Dec

11

Taking profits and getting short

December 11, 2007 | 1 Comment

This afternoon I decided to put on my selling shoes and exit a number of my long positions. In addition, I got short in a hurry as we broke through the 1490 level on the S&P. In the past few days, I have continually noted that while the market was rising and things were looking decent, we had yet to see volume return to the market on the up days. That negative divergence was the key piece […]

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Nov

28

Jumping in on the long side

November 28, 2007 | 3 Comments

Today I decided to jump in on the long side in a number of names. I’m just going to cut to the chase and go down my list of buys.

AVAV at 23.42 because the company continues to get military orders and is ramping up its green energy segments

CEUA at 4.71 because upcoming investor conference might finally put this on the radar

CAGC at 2.88 because China needs non-chemical fertilizer and the stock is dirt cheap

CNEH at 2.20 because it is […]

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Nov

1

Cover COF, adding AVAV

November 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment

This afternoon I decided to cover my short in COF at $62.30. With such a violent move to the downside here, I feel like it is a good time to take gains in short financial positions and rotate into relatively strong sectors like defense.

I rotated part of my position in COF to add a moderate long position in AVAV at $24.14. I continue to like this company, and the stock was down significantly on light volume. The […]

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Oct

19

Selling sizable long positions, going short, and buying gold

October 19, 2007 | 6 Comments

Today’s market is just plain ugly, and I am beginning to have serious worries about the economy flipping into a recession. In fact, the more I listen to companies guidance (CAT, UNP, etc). In fact, I am willing to bet that the U.S. is already slipping into recession, but we have yet to actually see it in the numbers. The way that both the stock and bond market have acted in the last few sessions is telling […]

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Oct

15

Adding more AVAV

October 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

This morning I used the dip in AVAV shares to double my position (ie, reinstitute my original position) at $25.06. The stock has pulled back a bit from its highs but continued to look strong, so I have decided to retake my position. So far I have traded this stock decently well in order to take profits and buy back lower, and I still think the stock has considerable upside.

Oct

9

Portfolio Update

October 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday I made an investment in CMTY on the basis that the stock was trading a significant discount to its upcoming merger. However, having re-read the merger agreement, I realize that I made a mistake in interpreting the deal, and that the option of either cash or stock is not truly an option given that only about 10% of the shares will be bought for cash. Therefore, I have reversed my position this morning at my cost […]

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Sep

26

Aerovironment poised to fly higher

September 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Shares of Aerovironment surged 8 percent today, continuing to show impressive strength in the midst of a broader rally in defense stocks. I’ve been stalking the company for a while, and sensing the strength I decided to open up a sizable position this morning at $22.97.

Aeroviroment is one of the most exciting companies in the defense sector, as it is currently the exclusive provider of small, backpack carried unmanned aerial vehicles to the U.S. military. The company currently […]

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Sep

26

Portfolio rotation: AVAV, GS, CHCG trade alerts

September 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment

This morning I decided to significantly alter the composition by making a few quick moves. First, I added a sizeable position in AVAV early this morning at $22.97. I will withhold my comments on the stock for a later post, but this is a very interesting defense play that is showing very strong action of late.

Additionally, I decided to sell my entire stake in GS and rotate the position into CHCG. This was simply a case of […]

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