Monday’s Stock Watch
The broader
markets were able to squeeze out gains after trading in a narrow
range for the day. Market breadth was mixed, as the indexes flirted with key
technical areas. The Nasdaq was able to remain above its 200-day MA, with
declining volume leading advancing volume by a slight margin. Conversely,
advancing issues outnumbered declining issues by a slight number. Action on the
NYSE favored the upside, with advancing volume and issues beating out its
declining counterparts. New 52-week highs came in at a decent number with some
new areas of sector concentration. Our watch list had one breakout, while the
overall performance of our stocks was encouraging.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed up
0.46% to
9,811.15.
The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed up
0.30% to
1,122.78.
The Nasdaq [$COMPQ |$COMPQ]
closed up
0.34% to
1,953.18.
| NYSE | NASDAQ | |
| Advancing Issues | 1,756 |
1,839 |
| Declining Issues | 1,353 |
1,780 |
| Advancing Volume |
685,324,000 |
812,684,000 |
| Declining Volume |
584,128,000 |
1,009,219,000 |
| Total Volume | 1,282,035,000 |
1,870,607,000 |
| New 52-week Highs | 19 | 27 |
| New 52-week Lows | 13 | 2 |
| New 52-week Highs for Week |
70 | 128 |
| New 52-week Lows for Week |
61 | 12 |
Weekly Perspective:
The indexes all made losses for the
week, with fears that corporate earnings may not be revived as soon as
anticipated. The Dow fell 238.31 points for a 2.31% loss, the S&P 500 fell
35.24 points for a 3.04% loss, and the Nasdaq had its first weekly loss in six,
down 68.09 points or 3.36%. The Nasdaq now has three distribution days notched
in for the past four weeks. The highest concentrations of new highs for the week
were found in medical equipment-related companies and semiconductors.
According to
research firm Thomson
Financial/First Call, companies in the S&P 500 will shrink their profits by 19%
for the quarter. As “warnings” season blows through, we will begin to get a good
idea of how this market holds up against bad news. Commentators on the site have
cautioned that a lack of strong companies providing leadership should be a
concern for this market. PEC Solutions, one of our premier breakout candidates, has begun to
show signs of weakness, though still remains in its uptrend. The market will do
whatever it wants, and we will wait and watch for our direction.
Top sectors:
Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
2.31% to 549.02.
Retail Index
(
$NWX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
1.81% to 880.80.
Losing sectors:
Computer Hardware Index
(
$HWI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down
2.30% to 151.96.
CBOE Internet Index
(
$INX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.17% to
135.67.
Sectors With New Highs:
Medical Appliances and Equipment — 1
Medical Instruments and Supplies — 2
Medical Laboratories and Research — 1
Processed Packaged Goods — 3
Residential Construction — 4
Technical and Systems Software — 3
Watch List Action
Breaking out today, we had Bioreliance Corp.
(
BREL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 11.58% on over
twice average volume. This company provides testing, development and
manufacturing services for biologics and other biomedical products to
biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. With an RS of 99 and the
last two quarters of earnings growth at 233% and 550%, respectively, this company has
estimated growth rate of 49% for next year. The stock’s potential is
confirmed by
American Healthways Inc.’s
(
AMHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) strength
as a recent breakout. As a word of caution, the stock shows a thinly traded base and only
has a 2% return on equity indicating some vulnerability. We will continue to
monitor its progress.
One of our biggest winners of the day was Genesis Microchip
(
GNSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
8.74% on above-average volume for a new 52-week high. The Semiconductor
Index
(
SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) traded below its 200-day MA yesterday and made an attempt
to regain that mark today. Genesis’ behavior today is encouraging.
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 even more cautious.
American Healthways Inc.
(
AMHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.27% on average volume for an accumulation day.
Copart Inc.
(
CPRT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 3.79% on half its average volume
for an accumulation day.
eBay
(
EBAY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.64% on
below-average volume.
MTR Gaming Group
(
MNTG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 0.73% on
above-average
volume.
Nvidia Corp.
(
NVDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 4.50% on below-average volume.
Panera Bread Co.
(
PNRA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 1.06% on half
its average
volume.
PEC Solutions
(
PECS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 3.33% on almost
half its average volume .
THQ Inc.
(
THQI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.23% on twice its
average volume for a distribution day.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| American Healthways Inc. | ( AMHC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 36.35 | + 0.10 | 255,500 |
| BioReliance Corp. | ( BREL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 36.41 | + 3.78 | 291,400 |
| Copart Inc. | ( CPRT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
93 | 35.00 | + 1.28 | 713,200 |
| eBay | ( EBAY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
90 | 66.59 | + 0.43 | 8,606,200 |
| Genesis Microchip | ( GNSS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 69.81 | + 5.61 | 2,621,000 |
| MTR Gaming Group | ( MNTG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 13.50 | – 0.10 | 352,500 |
| Nvidia Corp. | ( NVDA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
96 | 65.64 | + 2.83 | 9,975,800 |
| Panera Bread Co. | ( PNRA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 49.32 | + 0.52 | 280,200 |
| PEC Solutions | ( PECS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 33.64 | – 1.16 | 561,400 |
| THQ Inc. | ( THQI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 55.58 | – 1.27 | 1,615,200 |
Stocks Forming a Handle
Career Education Corp.
(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.77% on
half its average volume.
Direct Focus Inc.
(
DFXI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.69% on
average volume.
Integra LifeSciences
(
IART |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.55% on
average volume for an accumulation day.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
(
KKD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.95% on average volume for an accumulation day.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| Career Education Corp. | ( CECO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
92 | 34.95 | – 0.63 | 794,700 |
| Direct Focus Inc. | ( DFXI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
91 | 30.54 | + 0.21 | 655,000 |
| Integra LifeSciences | ( IART | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
90 | 25.99 | – 0.41 | 315,200 |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts | ( KKD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 40.60 | + 0.95 | 839,900 |
Stocks Building A Base
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| None |