Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Evening Thread

Here's the chart showing how the Nazz is at 2 year highs. The SP500 is still lagging in this department but making small progress daily. AAPL certainly isn't hurting the cause in either average.

After hours we had very mixed reports from the likes of AKAM, CSCO, SCSS, V, WFM, IRBT, GRPN, TQNT and DMND.


Afternoon Thread

Well, I tried to get an intraday chart on CZR but I couldn't. The point has nothing to do with LVS - but back to evan's homework.

Quants. Scott Patterson wrote a book published in 2010 called The Quants. Which opens with a high stakes Manhattan poker game, and many of the guests are quants. Which reminded me that many of the "wizards" in Jack Schwagers 3 book series on Market Wizards (Stock Market Wizards, New Market Wizards) were also either poker, bridge or chess players. (Completely irrelevant point: Cramer did not make the cut for his books.) Turtle Traders - many of those guys were chess or bridge masters. You see where this is going.

Bringing Down the House - became a movie I think - book about MIT poker team that eventually got banned in Vegas.

The point here is evan's conversation with the guy who liked the computer/intellectual part of the game but wasn't playing the game with his own money. B team. We're up against some sharp guys playing games with our money and theirs. Stay sharp. And thanks evan for the field research! If you missed his comment this morning: http://algofighters.blogspot.com/2012/02/morning-thread_08.html#comment-432909261

Morning Thread

PNRA from 1/18/2012 Morning Thread
PNRA has broken above the upper band for the 1st time since early December and volume has been increasing which is a sign of accumulation. It could just keep going but that is not what I expect. I do look for another day or two of upside movement and the impatient may wish to take a small position in case it does not pull back. I think the better entry would be after a small move back to test the breakout (about 145) and then buy the bounce.
That turned out to be a good read and better plan.  Just wish I had actually bought some.
Gator's Chart of the Day: PNRA
Today I'm revisiting Panera Bread Company.  They reported earnings yesterday after market and also announced the departure of CFO Jeff Kip. He has been chosen to fill the CFO slot at IACI.  I wouldn't read too much into that as IACI has been looking for a successor to fill the slot since their current CFO announced last summer that he would be leaving this March.

After hours PNRA sold off a little and last traded at 155.50.  I think this may be a good entry but I will watch the open and see if it will come down a bit more and then bounce.  I doubt it will come back to the 145 area where it bounced from the 20 day sma but it may kiss it again around 150-152 in the next few days.  If it acts like it did the last time I might actually make some money on it.