Stock Pick of the Week - W.E. 22 July 2011

[rovo]

Rules:
1. Selection must be made prior to the opening bell on the first trading day of the week.
2. Selection may be changed up to the opening bell.
3. Starting price is the opening price on first trading day of week.
4. Ending price is closing price on last trading day of week.
5. No options or complex trading vehicles. Only stocks and ETFs.

To enter the game:
List your stock's symbol, Long or Short, Company name, what the company does and why you like the selection.


Congratulations to last week's winner -- Trongersoll

[rovo]

I'm going with AAPL Long (again) as I think the stock will surge if the earnings are anywhere near my expectations.

[ModE98]

Will play the bigger fool this week and saddle up CLNT (long), (Egad! Just because it seems cheaap, and is a small forge with visions of being a big metal fabricator some day..

[Trongersoll]

I think I'll stick wit SIRI long. No cents in fixin' wut ain't borked.

[yclept]

EPV long;
I guess it's time to turn back to the dark side.
ETF Stats 07/09/11 (excl. div)
EPV Bench
Last 47.86 1,308.87
1 Week 11.35% -3.28%
1 Month 5.67% 1.63%
3 Month 4.84% -0.43%
1 Year 126.29% 19.51%

www.stockscreen123.com/images/tmp/363886_16729.png
The first two days of this week saw tremendous volume surge and even as it tapered off the last few days, it was to a level many times it's normal volume. Italy pretended to kick the can down the road, but I doubt anyone is really fooled about the dire straights Europe is in. The only example of intransigent stupidity that excels the EU is the state of the Republican ship of fools in Congress. But the EU doesn't have the desperate "safe-haven" aura about it that continues to bolster the US -- the world just doesn't believe the Congress can really do the politically motivated stupid thing that they might not be able to avoid. Until it rolls all the way over, upside-down, the markets keep acting on the hope that the ship will right itself, and investors allocate money accordingly. Politics is everything in this market. Earnings season is but a flickering candle against the night; the deficit impasse is the leaky keg of black powder that the candle is stuck on top of. Kaboom!

[2kids10horses]

I'll give URTY the week off and go with TQQQ, the triple QQQ ETF.

Long TQQQ.

[uncle23]

.....

JVA ....long


i think the robots are playing short and will start covering monday and tuesday then start bidding up by wed thurs and friday...

[yclept]

"i think the robots are playing short and will start covering monday and tuesday then start bidding up by wed thurs and friday..."

The trading robots don't hold positions -- certainly not over weekends. The majority of them enter and exit positions within microseconds. A 1 second hold would be long-term-buy-and-hold from a trading algorithm's point of view.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_trading

A simplistic way to look at it is Barron Alowishus the Weak places a market order to sell 100 shares of Orange Computer (OONG). Simultaneously Countess Leontine of Slimeovia places an order to buy 100 shares of same. The Barron finds that he sold at the bid price, which is what he expected; the Countess finds she bought at the ask, again as she expected. What they don't know is that as their brokers machines attempted to make those trades (and maybe capture a bit of the spread for the broker), many faster trading bots jumped in and sliced up that spread, mauling and gutting one another as those poor hundred shares traded hands perhaps a hundred times, and perhaps pushing the price outside of what was the spread through residual orders; after all, Lord Sylvester, Protector of the Papists, Cruel Hand of the Almighty, Slayer of Snow Leopards, got a hot tip from the Countess and put in a market buy on OONG for 100 shares a half a second after she did, thus adding to whatever exploitable arbitrage the machines were already picking at. Meanwhile poor Duke Allweather found that his limit order for 200 shares at the bid went unfilled, and the stock had run away from him.

My point is that one does not want to think of the trading bots as a pool of committed exploitable positions. Their only commitment is to rip tiny pieces out of every trade that position-holding market participants (none of whom are trading machines) make.

It's like the joke about the boxer who comes back to his corner between rounds all bloodied up. In an attempt to bolster his confidence, the corner man says: "yer doing great kid, he hasn't laid a glove on ya". To which the boxer replies: "then ya better watch the ref, 'cause somebody is beating the hell out of me in there". Trades in any liquid stock take place in that same ring.

[architecto25]

SYMX (Synthesis Energy Systems Inc.) (long)

closed Friday at $2.52 per share.
Located in Houston, Texas; has 197 employees.
52 week high/low .........$4.50/ $.8022
It hit this high price in mid April; but then in mid June got as low
as $1.50.
Company builds, owns, operates coal gasification plants. Main business
activities currently located in China.
Back on the 15 Apr. contest, I picked this one, and got 3rd place (with a
gain of +6.46%. This weekend, I reviewed all my contest picks, and very few
look at all interesting now. Taking a chance on this one....the 4 week mov.
avg. line on a weekly chart is starting north....so I'm walking this horse to
the starting gate.....and a low opening price would make me happy.

See you'all at the races.

[tyfighter3]

I'll stick with SSN long.

[uncle23]

"i think the robots are playing short and will start covering monday and tuesday then start bidding up by wed thurs and friday..."



The trading robots don't hold positions -- certainly not over weekends. The majority of them enter and exit positions within microseconds. A 1 second hold would be long-term-buy-and-hold from a trading algorithm's point of view.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_trading
.......

......

thanks Yclept....i got a little smarter today....karma for you....

now i think ( hope ) the bots that caused the price to drop will now cause it to rise...

[mtntigger]

TZA - long.
Hopefully, I'll have the most ornery horse this week.

[clarkrl2]

Short FTR (Frontier Communications - Telecom Services)

I picked this one based on technicals but except for the 9.73% dividend the fundamentals don't look very good to me. The TRIX, ADX, and CCI all look bearish on the daily chart.

[Bluerobin]

Ok, something different for me this week. I am going short with EK. Eastman Kodak. The icon of yesteryear's photographic technology. They are on a steady downslide, which should continue until they find a product or two which replaces yesterday's products.

[rovo]

Selections and opening prices as follows:

Player

L or S

Symbol

$ Open

$ Close

% Close

[/b][/tr]
[tr][td] Trongersoll [/td][td] L [/td][td] SIRI [/td][td] $2.31 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] rovo [/td][td] L [/td][td] AAPL [/td][td] $365.43 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] D.I. [/td][td] L [/td][td] WHR [/td][td] $75.67 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] architecto25 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SYMX [/td][td] $2.53 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] tyfighter3 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SSN [/td][td] $2.85 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] BenchMark [/td][td] L [/td][td] QQQ [/td][td] $57.54 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] clarkrl2 [/td][td] S [/td][td] FTR [/td][td] $7.70 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] uncle.23 [/td][td] L [/td][td] JVA [/td][td] $19.39 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Bluerobin [/td][td] S [/td][td] EK [/td][td] $2.73 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] ModE [/td][td] L [/td][td] CLNT [/td][td] $1.02 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] yclept [/td][td] L [/td][td] EPV [/td][td] $49.13 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 2kids10horses [/td][td] L [/td][td] TQQQ [/td][td] $84.22 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] SlowbutSure [/td][td] L [/td][td] TZA [/td][td] $34.46 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] -100.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr][/table]

[rovo]

uncle.23 jumps into the lead with JVA.

Player

L or S

Symbol

$ Open

$ Close

% Close

[/b][/tr]
[tr][td] uncle.23 [/td][td] L [/td][td] JVA [/td][td] $19.39 [/td][td] $21.58 [/td][td] 11.29% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Bluerobin [/td][td] S [/td][td] EK [/td][td] $2.73 [/td][td] $2.52 [/td][td] 7.69% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] architecto25 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SYMX [/td][td] $2.53 [/td][td] $2.62 [/td][td] 3.56% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] SlowbutSure [/td][td] L [/td][td] TZA [/td][td] $34.46 [/td][td] $35.63 [/td][td] 3.40% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] rovo [/td][td] L [/td][td] AAPL [/td][td] $365.43 [/td][td] $373.80 [/td][td] 2.29% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] clarkrl2 [/td][td] S [/td][td] FTR [/td][td] $7.70 [/td][td] $7.58 [/td][td] 1.56% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] yclept [/td][td] L [/td][td] EPV [/td][td] $49.13 [/td][td] $49.46 [/td][td] 0.67% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] BenchMark [/td][td] L [/td][td] QQQ [/td][td] $57.54 [/td][td] $57.54 [/td][td] 0.01% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] D.I. [/td][td] L [/td][td] WHR [/td][td] $75.67 [/td][td] $75.60 [/td][td] -0.09% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 2kids10horses [/td][td] L [/td][td] TQQQ [/td][td] $84.22 [/td][td] $84.09 [/td][td] -0.15% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] tyfighter3 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SSN [/td][td] $2.85 [/td][td] $2.84 [/td][td] -0.35% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Trongersoll [/td][td] L [/td][td] SIRI [/td][td] $2.31 [/td][td] $2.24 [/td][td] -3.03% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] ModE [/td][td] L [/td][td] CLNT [/td][td] $1.02 [/td][td] $0.95 [/td][td] -7.25% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr][/table]

[ModE98]

Hate horses that jump out at the start and then fall on their azz.
I see a glue factory outlook here.
Drat, should have shorted, but too late now.

[mtntigger]

What? Up 3.4% and I have to settle for 4th place? At least I'm in front of someone.

[rovo]

Jul 18, 2011 16:25:06 GMT -5 @mtntigger said:

What? Up 3.4% and I have to settle for 4th place? At least I'm in front of someone.

Enjoy it while you can.
I can even predict where you will finish ..... and it will be in the red.

[mtntigger]

I HOPE so!

[Bluerobin]

OMG!!! I can actually see the leader! Now if only these plastic shoes stay on! The horse does have some sort of film on it's eyes, so I am not too hopeful that it can last the race.

[architecto25]

bluerobin, .... why there's room at the top: ModE, Slowbutsure, and I just wanted to see if the bottom rung would hold all 3 of us....

[mtntigger]

HEY! Don't you be draggin' me down to Mod territory! Even though I said I hoped I would be last or in the red, I had crossed my fingers.

[ModE98]

It is becoming very apparent to me this old junk yard cart horse is not going to make much effort other than to run last (must love the dust).

CLNT is determined to keep SBS, etal, ahead of him at any cost. My horse desires bottom rung honors and will fall down on the track or drop dead to insure a last place finish.

Showing more determination as the day wears on.

[architecto25]

It's sort of like the Vegas PR blurb... "What's said here; stays here"... So, none of my comments ever apply to next week's contest...or any in the future...!!!.....

[mtntigger]

...will fall down on the track or drop dead ...

I think you got your wish. RIP CLNT.
ETA: It could have been worse; you could have gone long on Borders.

So, none of my comments ever apply to next week's contest...or any in the future...!!

Arch - You must be married.

[architecto25]

Yep... I was once (only once)... at one time ... but that's been quite a few years ago...perhaps that's how I got my grey hair..... Nope.... that's probably due to raising a teen aged son....but I could think of a bunch more reasons, too.....

edit: since I can't get a high score in this contest, I probably will this afternoon (5pm. golf game = my high score)

[rovo]

Player

L or S

Symbol

$ Open

$ Close

% Close

[/b][/tr]
[tr][td] uncle.23 [/td][td] L [/td][td] JVA [/td][td] $19.39 [/td][td] $23.42 [/td][td] 20.78% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Bluerobin [/td][td] S [/td][td] EK [/td][td] $2.73 [/td][td] $2.31 [/td][td] 15.38% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 2kids10horses [/td][td] L [/td][td] TQQQ [/td][td] $84.22 [/td][td] $90.02 [/td][td] 6.89% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] tyfighter3 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SSN [/td][td] $2.85 [/td][td] $3.00 [/td][td] 5.26% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] rovo [/td][td] L [/td][td] AAPL [/td][td] $365.43 [/td][td] $376.85 [/td][td] 3.13% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] BenchMark [/td][td] L [/td][td] QQQ [/td][td] $57.54 [/td][td] $58.85 [/td][td] 2.29% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] D.I. [/td][td] L [/td][td] WHR [/td][td] $75.67 [/td][td] $75.07 [/td][td] -0.79% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] clarkrl2 [/td][td] S [/td][td] FTR [/td][td] $7.70 [/td][td] $7.77 [/td][td] -0.91% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] architecto25 [/td][td] L [/td][td] SYMX [/td][td] $2.53 [/td][td] $2.50 [/td][td] -1.19% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] yclept [/td][td] L [/td][td] EPV [/td][td] $49.13 [/td][td] $47.74 [/td][td] -2.83% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] SlowbutSure [/td][td] L [/td][td] TZA [/td][td] $34.46 [/td][td] $33.24 [/td][td] -3.54% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Trongersoll [/td][td] L [/td][td] SIRI [/td][td] $2.31 [/td][td] $2.21 [/td][td] -4.33% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] ModE [/td][td] L [/td][td] CLNT [/td][td] $1.02 [/td][td] $0.96 [/td][td] -5.88% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] 0 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] $0.00 [/td][td] 0.00% [/td][/tr][/table]

[ModE98]

Now, SBS, do not get any smart ideas of getting south of CLNT's hind quarters later this week. Your horse just cannot be that bad.
If you cannot stay ahead of an old junk yard cart horse it would be the end of stock horse racing as we know it.

Do you believe it is possible to find momentum and move up and take a bite out of Rovo's Apple?? Nah!

[mtntigger]

Do you believe it is possible to find momentum and move up and take a bite out of Rovo's Apple??

Nope, I'm not coming down anymore. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll start heading up and knocking everyone else off their horses. Watch out!