Written by Pat McCubbin
Exact Stock Picks
Good Afternoon,
The Dow rose 57 points, or 0.6 percent, after dropping 7.3 percent in just the past two weeks and reaching its lowest level since October. Traders were looking to pick up stocks while they’re still cheap, but the buying was selective and there were more losing stocks than gainers on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow rose as much as 172 points in morning trading but also fell into the red by mid-afternoon.
We managed to take advantage of the opening and make a couple of plays that may be quick and profitable. We shorted two positions when the markets were at their high. We shorted 200 shares of ADTRAN Inc (ADTN), and 100 shares of Schnitzer Steel Industries (SCHN). We carry a number of stocks on our watch list for this very reason. We love to short these dogs when the market pushes them up to unsustainable levels with the general market. Both have horrible looking technicals and are coming off new 52 week lows. Both stocks are down 2-3% from our entry and it shouldn’t be long to cash in some profits here.
Syntel (SYNT) was very strong today on much larger than normal volume. The market selling off late had little affect on it which is a good sign going forward.
Jos A. Bank (JOSB) can’t catch a break. If it’s not a 50% dividend announcement it’s a downgrade of the entire retail sector. This stock has been bullied since our entry. The good news is without buying the protective puts we’d be hamburger meat.
Dril-Quip (DRQ) sold off late, but not enough to make an exit. We are still profitable on this position but it has been frustrating. As we approach our targets the stock always seems to make a run the wrong direction. We’re not going to get impatient and make a bad play. We still have plenty of time on this one.
Annaly Capital Management Inc (NLY), although not much higher from our entry, shows good strength every day in the face of any market condition. This is a solid stock.
The rest of our stocks stayed within a tight range and there was no news today on any of them.
As we move into tomorrow we have a much more balanced portfolio. The two short plays we made equalized the heavy long condition we were carrying. We would like to see a sell-off at opening so we can quickly capture some gains. But either way, we’ll be ready to make plays.
Have a nice evening and we’ll see you in the morning.
TEN Exclusive: Portfolio Update – 7/6/10 is an article from: 
