Trading Recap 6/30/15

I made a small profit today on a momo stock which is good because they are definitely harder to trade than anything else. I will detail my trade and some of the other trades I was thinking of taking.

White arrows are entries followed by exits.

SGNL: I saw it early in the AM from Twitter and thought it would be a good long but didn't take it. Later on, it looked like it had cracked support and reclaimed and was perking so I thought about going long for a potential squeeze but luckily I never pulled the trigger (around 11AM). After that, I went short since it looked like the support became resistance and the backside was about to start. It popped up again after touching 2.50s and I almost covered but I learned my lesson from before and decided to give it some space and luckily after that it flushed below 2.5. I did wait a while for it to go lower, even having it go to almost breakeven but I just got tired of it and thought that after going below 2.4 for yet another time that if it ramped back to 2.4 it could start going. So I put a stop buy limit at 2.4 to preserve my gains and it got triggered and I got filled. It ended up having a slight EOD run which definitely would have had me cover for breakeven or a slight loss before it tumbled back to nLODs. Overall, it was an ok trade. Also, it may or may not be a coincidence but the 2.34 support was also the 50% level for the range for the day.

JUNO: I didn't take a trade in this but it did provide good short opportunities. This may have been a good example of a video I just watched (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IDG8VtYats) that explains how news is interpreted by the market. While I am no biotech expert, I believe the deal was great for JUNO and that would be a truth that was also believed by many in the market. Therefore, since many shared the same belief, the inverse happened and the stock fell. I did not think about it like that until now but it makes sense. I will have to keep this in mind going forward and combine it with the price action that is happening.
Anyway, I was looked to short in the AM since I saw a descending triangle forming but there was a lot of risk for my small account so I didn't take it even though it looked nice. It did end up flushing but did come back and I was looking for a potential long if it reclaimed support but it just topped out and went lower.

Things to work on:

1. Keep the lessons learned from the video in mind going forward.
2. Continue being cautious when there are trades that have too wide of a stop for my small account. It sucks when they would have worked but when they don't, you will wish you had stuck to your rules.
3. Continue to give stocks room over/under. It would have been horrible to have topticked SGNL.

Trading Recap 6/29/15

I didn't make any trades today as well although there was a healthy amount of opportunity to short stuff that I had on watch. A lot of stuff though had wide stops that I wasn't comfortable with so I am glad I exercised some restraint even though had I shorted everything, it all would have worked out for the most part. Anyway, I just want to document some of the trades that I was thinking about taking.


CMCM: I was originally thinking of shorting this and it would have been a nice short. However, it went nHOD and while I don't think I put in an order, I was interested in a potential bounce because I have been following the stock for a while and I know that it bounces nicely after a nice wash. The thing is, it usually just goes up and so when it had dips to 29 over/under it was suspicious to me even as it was going higher. However, it came back down and 29 was now peaking which I thought could be a good short but I didn't think it would have much downside. It ended up flushing a dollar and a half which would have been nice. Looking back it was a nice HOD consolidation pattern that looked good for a short.

SRPT: I was looking for a short in this as well since it had an overextended daily and the market was of course selling off. I missed the initial flush but saw a descending triangle/base forming and I thought about going short on the base break. I think the reason I didn't take this was that I would have to risk 30-40 cents which is too much for my account on 100 shares. Either way, at least it was a good spot.

FGEN: I had this on short watch even though the daily was forming a flag because of the overall market. I have seen flags fail when markets are going down so I thought it was a good opportunity. I didn't see any entry besides chasing nLODs for a short but I saw it made a huge run back up to 24 which was a nice resistance and I figured this run was all caused by the SSR. I don't why I didn't take this since it was low risk and it really couldn't have gone any much higher (I think - I know dangerous thinking but I think in this case it's ok). With the run being caused by the SSR and it going right into resistance, it would have been a good short.

MU: MU provided yet another great short opportunity that I did not partake in. I was looking for a 19.5 retest and fail and that is exactly what happened. It just slid the rest of the day.

SYN: Originally I was looking for dips to get long but after it formed a nice rejection pattern I was thinking of shorting big size and scalping it. While it would have worked I decided against it because it has burned me in the past. I could have shorted normal size and kept it under $3, I suppose since it washed to 2.75.

Trading Recap 6/26/15

I didn't make any trades today although I tried to get filled on one that would have worked nicely, but at least I didn't lose today. I just wanted to make this post to detail some of the trades I wanted to take or were looking to take but didn't.


MU: I was originally looking for a bounce with a higher low for an SSR washout but then I thought about it and the price action looked weak and I thought this is the day where all the funds that bought this when it was $5 have a reason to sell so I thought they would keep selling and it would be weak the entire day. I was looking for it to peak 20 to confirm and it when 20 snapped I looked for the retest and fail. I would have tried to get in on the 20 break but with the SSR I am more cautious. It did retest though and I tried to get filled but didn't so this trade would have worked nicely.

NVAX: It looked weak off the open and it looked like it was peaking at the support from yesterday so I was thinking about going in. It worked for the first few minutes but then came back. Had I waited for nHODs it would have been worse vs. taking it off prematurely so I guess it is a mixed bag when it comes to patience and giving the trade the room it needs. This probably would have ended up being a loser for me.

WWWW: I saw this had a nice green candle the day before and was looking for a weak open r/g. I saw a consolidation forming and decided to go long if it broke. It ended up going by one cent before going back down and it didn't really do anything for the rest of the day.

CBLI: I wanted to take this long for a bounce off the big support around 5.40. This would have worked and it went to 6 and got stuffed. Maybe I would have sold out there, who knows.

Trading Recap 6/25/15

I think I should change my name to Top Tick Vince because that is my new trend in trading it seems, unfortunately. I keep sizing into winners only to have them come back and retest levels and I literally top tick it because the level 2 goes up/down another penny or so from where it was testing and I think it's done and sell/cover then and end up top ticking and bounce/flush. I will try not looking at level 2 in these situations and see if that helps. I will also just be more patient because had I waited for it to make nhod and cover which was only only a couple of cents away from where I actually stopped out vs. just stopping out, I would have made much more overall in my account.

White arrows are entries followed by one exit.

NVAX: I thought the chart was getting overextended and I saw some pros were shorting as well which gave me confidence. I saw some failed follow through with lower highs forming at a base so I shorted the lower high and added after the base peaked. I thought I was good after it retested but it came back above the base and since I added in my risk was to the base over/under. I tried to be patient with it but with the size I had and the small account I have, I feared the worse and that it could spike higher, so when I saw it approaching the HOD I stopped out, which top ticked the bounce and it was only lower from there. Upsetting, but a learning experience. It's much better to wait for a nHOD to cover for a few pennies more vs. just stopping out prematurely. Ideally, I could size down and go back to my original amount and I know I said to not worry about commission but commissions really suck.

Things to work on:

1. Don't look at level 2 when in these situations of when a winner becomes a loser and is just retesting levels that may fail/hold and keep your trade valid. If the stock is near another potential stop out point, like here nHOD vs. over/under .30 base, just wait for the nHOD to cover since it is so close to your stop that a few cents won't matter and it is much better if it doesn't trigger and keep you in the trade.

Trading Recap 6/24/15

Today was mostly a boring day although there were a few plays I missed like POZN. I made one trade that even though it didn't work out, I thought it was a good trade anyway. Nothing much to say beyond that.

White arrow is entry followed by exit.

GDOT: I saw that it had flushed below LODs and came back to reclaim support. After that it perked and I then went long. My plan was to add when 21 held as support for a potential r/g move. It tried to get above there a few times but almost got stuffed but I stuck with it because it was still holding up. I saw a base form around .75 and so I upped my over/under stop to there considering the fact it could have gotten stuffed. The SPY was also not doing too hot so that didn't help. It cracked the base and and peaked so I sold out which was good because it went on to make nLODs.

Things to work on:

1. Just remember: try not to play front sides of the a move/ only take a stock if the risk if actually within your parameters/ try to get out for a profit if possible/ balance breaking even with trying to be patient when testing levels

Trading Recap 6/23/2015

Today was also not a good day due to me breaking some of the rules I set for myself. I took trades with stops that were too tight for the stocks I was playing, which caused me to stop out while I was right all along (for the most part). I will have to remind myself to not take any trade where the stop is too wide for my account. I also have to see about just exiting a stock when I am in profit vs. waiting and having it become breakeven because that it happened again today.

White arrows are entries followed by their exits.

MOMO: I saw that they had a private offer, like AMCN, and was most likely bullshit so I was short biased. I noticed a similar pattern to SGYP where it would spike up and get rejected while it was forming a lower high so when I saw that and in addition to the fact that it went above the premkt highs and got rejected and now was acting as resistance, I thought it could fade/flush. I shorted and it immediate spiked to HODs and I covered because my risk was too tight (.60 over/under). In never got past HOD and it came lower again. This time I thought it was done because it again got HOD rejected and the premkt resistance was still acting as resistance. I shorted again and it did the same thing and I stopped out due to my too tight of a stop. It ended up fading kind of slowly the rest of the day but the point is I would not have had two losses and would have had a small winner possibly had I waited for the stock to setup with a proper tight stop.

BCRX: I was interested in this for a short due to the overextended daily chart. This was actually a winner for me but I didn't take it because I thought the stock could go down more and it eventually did but it came back to my breakeven and I topticked the bounce for my cover... Not the best moment for me. Today it looked weak and I wanted to see the afternoon lows peak from yesterday. Once they peaked I started in and added when .50 peaked. It looked to be a good win until the bounce came to my breakeven and going with my mantra of always breaking even no matter what due to my small account I took it off and almost top ticked it by a penny or two. It then proceeded to fade, albeit slowly, and make nLODs. It would have been a pretty boring trade but a profitable one nonetheless had I stayed in it.

Things to work on:

1. Don't take a trade if the stop is too wide for your small account. Wait for a better setup.
2. Look to sell/cover when you have at least a $50 win if it starts going the opposite way.

Trading Recap 6/22/15

Well, AMCN was a fucking waste of time and effort. Not only did my $100 gain turn into a $10 loss but I only focused on that since I had a big position in it and missed potential trades in CALA, SGYP, and CNIT. I thought for sure this would be a big winner as it was getting to yesterday's lows but right when it hit 4.75 it just ramped back and caused me to cover at the top when it spiked above r/g. The only good thing is I don't have to pay the 1% overnight fee at Suretrader which would have added up to be a lot for over just one day. Plus, it didn't do much after I essentially topticked my cover. Even for one day it was $20 which is another typical full trade loss for me. I really thought it could go back to $3.50s at the very least if the deal is BS, which I think it is, but the price action is saying otherwise so I am not sure. I would think the stock would just fade like NQ did but it's holding up. Could I have taken gains? Sure. But I had a pretty strong conviction about this so I was willing to wait it out, but almost going r/g was too much for me. What a bullshit bounce.

Hope to just focus tomorrow on new plays.


Things to work on:

1. Not sure. Like I said I could have taken gains but I was willing to be patient even when it started bouncing because the entire move could turn out to be for nothing if the deal is BS. I sized into what I thought would be a great opportunity which is good and was patient with it. It just didn't work out.

Trading Recap 6/19/15

I took two day trades and one bigger, full-size swing trade that I really hope works. The day trades didn't work out and the swing trade I am currently flat on, but hope to wake up to a gap down and flush on the stock to give me a nice buffer so I don't take too much of a loss. On a somewhat related note, I would like to get better at just staying at the computer when there is action to take advantage of and then go do something else when there isn't because otherwise I just get a headache and antsy and just think I am wasting my time.

White arrows are entries followed by exits:

POZN: The daily chart is pretty extended and so I thought any weakness would result in a good short. I saw that it had gone red for the first time in a couple of days and rejected r/g so I started in short with r/g over/under as my risk. It popped above it but then got rejected before holding higher lows and eventually it looked like an ABCD pattern and when it triggered I took it off for a small loss. It ended up going higher so it was a good cover. Hindsight says I could have taken the ABCD long but it was overextended chart and I did not think it could go that much higher. I will keep this on watch though.

W: I saw this stock had a nice day up and so I had this on watch for r/g and especially because of the big short float. I thought this could rip. I saw what looked like a curling/higher lows/ABCD and I knew I would be pissed if I didn't take because the setup looked really good. It broke out for a bit but then came right back down and so I sold out for a very small loss. I might still have this on watch depending on if there are any other better plays for next week.

AMCN: This is the stock that I am swinging short. There were a few candidates to swing short like AMCN, ANTH, and a couple of others but I thought that if it worked out, it would be the best % gainer. It might also be the riskiest of the options but I think it will work out. The story behind this was a huge drop over the past few days after the company sold 75% of their ad business. I am guessing the insiders were not too happy and may have wanted to get out, therefore they put up a "non-binding" offer to take the company private for $6/share. Originally out of the gate I was looking for a short or a long depending on the action. Right out of the gate I thought a short would work since 4.9 seemed to be peaking as resistance and I thought it could fade. But then it held and went up and I thought it could squeeze, so I thought about going long but never got in. I waited for the squeeze to happen to get short but then it never really came and it looked pretty weak. I then started in short half size with the potential to swing it if 5 breaks. After staring at the screen for the entire day waiting to add after a 5 break, I saw it had gotten stuffed for the late day breakout attempt which helped to confirm my reasoning to add in short. So after it got stuffed I waited until 5 was on the bid and it was thinning out to try and get filled on the rest of my shares which I did and while it did go back above 5, I am still holding in hopes for a gap down. I have seen offers like this turn out to be fake like NQ but have also heard of some being real. However, to me it makes perfect sense for the insiders to want to get out after this huge drop. If I am right, I would like to cover if it goes below $3.5 with $3 being ideal. I already have an order in for $3 for all my shares in case some bad news comes out and it tanks.
(Chart below is my two entries since I still have the full position)

Things to work on:

1. Nothing comes to mind even though both day trades didn't work. I think they were good trades that I cut off when the chart was showing otherwise.

Trading Recap 6/18/15

Not the best way to start off with the new account but I am still getting back into the swing of things. I have kept my losses small by starting in small and waiting to add into winners. I only played one stock today, SGYP, both long and short, and only played it 100 shares each time with the idea to scale bigger into a winner. Therefore, my losses were small on both trades. Overall, I am happy to be back and hope to have some new-found success.

I will also start writing about some other trades that I didn't take but either were interested in or wanted to get in but didn't get filled.

White arrows are entries followed by exits.

SGYP: I did not have much of a bias either way but I guess I was a little more short biased going into it. After the morning emotion happened I saw that it was consolidating above HOD and it fell and made a lower high which I thought was a good short entry so I decided to short and I was up for a little on my 100 shares looking to add in if the .30s peaked. That never happened of course and I stopped out for a small loss, which at the time was almost a top tick on the top. My original trade was .50 over/under and it never violated that but I am trying to keep my losses very small no matter what. After the .30s held I thought about going long and so when it grinded off the .30s and looked to break the .50s I went long in the .40s and I thought it was going to break out when it went to .54 but it was just a huge stuff and I sold it for a loss and thought it was done and if it peaked in the .30s I would just short pops. It kept holding and I had thought about going long but I wasn't at my computer at the time when it started coming back and when the EOD breakout happened. For the picture, the short and cover is first and then the long and sell afterwards.

POZN: I wanted to short it after the run it made near 11.40 which would have worked but I decided against it when I was about to fill.

Things to work on:

1. Just keep grinding it out and maybe let the trade when you have small size work when a stock tests your stop over/under. Have to find a balance between stopping out for small losses and letting the trade work over/under.

Thoughts on what has worked for me and what hasn't as I start trading again

Well I was able to sell a watch that my parents bought for me in '08/'09 and that nobody cared about to get some money to refill my account back to near $1300. Not a lot and I expect to lose it like last time since it is still way too small of an account size but it is what I have so I have to make it work. I might have a better chance though this time since I have been looking at what has worked for me and what hasn't and I may implement some new rules due to my small account size. One thing to note is that including the VBLT stupid loss of -255, my losses since my first trade in February to now have equaled my commissions. Both are $590 along with $100 in ECN fees. Without that VBLT loss I would be at about $350 in losses, which wouldn't be bad if there weren't commissions. Anyway, the point of this post is to gather some info as I go through my previous trades since day 1.

This will probably end up being a random collection of thoughts/notes:

1. Don't take commissions into account when wanting to stop out breakeven including commissions. Let the trade work out. Obviously, commissions equaled the amount of losses you had (or more not including VBLT) but it is the cost of doing business and $5 saved is nothing. I rather let the trade work. So, don't try to save commissions on a trade you are already in. Forget it.

2. Have no idea of "confirmation". Confirmation is after the fact. If a stock is at a point where you can have a good r/r then do it. Confirmation is only after the fact when it is too late. Too many times I have been waiting for "confirmation" and by the time I get it, it is too late and I missed another trade.

3. While having patience with winners is good, always look to take the trade off. Capital preservation is key and having any winner, over time, will add up. It is much better than what has happened before at times when I had a decent win but failed to take it off and I was at breakeven. A balance of patience and locking in is key. This will have to be adjusted as time goes on.

4. Try to see if you can wait until a higher low/lower high has really formed before buying/shorting. This may be in conflict with #2 but not so much. I am just looking for a little drop and confirmed lower high or a little perk off a higher low for more confidence. I have seen many times where a stock will have what looks like a lower high forming and then in the middle of it, it just rips. So that can save me from some potential fakes.

5. Always look to reenter a trade if it sets up again. Look for retests of prior support as resistance for shorts and vice versa for longs. Conversely, don't try to play a stock if the move happened already and there is just scraps left.

6. Try to get to breakeven as quick as possible. Examples: CONN, GENE, OREX, and more I am sure as I am going through my posts as I type this. On CONN, I could have easily brokeven and re-evaluated if it setup again. On my OREX short, I could have put a breakeven stop if it came back and avoided taking a loss on that. Same with GENE. The WBAI trade was stupid due to my small stop and the fact that anything could happen overnight and in the AM.

7. Stay cautious on front side of move. Perhaps scalp only as Nate always says - even with bigger size.

8. Look at multiple timeframes.