hr chart:

UPDATE Trade: Short CVD Equity...winner

UPDATE 9-SEP-10:
Exited this position fully today just based on time in trade, and the need to free up capital for other opportunities, this thing hasn't moved much up or down but the 4hr has started to perk up on the 13 EMA...so that's good enough for me. Covered the 100 shares I had left for $39.

So let's see that's a total profit of $450...not a bad trade for a 1 month holding...still too long for such a "small" profit.

4hr chart:

UPDATE 12-AUG-10:
Trade trigger fired this morning with the rapid drop in CVD. This is now a free trade! Covered 100 shares for $39.68 this morning. Current Cost Basis is now $40.63. It is nice to not worry about loosing money anymore and to also have more buying power free.

6-AUG-10:
Went short 200 shares of CVD in the taxable account. Got filled at $41.59 per share. Stop is $43.41.

This has a massive move down already but it is officially an outside the band retest as of today.

I needed some short exposure and there isn't very much these days that isn't beat up to a pulp. CVD has terrible ratings and is in a terrible group. So I figure despite the move down, there may be further to fall for this puppy.

As always, I hope I am right. But I expect to be wrong.

Charts:

Daily:

4hr:

Trade: Long XOM...winner

1-SEP-10:
Got the order to get rid of XOM this morning prior to the open and set an order for selling at $2.75...that turned out to be premature as it traded much higher...the order to sell from Extreme was based on yesterdays crappy action in the 15 minute chart...but in hindsight...not sure i want to be placing orders like this right at the open...silly....anyway nothing to write home about 15 cents per contract total $75 profit...

30-AUG-10:
In Extreme today got the signal to open a long position in XOM with the September $27.50 calls. Got in at a cost basis of $2.60 each. For the most part I have 5 contracts...However, I messed up the IRA amount and I wound up with 15 contracts...I may have to cut out on this one before receiving the exit instructions as it is too much of a position to have on...and even the boys at Big Trends are wrong on a few trades.

This is a weak trade already XOM sold off the rest of the day. The only bright spot is that it is barely holding 50 on the hourly %R, and volume was weak today.

Charts:

Daily:

1Hr:

UPDATE Trade: BAC short...Winner

26-AUG-10: Exited the rest of the position at $1.43...total profit on 10 contracts $435...not too shabby.

25-AUG-10:
They said to take half off at $1.50...Order triggered. So new Cost Basis is 0.56 on the remaining position.


23-AUG-10:
Got another alert today from Extreme regarding BAC.

So I am short BAC via the Aug (weeklys) $14 puts.

Entered 10 Contracts for $1.03 each.

This was entered based on the hourly chart showing a retest.

Chart:

Trade: Short GOOG...Winner!

24-AUG-10:
Update...Sold for a cool $1,000 at $24.50...my target for this option was the lower bollinger on the daily chart (I figure this was a decent level of resistance). This level resided at around $255 level in GOOG.

The hourly chart however, says to hold on...but I hit my target and am happy with the results.

23-AUG-10:
I noticed that one thing that Headley and company focus on is liquid stocks with liquid options. They are now moving on the weekly options. This drastically reduces their universe of stocks and, I think it also increases their odds of success with every trade. Its easier to get out at the price you want if price discovery isn't a problem for the instrument...this has been a problem for me...but looking at shorter time frames you get many more opportunities....so its OK to have a limited universe because there are more bars showing opportunities.

Over the weekend, I viewed two videos that came with my options sniper subscription, which are basically coaching videos (without the sales pitch). In the videos Headley discusses the use of CCI as a primary indicator in these volatile markets, particularly its use when it comes to the hourly chart aggregation period.

Anyway the process is the same as with %R, you get a retest and that bar's high is a stop...etc you know the drill.

Looking through the small universe of stocks that have weekly options, I noticed GOOG had set up nicely last week for a fast move down, and today (right now at the 2PM hour)...we have a retest forming on CCI (and a few other indicators) ADX is still green and strong and %R is also retesting.

Anyway its a pretty good actionable trade if you ask me. Now Headley doesn't like these higher priced stocks because it reduces the # of options you have and also the bid/ask spreads are wider...so he probably wont send an alert about this one...but I am putting what I have learned to practice here.

I pulled the trigger on one GOOG Aug 27 $480 put for $14.50 taxable account only.

Chart:

UPDATE Trade: BVF long calls... Winner!

23-AUG-10:
BVF has been good to me, but the profit/loss on this thing hasn't done anything since earnings...the stock has flat lined, and I have held this puppy for over 1 month and a half. I realize that this will move on the imminent FDA approval of VRX, however, I want to free up capital for the rapid moves in the Headley Sniper and Grand Slam services that I have signed up for for the next few months.

BVF has not flashed a true sell on the Daily chart, though it has done so arguably on the 4hr chart. Regardless, I want to take profits on this properly and move on...it has stalled up here and it is at dangerous heights, volume has dried up at these levels...so it can go crashing down just as well...

Cost basis was now $5.95 per contract (thanks to some profit taking previously)...I sold for $10... anyway total profit was in the neighborhood of $1,200...this was a really great trade...and all the option-able accounts benefited.

Charts:
Daily:

4HR:

6-JUL-10:
Short:

Bought 3 CRI Aug 21 2010 35.0 Put @ 8.4

This is one that popped on the scan a few days ago and due to the 4hr chart I thought I was getting in at a good price. Then I checked the market for these puts and there was no open interest. This scared me and I proceeded to try and cancel the orders I had put in...Lucky for me TOS was in a special mood today and it wasn't taking cancellation orders (this type of shenanigans also were present during the May 6th crash by the way)...SO...the orders stayed on and got filled in all but my taxable account...GOOD THING TOO...This is one of those trades where it was almost instantly profitable. The 4 hr chart doesn't really do it justice, but in the beginning of the day this was above my 13 period EMA...this was also scaring me...the volume was light though so I though it was a good short....the liquidity is a concern, but I still think I can turn a profit on these.

Nonetheless. The psychological factor here really upsets me because my taxable account isn't having any fun with this trade. I should not chicken out of trades like this anymore. When I decide to take action I should be satisfied. If anything I should have checked the liquidity previous to entering the orders, but still I would have missed this trade based on that.

One factor is that I had read 2 market forecasts (Big Trends and Noshee?) saying that the bottom may have been put in last week. This skewed my thinking for sure.

Stop is 27.17.

Short:
Bought 5 HS Aug 21 2010 20.0 Put @ 4.7

I picked this up in my taxable account today. This was something that popped on my scan on Friday. A short retest outside the bands. This is my favorite setup. I did this only in the taxable account because in this account I had missed the CRI trade in this account due to my phsycological crapping out...so I went for the next best thing which is shorting HS. I noticed Friday that this was not the only health care insurer that had this retest phenomenon, AET, UNH, also exhibited this behavior. So the sector is in trouble. However, my psychological issues right now are that we are long in the tooth with the downtrend and I fear these moves are nearer to their end than to the beginning. No matter, I am trading based on the setups.

Stop is 15.55. 

Long:
Bought 4 BVF Oct 16 2010 12.5 Call @ 6.8

This was done accross accounts as a hedge against the net Shorts I am in now (besides the above I am short DCTH and CSTR (taxable account only) I have taken big profits on both positions already...so I am holding those for a while longer).

Back to the BVF trade. This thing popped big time and again showed up as a retest outside the bands on the daily chart. The 4hr chart is a bit weaker, however, still strong. If the market has found a bottom, then this is a decent hedge it is a strong stock in a weak market bucking the trend and has successfully retested and is outside the bands...The 4hr has broken the 13 EMA but regained it. This was a tough trade today and I took it because it was near enough to the retest low in price. I didn't get the best price but not too shabby either.

Stop is 18.47

UPDATE Trade: ETP Short via Puts...Winner!

23-AUG-10:
I decided to take my ETP short position off today based on the fact that after 2 days of trading since the gap down...no follow through had occurred (of course as soon as I was out of my position...down it went). On the gap down the other day it also failed to make a new low...which doesn't inspire confidence. I have also seen lots of gap downs based on new offerings turn rapidly higher.

Also, I had seen good profits go bad twice with this position...Besides that I was looking at the hourly chart and it had violated on CCI (this is a new indicator I am looking at based on Headley's Options Sniper program).

In any case, ETP has been good to me and I exited at $3.10 per contract..60 cents...and I generally had 6 contracts accross the accounts...$360 profit...not earth shattering...but good none the less.

Headley also presses the idea of time based stops...so that you can rotate your capital to the next trade that is in the early stages of rallying. So I am starting to exercise this a little more with things that are getting stale. Also left BVF today because of that.

I will say one thing. ETP has NOT flashed an exit based on the 4hr or Daily chart...so arguably this is a premature exit.

Charts:
Daily:

4HR:

10-AUG-10:
I desperately needed short exposure because I was net long and all the retirement accounts can't actually short stocks...problem is, because of liquidity, there are few options out there to suit the needs of these accounts.

Yesterday I was running my scans to see what had retested the day before or what was breaking out. In this case ETP was breaking out but not quite on the daily chart...so I checked the 4 hr chart...breakout had been confirmed...and towards the end of the day it looked like it was retesting...It reached like 19 and change on %R...I figured this was good enough for me as these options are very liquid and had decent bid-ask spreads.

Picked up the September $50 Puts for $2.50 per contract...stop is $2.00. The ask was $2.85 when my order got filled, so I figure to set the trigger at a bid of $1.80...I should get filled at $2.00

Charts:

Daily:

4hr:

Trade: EBAY and CFL Long...Winners!

UPDATE:
18-AUG-10
Got the following exit orders today:

Lock Down These Profits Today...

Place a Day Limit order To Sell (To Close)
all of existing position in eBay Inc. (EBAY)
August 20 Call (EBAY 100821C20) at 2.80 or better.

Place a Day Limit order To Sell (To Close)
all of existing position in Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF)
August 55 Call (CLF 100821C55) at 9.00 or better.

And so I did...this time...I got worse fills than suggested (though I tried for their recommendations...the market was working against me a bit).

CLF...filled at $8.90 per contract...this was a total of $680 profit

EBAY...filled at $2.79 per contract...total profit $235

I wont post charts because these options are expiring Friday...so it makes sense to take the money off the table now.

So far I paid $14 to make $915...this is probably the best "trade" I have made all my life. I may have to subscribe to this service.

Here's looking forward to the next trades!

17-AUG-10
I learned that the CLF trade was based on the 15 minute chart and that the signal was triggerd on CCI, %R and "the bands".

The chart follows...I don't see the band signal...but the others are all flashing...also it is important to note that the daily chart had demonstrated a %R retest on CLF...so that was also working for it.

The Option chosen also had a great chart.

CLF 15 min Chart:

CLF $55 Aug Call chart:

16-AUG-10:
Signed up for a 2 week special of Bob Lang's Extreme Options last week when they offered the service for $14 for the next 2 weeks.

Today's trades came in at 11 AM as follows:

Place a Day Limit order To Buy (To Open)
a HALF position in eBay Inc. (EBAY)
August 20 Call (EBAY 100821C20) at 2.37 or better.

Place a Day Limit order To Buy (To Open)
a HALF position in Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF)
August 55 Call (CLF 100821C55) at 5.50 or better.

And so I did.

I got filled at better prices.

The EBAY calls I got filled at $2.32 each (5 contracts total), the CLF calls I got filled at for $5.10 each (2 contracts total).

My small understanding of the trades are that these are based on hourly chart signals...my hourly chart settings must be different because I remember seeing the CLF trade as simply not there...ironically this is what did best today.

Anyway I will investigate the settings they use to see if I can make heads of this.

But I will attach their charts that they send in the nightly (or seminightly) update:

Now my charts:
EBAY

CLF

UPDATE: EMS short via puts

UPDATE 27-JUL-10: Had to exit based on %R signals today. Exited for $8.50 each so nominal gain of about $100 minus vigs...this sucks because I had seen a much higher profit...Also on the daily it is facing resistance at the 13 EMA...one of my favorite indicators and a key resistance for this stock in the past.

Regardless I really have to consider just getting out of stuff when I see a big profit. I am considering this today with BVF (though I have sold one contract in each account today to take some profit).

Charts:
Daily

4hr

16-JUL-10: So I took a setup today to the shortside that is quickly becoming my second favorite setup...something that retest's inside the bands but finds resistance at the 13 day EMA...

Hence the EMS setup today. I was actually contemplating for too long and missed a better entry price.

In any case, I used ATR based on Delta to figure out my position size and stop price. In this case, defined risk 1.5% of folio= $260... I divided by the 20 day current ATR of 1.59 * delta (85 in this case)...so $risk/ATR*Delta = # of contracts allowed.

Anyway, purchased the following for the taxable account:

2 contracts of September 55 puts for $8.00...

Stop is in place at $6.70

but could have got them for $7.70 earlier in the day...the price of hesitation...even though i wanted a short badly...the reason for my hesitation was that the fundies aren't bad at all, it is in a strong group, and earnings are around the corner...hogwash in the technical world...hopefully it will more than make up for the lost $60.

Charts below

Daily

4hr

Exit DCTH

well..lots of action on DCTH today.

Enough to drive me out of the trade. The 4hr chart was my guide here and the 13 EMA was violated in a violent manner...volume was also high. Lately there had been a massive gap that occured in the MACD divergence...meaning that there was a big divergence on the MACD vs. the chart. Also recently this thing flattened out a bit. There is now a DMI cross that occured. While %R is only now retesting....this is just one indicator...

I had already taken profits along the way on DCTH and due to its low dollar nature now is a good a time as any to exit the trade entirely...any profitable trade is a good one and this was a really good one for me.

Here are the details of this trade (this includes the vigs):

06/14/2010 Bought 5 DCTH Jul 17 2010 14.0 Put @ 4.4      -$2,213.74
06/24/2010 Sold 2 DCTH Jul 17 2010 14.0 Put @ 6.4          $1,268.48
06/30/2010 Sold 1 DCTH Jul 17 2010 14.0 Put @ 7.5          $739.24
07/09/2010 Sold 2 DCTH Jul 17 2010 14.0 Put @ 7.1          $1,408.48

Total Profit: $1202.46  or 54% of original investment

Daily chart

4hr Chart

Trades today: CSTR exit

So...I relieved myself of a short CSTR position I had been holding for some time today.

My adjusted cost basis was after I had taken profits earlier in this trend.

This was one stock that I had been long at one point with a fairly aggressive 60/55 bull put spread....I did this back in May when I thought the rally was sustainable and CSTR at the time was a relative outperformer. Along with NFLX. Anyway these were July contracts and I had given myself plenty of time. Then the correction came and CSTR decided to trade under its 13 day EMA as well as break the %R stops it had put in place. That's when I covered the short on 60 put and let the 55 put ride. The hourly chart had also given signs that there was strength in the downside move.

After I had taken some profits, I decided that the 4 hr chart and the 13 period EMA would regulate this trade. Yesterday it closed above the 4 hr 13 EMA and today it confirmed by closing above yesterday's high.

So that means I was leaving the trade.

I only lament I didn't get out earlier. But still, at one point this was a heavy loss, I recovered that loss and brought in nearly $600..

Closed the last contract for $8.60...profit on total position $580.

Charts...Daily:

4hr

DIN long

Date entry: 12-FEB-10

Trade: Long DIN Jun 2010 $25 Calls - 2 contracts at $5.50 each, added to position on 18-FEB-10 2 more contracts at $5.30 each

Profits taken: 4-MAR-10 2 contracts sold for $8.60 each, 16-MAR-10, sold 1 more for $11.10...keeping last one on until %R sell signal is reached.

Set-up: 11 -FEB-10 %R and accel band firing at same time. Added to position on %R retest...retest occured outside of bands. DIN didn't close inside bands during retest. DIN is in a strong group.

Conditions: Efficiency Ratio, Stochastics, ADX/DMI are all very bullish..

Exit strategy: %R sell signal

Time Frame: Prepared holding months.

Where found: Stocks on the move

Emotions:
Best trade of the year for me hands down so far. I got in on this ealry in the February rally. I noticed that the restaurants as a group were moving and many had reported stellar earnings. DIN had yet a few weeks to report earnings. It also had a long base forming and the breakout put it above the accel bands and above a trendline of resistance on a longer term scale.

Either case, it retested, but never closed inside the accel band, I added to the position at that point. I have since gotten more than a double and am riding the last contract until a %R sell signal is in place. this has been outside the accel bands for over 1 month and a half at the time I am writing this.

Daily Chart below.

KIRK long Update

UPDATE: Took profits on 17-MAR-10 sold 3 contracts for $4.40 each...a double! Current holding's cost basis is now $1.22 per contract

Date entry: 11-MAR-10

Trade: Long KIRK Apr 2010 $17.50 Calls - 5 contracts at $2.15 each

Set-up:  8-Mar-10 set up confirmed on daily chart on %R and accel bands.

Confirmation on Accel band on 8-MAR-10 (%R had been confirmed 4-MAR-10)

Conditions: Efficiency Ratio, Stochastics, ADX/DMI are all very bullish..%R has violated...stock is in top IBD group

Re-Entry: %R retest

Exit strategy: 18.38 is violated on daily chart.

Target for profit taking: Sell entire position at $500 profit.

Stop loss: close below $18.38 (latest %R Retest bar's low).

Time Frame: Prepared for 1 month  holding period.

Where found: IBD stocks on the move

Emotions:

KIRK is top rated in a top group on IBD. It is reporting earnings tomorrow 12-MAR-10...this is scary, but the Imp vol is less than 2x historical volatility...so this is within my rules. KIRK has a true retest outside of the accel bands, it was violated for 2 days now...but efficiency ratio is still bullish.

Volume is high today and it is moving again outside of Accel bands and %R is overbought again. more bullishness. I think the %R violation is a fakeout and that this is setting up for a big move post earnings.

Stock is near a 52 week high which it posted the day of the reversal and 1st %R retest. My stop is based on the 2nd retest day's low.