Using Whisper Numbers In Combination With Price And Volume Patterns

Once
considered as sensitive information
only certain Wall Street analysts were
privileged to, whisper numbers have now taken the form of the Internet and can
be an effective way to measure the sentiment of a stock.


To
begin with, whisper numbers are the unofficial consensus of what a company’s
earnings per share will be before the actual numbers are announced.
Much like the official analysts’ consensus, whisper numbers serve to be
as accurate as possible. Unlike the
analysts’ consensus, whisper numbers vary and are derived without standard
guidelines.

Essentially,
whisper numbers represent a compilation of information screened and processed by
the web sites who post them. This process
involves proprietary software that supposedly scours Web sites, message boards,
financial articles, and submitted tips that could originate from anyone,
including the Easter Bunny.

So
how accurate are whisper numbers?



A
study done by Bloomberg showed that 44% of analysts missed the actual earnings
of a stock, while only 21% of the whisper numbers were off.
Another study by GetWhispers.com concluded that their whisper numbers
were able to predict actual earnings 3.4 times better than analysts. Below are
some recent examples of whisper number reporting.

All
that’s great but how can I make money from whisper numbers?


Whisper
numbers should not be relied upon
any more than the official analysts’ consensus. Analysts’ reports are often
conservative because they cater to investors with
buy-and-hold strategies. Whisper numbers are designed to denote a more
accurate prediction and can be used to act as a barometer for the sentiment of a
stock. I refer to the data like any other indicator, chart pattern or news that
might affect my trade.

Due
to their increase in popularity, whisper numbers don’t have the edge on a
stock that they used to. In the heyday of
the technology boom, a stock that exceeded its analyst’ consensus, yet fell
short of its whisper number, was said to have disappointed, thus punishing the
share price. Now that agencies such as
Bloomberg report on whispers as credible evidence, the advantage of using the
numbers to get a head start on the herd may be tapering off.
With the Nasdaq in solid bear territory, it will be interesting to see
how the new numbers come in for this earnings season.


When
I’m looking to trade in or out of a stock near earnings season, I will go to
five different whisper sources on the Internet to get a heads up of what might
be coming. The numbers are published a
few weeks before the actual earnings are announced.
I have found using various sources a great way to get a lead on a company
poised to move on news of a positive earnings report.

It
happened with Openwave (OPWV) last January when the analysts had the earnings in
negative territory and the company actually reported .09 cents per share.
One of my whisper sources had the stock in positive territory at .03
cents per share, and it gave me early warning for a surprise.
In keeping with the philosophy that whisper numbers are not any kind of buy
signal in and of themselves, the proper modus operandi would be to watch the
price action in the stock for signs of a reversal.
In this case, OPWV
reversed with a vengeance into a rally that gained over 100% in one month.

Most
recently, Red Hat (RHAT) surprised with 0.0 earnings while the official
consensus was -.01. The stock broke its
downtrend and gaped up the next day into a pullback that was 30% off its
pre-earning’s close. If you have the risk tolerance, one way to trade this would
have been to find out exactly what day that earnings announcement was to take
place and then place a buy stop a quarter of a point or so above the close of
the day before. Again — not a strategy for the fainthearted! Again, weeks
before, one of my whisper sources had accurately predicted this earnings
surprise.

In
this example with Broadcom (BRCM), the stock was in a downtrend, but then
experienced an increase in buying pressure a few weeks before the earnings
announcement. There were whisper numbers
suggesting they would top analysts’ expectations.
Look at the outside day on a sharp increase in volume that occurred shortly
after the whisper numbers were released. Outside days (higher high and lower
lower than the previous day) often accompany changes in trend. But a
s you
can see, the stock entered a downtrend once the actual earnings were released.
Wall Street obviously wasn’t impressed when the company topped
earnings. I’m not going to try and account for a subtle increase in volume from
the time the whispers were released to the time of the announcement, but I
could argue that the whisper numbers had an influence on the run-up in the weeks
before the announcement. Their popularity is
increasing.

Again,
because whisper numbers shouldn’t be the only piece of information used to
make a decision, I will crosscheck a potential breakout or breakdown with chart
patterns and indicators to get a picture of what could happen when the earnings
report is released. The numbers also
serve to help me dodge potential surprises on the negative side.
With the ever-changing world of the Internet and the stock market, it
will be interesting to see how this little measure of sentiment holds up.

For The Best Trading
Books, Video Courses and Software To Improve Your Trading href=”https://tradingmarkets.comgalleria.site”>Click Here