Bought May 19 2017 $123.00 Call at $1.19.

If CZZ closes above the channel support, I see no reason why this couldn't continue further with the current volume. Seems as if the next resistance could be near $12. I placed a Trailing Stop to protect profits, though I may cancel depending on end of day close and the chart pattern.

Correction, 10/6/2016.

Order Type: Trailing Stop ($0.23)
Price: $7.72
Duration: Good Until Cancelled
Order Time: 10/26/2016 10:32 AM

Spinoff17, I believe charts or 'technicals' are an important part of short term trading and swing trading. Though this is also important in finding an entry and exit for long term investing as well. With this said, I don't view CZZ as a long investment but more as a short term trade. I haven't decided on an exit strategy for CZZ. However, it will most likely involve a Trailing Stop Loss somewhere above $7.50 as the channel resistance is right above this range. I should add a Trailing Stop Loss, especially since CZZ is very volatile. I've been sloppy with exit strategies as of lately.

Spinoff17, I believe the recent pull back is due to the 'technicals' if you will. Look closely as the chart has formed a 'channel up' where the PPS has reached the channel resistance thereby pulling back to the channel support. This in part, is the main reason I viewed CZZ as an excellent opportunity here. CZZ is also the best preforming Utility company and with a lot of volume. This alone is icing on the cake.

We can see how this creates a great opportunity seeing that there has been a lot of accumulation in volume these past few days. Though I have not noticed negative events associated with CZZ. We must remember that there are many factors that move the PPS of CZZ or any company for that matter. Though looking at the chart alone, 'technicals' seem to reason the recent pull back.

Spinoff17, yes. I bought in at $6.75 yesterday.

Bought: 9/21/2016 @ $6.75

Personally, I could care less about earnings. That's not what I'm here for. I'm only here for the bullish chart pattern. Granted, earnings will create volatility for (AAPL) or any stock for that matter. No one stock is immune to volatile reactions from earnings. Earnings can however change the chart pattern and the pattern will adjust accordingly.

Do you have any fundamental or technical reasoning for $75 or did you pull that number out of a hat?

Looking at the chart, the S&P 500 has great support within the 1850 range. I don't think it will close below that. I felt comfortable establishing a position. Of course, not everyone has the same risk tolerance.

Bought in today at $96.46. I don't know what chart you all are looking at, but Apple's chart is setting up very nicely. You have a double bottom with strong support at $95. Not to mention, Apple's chart is holding it's pattern extremely well compared to the rest of the market. Always wanted to buy Apple shares, never saw profit opportunity. I see that opportunity now with a great chart (pattern + support) and earnings release. I have a conservative price target of $112.50 for a 17% profit within 3-5 weeks. Though I do believe $125 is possible in the near term depending on the overall market.

lowtrade,

The game direction is actually three months, but still; short-term strategies should still apply.



It dawned on me when you said "business plan." I have been using method I believe what you called One Order Closes Another (OOCA). This in part while using the Average True Range (ATR) to better gauge entry and exit. I have been using the 1/4, gain/loss ratio. This part has been extremely helpful. So when it comes down to diversification, I should be diversifying 25% or in $25,000 increments.



As you know I'm a long-term investor. However; the past few months I have began learning how to swing-trade. I have been testing strategies, using the resources you have given me and using other resources that I have found helpful. I'm still not comfortable with the swing-trading strategy using real capital, but I will use it for the game.

Apparently, I'm the only student in the class of 30 who trades/invests. The professor told the class that he is a investor consultant and a technical trader. I wanted to speak to him about technical trading, but I didn't want to seem like a 'know it all' because I'm not and then have dismal performance in the game.



Your opinion is much appreciated. After these statements, I still can't decide weather I should trade on margin or not. I would feel more comfortable trading on margin if I was comfortable with the strategy weather it is real capital or in this case, paper trading. I need to make a decision before I go to bed because I need the orders ready for the morning. I'm leaning more towards margin trading. I will stick to the regular exit strategies and to the best I can.



Thank you for answering the question! I have been busy so I haven't been able to bug you with questions like I usually do!

lowtrade, surprisingly the business law professor for this summer semester created a paper trading game to "introduce students to the stock market." I say 'surprisingly' because it's not something I expected from a business law professor; economics maybe or perhaps in another college course during the pursuit for a business finance degree. Needless to say, I'm excited. Extra credit will be given to the top 3 students who finish.

So, let me get to the point here. Each student will start with a $100,000 starting balance and a margin for $100,000 at a interest rate at 1.5%. I'm unsure of how to diversity the paper trading portfolio percentage wise. I don't diversify currently because I don't have enough capital that would make it justifiable.

So; do you diversify and if so, how so?

I'm also unsure weather I want to trade on margin. Do you have any opinions on margin trading?

Thanks, Gulley

Mahp32, oh shucks! I was looking at the SPY chart upside down again!

jimmybob, thank you. I have been using the strategy from the book that was loaned to me. I was curious if anyone else has/is using this strategy. I simply Googled "PPO/ADX Squeeze" and I found that it's quite a popular set-up. There are also many variations to this set-up as well. These variations include entry, exit, what criteria is required to find the squeeze, etc.

I hope you don't mind me including another board in this post, but I even found a board here on Investors Hub which is focuses on these 'squeezes' or 'pinches'. It's called "House of Pinchers", link below. I'm sure you have heard about it, but I thought I'd share with others who follow this board.

Link: http://investorshub.advfn.com/%22House-of-Pinchers%22-Pinch-9737/

Paper Trade

Buy +1 DKS JUL 14 40 CALL @ $5 LMT

Weekly Paper Position Update



With the Parexel International Corporation (PRXL) call I had the 'take the money and run' attitude. I will admit it was strictly emotional. I never put an exit strategy in place before buying the call. I wouldn't continue to do this regularly, however with (PRXL) being the first paper trade I didn't know what to expect. I still believe (PRXL) could continue higher and the technicals still seem to be strong.

You might think I'm crazy with the Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AEGR) call, that's okay! I also like to live dangerously. Yes, that $12.20 premium is pricey, but I think it's well worth it. The reason I paid up was mainly for the Delta and the open int. I don't pay practically too much attention to the premium, I'm going for quality not quantity here. Sure, there's no way I would drop $1,220 on a call with real money, I'm a broke college student. Though this is paper trading and I'm simply testing a strategy.

I'm actually late to rally, but not too late. The technical strategy I have set showed (AEGR) as a buy yesterday, though I'm not chasing the bull here and believe there's still plenty of upside. The technicals appear to be strong to me and there's even a gap. I'm not a big fan of gaps and I honestly don't know a whole lot about them, so I tend to stay away. Though for the 'all gaps must fill', then I suppose this could make the technicals appear even stronger. I don't plan to hold the (AEGR) call as long as the (PRXL) call mainly because I don't like the 'channel down' chart patten. I see this as short-term despite it being a LEAP. I hope to be out in a week or two, but if not then I have plenty of time.

I might be emotionally selling, but I'm not emotionally buying. I decided to buy the "Extra" level membership at StockCharts.com. To find the (PRXL) call I had to tediously look at 100's of charts to find the technical indicators that matched what I was seeking. The "Extra" level membership on StockCharts.com does the work for you. Just punch in the criteria you're looking for and presto, a list of stocks that match. I said emotionally buying; because some charts sorta matched what I was looking for but at the end of the day it wasn't meant to be, no matter how badly I wanted it to. I highly recommend this membership to beginners to help them screen what you're looking for, it's worth every penny and saves you time.

I'm noticing that the strategy I'm using is mainly targeting stocks that have been beaten up recently which I believe could rebound. I made a few tweaks here and untangled some kinks there, though I still have a long of road ahead of me.

Was it beginners' luck or am I heading in the right direction? We will see.

Thanks for reading, Gulley

Paper Trade

Bought +1 AEGR JAN 15, 2016 $27.50 CALL @ $12.20 LMT

jimmybob, thank you! I appreciate your support! I have a few on the watch list, but either the Deltas are too low or the open int. is too low. Maybe I'm too picky? Oh well, I really wanted to continue paper trading; but it's probably a good thing. I'll go back to the drawing board and continue studying. I might take a peek back before close and see if anything has changed.

First paper trade was profitable! Decided to take the money and run. Hopefully this isn't beginners' luck!

Bought 1 PRXL JUN 14 45 C @ $3.10 on 5/12/14

Sold 1 PRXL JUN 14 45 C @ $5.50 on 5/30/14

G/L: $240

This position is on fire today!

liggity, I will definitely have to order the book with your recommendation and the reviews of the book. I need to finish a current book I'm reading first though.

Understood, just be sure you have an emergency fund to carry you through the bear markets or know how to profit from bear market for example shorting, inverse ETF's, etc.



I totally forgot! Thank you for reminding me. I would have woke up scratching my head in the morning!

liggity,

I didn't notice the high amount of short interest with 3D Systems Corp. (DDD). That's even better! Short positions will need to cover which could send this higher!



My pleasure! Investing/trading has been a passion ever since I was in 6th grade. I had a teacher who inspired me by giving me a book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad for Teens by Robert T. Kiyosaki. I'm not exactly sure why she gave me that book. I began investing 3 years later when I was a freshman in high school with a financial planner who was a family friend. Then a year out of high school I decided to do it all on my own. Through out the years I had put other passions ahead of investing/trading which have lost their luster. However, investing/trading has always been one passion that stuck with me throughout the past. They say, choose a career that your passionate about. One that you could wake up everyday and love doing for the rest of your life. So now I'm going to school for business finance and a minor in economics. I hope to have a career someday in the financial sector someday.

What is the book if you don't mind me asking? I'm always looking for new material to read.

I first began investing on fundamentals, I didn't care for technicals. Though since then, technicals have grown on me. I find them very interesting such as yourself!

Good luck and keep learning! Your heading in the right direction!

liggity, I really like 3D Systems Corp. (DDD). I have been 'eye balling' this one since May 8, 2014. The technicals are close to perfect. Can I say that? I didn't start a position though unfortunately because I had capital tied up into other investments/trades. Oh well, you can't invest/trade everything in your watch list; at least this broke college student can't.

liggity, I will have to check the others out!

liggity, Maxwell Technologies Inc. (MXWL)'s technicals seem to be strong. (MXWL) broke a wedge up pattern on May 22, 2014. However, I do see resistance in the $18 PPS range. Also, the gap up between May 20, 2014 and May 21, 2014 is something to take note of. There is support in the $17 PPS range. There was a bearish candlestick pattern that signaled today, though it has not yet been confirmed. There is a lot of movement with (MXWL) and it should be interesting.

This is all short-term. Further than short-term seems strong also. It looks like (MXWL) could be forming a channel up, though I would wait until more movement before confirming this observation.

Thank you for sharing.

liggity, that's great! Thank you for sharing. Both Empire State Reality Trust, Inc. (ESRT) and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP) seem bullish, but short-term (ESRT) will be bearish short-term and possibly (BWP) depending on factors. As they say, no one has ever gone broke when taking profits!

liggity, understood. Just wanted to emphasize this. I will look at Maxwell Technologies Inc. (MXWL) and let you know what I find.

First paper trade position update. I figured since others update each other, I thought I would share and add some notes. Hopefully I continue to do so on a weekly basis.




I'm only holding one position during this first paper trade. I simply just wanted to get my feet wet if you will and did not want to overwhelm myself with several positions at once. This one position has kept me quite busy actually. I have been studying and taking notes on how I can become a better option trader. I bought Parexel International Corporation (PRXL) based on the foundation of technical analysis I have had from the past and making a strategy out of it.

I have a general strategy, but it still needs plenty of tailoring and testing on many items. For example, the entry point with this position could have been better timed. May 12, 2014, I had bought at the top when looking closer at the chart. Sure, a cheaper premium of .30 following the next two days does not seem like much. However; with option trading .30 can add up. This equals to $30 which could have brought the Gain/Loss to $110. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, however I just wanted to share because long-term investing has never had me fretting over pennies on the dollar with precise entries.

I'm still holding because I believe that the technicals are still appearing to be strong. Besides a untimely entry, stepping back I believe the larger trend will be profitable. I believe (PRXL) could reach a PPS in the range of $51 before expiration currently, however this is subject to change as the chart continues. I believe (PRXL) could reach a PPS in the range of $58 within 2-3 months, however this is also subject to change as the chart continues. I saw this potential before buying the position and would have bought a call with a longer expiration; though I was not satisfied with with the liquidity, open interest and/or Deltas of other options.

You can find the link of me posting the first paper trade below.

Link: http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=101848381

Thank you for reading, Gulley

liggity, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP)'s chart reminds me of Empire State Equity Trust, Inc. (ESRT). (BWP) recently broke out from it's symmetrical triangle. However, with (BWP) there is no current chart pattern. For this, I can't assume where the PPS's direction will go. The current trend suggests it will maintain positive momentum. There is resistance at the $22.25 range which could be used as a target for the current direction. Candlesticks have signaled and confirmed bullish signals.

liggity, your welcome! Just remember to only take ideas and/or opinions that I contribute as a 'grain of salt'. I'm not the best when it comes to technical analysis and I certainly wouldn't claim to be. I will check out Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP). Good luck to you as well!

Symbol: CTIC
Action: Bought
Order Price: $2.9399
Time Completed: 11:49:28 AM
Trade Date: 5/22/2014

Symbol: CTIC
Action: Bought
Order Price: $2.9399
Time Completed: 11:49:28 AM
Trade Date: 5/22/2014

jimmybob, thank you for your response.

I have started paper trading using technical analysis. If this strategy proves successful, I will most likely use this for exit strategies. However, if I buy on fundamentals, gut feeling or any catalysts I will most likely have a set strategy to help me keep emotion out of the equation.



Understood, thank you for sharing.

Best of luck to you also, Gulley

Mahp32, thank you for your response.

I can't watch options all throughout the day, minute by minute. Though I can usually watch options the majority of the day.



I agree, I will most likely use technicals. I had a foundation before learning about option trading, since then I have been steadily building on this knowledge.



I will see if this is true for me as I become more involved and knowledgeable in option trading. I don't trade weeklies, nor am I glued to a computer while watching L2.

Thank you again, Gulley

liggity, we now have a chart pattern! How exciting is that? It's a bullish chart pattern also! The pattern is a channel up! The PPS is at the top of the channel trend line. For this, we could expect the PPS to drop down to the $15.25 range which is where the bottom of the channel trend line currently lies. Though this support PPS range is subject to change as the chart continues.

liggity, great due diligence! I'm still going along with the statements I made in the recent post. To reiterate my points, I'm still unsure of the direction Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (ESRT)'s PPS could go. There is no current trend in the chart of (ESRT) which also leads me to be weary. If anything, I would most likely expect a slight pullback after the rally. I will keep a watchful eye on (ESRT).

I have a question on exit strategies. First, I know this is a touchy subject and I know everyone has different risk tolerances. I'm not talking about talking about the subject of risk tolerance itself. Rather I'm speaking of the nature of exiting. More so of a set strategy that prevents emotional trading. For example, when trading or investing in stocks I use the ATR to place stops losses and this in turn helps me decide a target to take profits. Is there a way I can use the same exit strategy that I do for trading/investing stocks as I do option trading? Or is there a similar technical indicator that can help me better decide a exit strategy? Any ideas or opinions?

Thank you in advance for your response.

makemoney18, hope you are doing well!