Friday’s Stock Watch
The broader markets
were mixed today
as blue chips weighed in gains and technology slipped. We
saw a decent number of breakouts to new highs in new sectors and slightly above
average volume endorse some perceptions that our economy is in fact stabilizing.
While questions loom as to how long the rally can be sustained, with so many
companies in the news struggling with earnings, the indexes have been marching
towards their 200-day moving averages. The stocks on our watch list had mixed
days, with PEC Solutions standing out again by carrying over yesterday’s gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed up
0.50% to
9,872.39. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed up
0.07% to
1,142.01.
The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down
0.14% to
1,900.57.
| NYSE | NASDAQ | |
| Advancing Issues | 1,494 |
1,723 |
| Declining Issues | 1,645 |
1,925 |
| Advancing Volume | 708,376,000 |
1,029,863,000 |
| Declining Volume | 720,859,000 |
944,397,000 |
| Total Volume | 1,450,544,000 |
2,004,571,000 |
| New 52-week Highs | 29 | 29 |
| New 52-week Lows | 9 | 3 |
Top sector gainers:
Airline Index
(
$XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up
5.55% to
75.71.
Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index
(
$MOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up
1.55%
to
520.8.
Losing sectors:
Oil Index
(
$XOI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down
5.39% to
490.85.
Natural Gas Index
(
$XNG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down
6.19% to
176.03.
Leading Sectors
with new highs:
Business Services – 6
Business Software and Services
– 4
Discount Variety Stores – 3
Drug Manufacturers – 3
Medical Instruments and
Supplies – 3
Restaurants – 3
PEC
Solutions
(
PECS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was up another 4.45% today on
over three times average volume, making its way into uncharted territory. As
an internet related company, it has the momentum of that sector’s recent strength
on its side. From looking at the time-and-sales sheets from the past two days,
just about all of the order fills have been small (100 to 500 share blocks), compared
to the institutional sized 10,000 + blocks. What this means is that most
likely the recent breakout has been fueled by small investors that won’t be so
quick to sell, but it also means institutional money isn’t participating.
As a small investor, the idea is to be on the side of the institutions, but this
evidence doesn’t bode so well with that plan.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
(
KKD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell 2.97% on a
distribution day today, nearly erasing all the gains made yesterday. Of interest
on this chart are the splits marked by the two yellow arrows. Often a stock
splits at levels of its highest valuations, though this stock has already defied
analysts’ expectations with price increases the last year.
Recent Breakouts
We monitor the action of Recent Breakouts as an indicator of the market
health for IT traders. When breakouts are acting well, this is a good sign for
the likelihood of further sustainable breakouts. When breakouts are failing, IT
traders should be be even more cautious.
American Healthways Inc.
(
AMHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was unchanged on the
day, with average volume.
EPIQ
(
EPIQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Systems fell 4.94% on
average volume.
Genesis Microchip
(
GNSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell 1.34% on average volume.
Nvidia Corp.
(
NVDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gained 0.53% on average volume.
Panera Bread Co.
(
PNRA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gained 1.46% on average volume.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| American Healthways Inc. | ( AMHC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 41.00 | unch | 143,800 |
| Copart Inc. | ( CPRT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
96 | 30.05 | – 0.68 | 711,500 |
| EPIQ Systems | ( EPIQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
98 | 35.98 | – 1.87 | 244,700 |
| Genesis Microchip | ( GNSS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
98 | 48.35 | – 0.66 | 2,334,400 |
| Nvidia Corp. | ( NVDA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 52.95 | + 0.28 | 12,030,900 |
| Panera Bread Co. | ( PNRA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
96 | 47.10 | + 0.68 | 310,100 |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts | ( KKD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 38.80 | – 1.19 | 681,600 |
| PEC Solutions | ( PECS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
98 | 29.57 | + 1.26 | 299,300 |
Stocks Forming a Handle
THQ Inc.
(
THQI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell 0.85%
on average volume.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| THQ Inc. | [THQI|THQI} | 95 | 53.50 | – 0.46 | 1,400,400 |
Stocks Building A Base
MTR Gaming Group
(
MNTG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) had another solid
day up 4.76 on slightly above average volume.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| MTR Gaming Group | ( MNTG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 13.20 | + 0.60 | 669,300 |
Remember that all securities are
risky. In any trade, you should always reduce your risk by adjusting position
size and placing open protective stops where you will sell your long or
cover your short in case the market turns against you. For an introduction to
combining price stops with position sizing, see our lesson,
Risky
Business.