Stock Thread (14 Viewers)

[The Ref]

The miners just look awful. Every few days I look at the Jr's and say "it can't get worse". Then I look again a few days later and they are down another 10%.

I was looking over the stock contest list since it is almost time to update and most of the stocks toward the bottom are metals/miners.

Yeah i didn't have time to research so I picked Nova Gold from my prospect list and went with it.

Jr Miners are a bloodbath right now. Many of them cant be profitable at 1200/19 so it's understandable. Best thing we can hope for is for these stocks to flush out even more. The world needs new Gold and Silver, eventually we will need these mines to be online. For that to happen the price has to rise and I suspect it will due to supply and demand. This isn't Nat Gas where they are finding more and more every day with a cheaper way of recovering it.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

[SIZE=10pt]Wanted to float an idea. Less than half the picks in the stock contest are up for the year, likely because people generally pick high beta boom/bust stocks. It made me wonder how we could do collectively building a fund of individual stocks with just the objective of beating S&P vs each other. Would people be interested/willing to make a pick if we did this for July-Dec time period? Can our egos take it if we can no longer blame underperformance on search for Beta? : (Picking the right sectors would probably be a main factor.)[/SIZE]

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

Back into XONE, 340 @ $50.50. I want to buy 3D long term but there's money to be made trading this one, (I hope). And given early reports of the 3D conference in Pittsburg sound pretty good, we might see some positive news next week, perhaps even some upgrades or new positive coverage. Might be good for a few hundred bucks.

Out at $52.75.

Will buy back if it dips.

Back in. 350 at $50.50

Out. 350 at $53.75.

Not sure what my plan is here (don't shoot me siff). I want to own some of this field long term.

Trading at 64 and change now. Three. Days. Later.

 

[skycriesmary]

So glad I decided to buy LNCO at 37.50 earlier this year. So nice to have such a 'safe haven' for my Roth...

 

[lod01]

The stock market turned negative in early afternoon trading Tuesday on news reports of political turmoil in Egypt.

Yeah, ok.

What about Greece?

 

[optionmaven]

Anyone own TSLA, it seems to be floating between $90-$100 I'm thinking of playing it when it drops and dumping at $99'ish for a quick 10%

From the numbers i've been watching, this seems like a good play.

Nice call on this Penguin. Worked out very well. Maybe we can get a "rinse and repeat" on this in the future.

 

[Penguin]

Anyone own TSLA, it seems to be floating between $90-$100 I'm thinking of playing it when it drops and dumping at $99'ish for a quick 10%

From the numbers i've been watching, this seems like a good play.

Nice call on this Penguin. Worked out very well. Maybe we can get a "rinse and repeat" on this in the future.

I got in at $95 and stopped out at $108 on Friday. Didn't get the last two days of profit but still a nice haul for 2 1/2 weeks. Hoping for another pullback so I can try this again.

 

[NIU Kicker]

USD at 5 year high.

10 year solidly over 2.5 at 2.7

Gold at a 5 year low

But oil at $101?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Sweet Moly jeebus

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Really tempted to buy some CAT. siff has be spooked.

 

[Arid Filch]

I sold all my stocks, except NOK, GMAN, and NG, yesterday. NOK and GMAN are only 1K each and doing well but I'd like to hold them long term. NG is just a nightmare, 3K at 2.38 so I have no choice but to hold. I thought this was a triple top and the market would slide back to 1400 over the next 2 months but today has been nothing but up.

 

[culdeus]

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Really tempted to buy some CAT. siff has be spooked.

Put some money into invisibility instead, since all I could find driving down the price seemed to be some paperwork issues. Sometimes it really is better to be lucky.

 

[General Malaise]

Really tempted to buy some CAT. siff has be spooked.

Put some money into invisibility instead, since all I could find driving down the price seemed to be some paperwork issues. Sometimes it really is better to be lucky.

 

[General Malaise]

For those who like stocks to have good stories (points finger at self), check out Clearwater Seafood, which trades on the Canadian Exchange under CLR and CSEAF domestically (though if you avoid grey markets, you'll avoid this). Full disclosure, my fund is long this stock and it is thinly traded but, it's a very well positioned company with a lot of stars aligned correctly. From our Q2 newsletter...

During the quarter we established a position in Clearwater Seafoods (CLR CN, $4.95C). The company is a vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of lobster, clam, scallop, and shrimp in the North Atlantic. No new licenses have been issued in their area of operation for the past 20 years. Barriers to entry are high at the same time demand is growing. Insiders own 70% of the shares and have attempted to take the company private twice while an outside entity tried to buy it and failed at a higher price. We think the company is worth between $7 and $8 in a transaction but hope they remain public and grow it organically and by acquisition. There are approximately six private companies which fish the North Atlantic for alternative species and could be appropriate acquisitions at the right price. In the meantime, China’s beef imports have jumped 10-fold in the January – April period versus last year and prices are up 33% year over year, suggesting to us that competing seafood protein exported into China has upside as well. Further, CEO Ian Smith ran Asian operations for Campbell Soup and should be able to expand margins with value-add product while cost per pound has fallen steadily for the past three years. We hope the company is allowed to grow – if not, a transaction will garner a good return. Averaging down is seldom a prescription for capital gains, but this is one we would add to at lower prices.

Keep in mind many of my picks have been horrendous performers, but I like this one, own it personally, put my mom into some shares recently and think it's got very little downside risk.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

For those who like stocks to have good stories (points finger at self), check out Clearwater Seafood, which trades on the Canadian Exchange under CLR and CSEAF domestically (though if you avoid grey markets, you'll avoid this). Full disclosure, my fund is long this stock and it is thinly traded but, it's a very well positioned company with a lot of stars aligned correctly. From our Q2 newsletter...

During the quarter we established a position in Clearwater Seafoods (CLR CN, $4.95C). The company is a vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of lobster, clam, scallop, and shrimp in the North Atlantic. No new licenses have been issued in their area of operation for the past 20 years. Barriers to entry are high at the same time demand is growing. Insiders own 70% of the shares and have attempted to take the company private twice while an outside entity tried to buy it and failed at a higher price. We think the company is worth between $7 and $8 in a transaction but hope they remain public and grow it organically and by acquisition. There are approximately six private companies which fish the North Atlantic for alternative species and could be appropriate acquisitions at the right price. In the meantime, China’s beef imports have jumped 10-fold in the January – April period versus last year and prices are up 33% year over year, suggesting to us that competing seafood protein exported into China has upside as well. Further, CEO Ian Smith ran Asian operations for Campbell Soup and should be able to expand margins with value-add product while cost per pound has fallen steadily for the past three years. We hope the company is allowed to grow – if not, a transaction will garner a good return. Averaging down is seldom a prescription for capital gains, but this is one we would add to at lower prices.

Keep in mind many of my picks have been horrendous performers, but I like this one, own it personally, put my mom into some shares recently and think it's got very little downside risk.

Are those free-range organic lobsters?

 

[General Malaise]

For those who like stocks to have good stories (points finger at self), check out Clearwater Seafood, which trades on the Canadian Exchange under CLR and CSEAF domestically (though if you avoid grey markets, you'll avoid this). Full disclosure, my fund is long this stock and it is thinly traded but, it's a very well positioned company with a lot of stars aligned correctly. From our Q2 newsletter...

During the quarter we established a position in Clearwater Seafoods (CLR CN, $4.95C). The company is a vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of lobster, clam, scallop, and shrimp in the North Atlantic. No new licenses have been issued in their area of operation for the past 20 years. Barriers to entry are high at the same time demand is growing. Insiders own 70% of the shares and have attempted to take the company private twice while an outside entity tried to buy it and failed at a higher price. We think the company is worth between $7 and $8 in a transaction but hope they remain public and grow it organically and by acquisition. There are approximately six private companies which fish the North Atlantic for alternative species and could be appropriate acquisitions at the right price. In the meantime, China’s beef imports have jumped 10-fold in the January – April period versus last year and prices are up 33% year over year, suggesting to us that competing seafood protein exported into China has upside as well. Further, CEO Ian Smith ran Asian operations for Campbell Soup and should be able to expand margins with value-add product while cost per pound has fallen steadily for the past three years. We hope the company is allowed to grow – if not, a transaction will garner a good return. Averaging down is seldom a prescription for capital gains, but this is one we would add to at lower prices.

Keep in mind many of my picks have been horrendous performers, but I like this one, own it personally, put my mom into some shares recently and think it's got very little downside risk.

Are those free-range organic lobsters?

Grass fed. Be careful of the sKallops, however.

 

[GibbyGarcia]

Very nice day today so I thought I'd check in to see who has retired...

Hope someone bought Delta when I recommended it in April. Good solid gain.

but t offset - ALVR was bad then, now its free. Lost 97% of its value. Less learned, should have jumped when I had a chance even with the loss.

 

[identikit]

Really haven't done much stock trading, but had a pretty good tip on ABFS ( https://www.google.com/finance?cid=655666 ).

Bought 600 shares @ about 15 in May and 500 shares @ about $18.50 in June. So far I'm up 38%.

Still think that there's some upside with this one; I'm holding for a $30 target price.

Transportations in general are looking like a nice place to invest in; working on getting in on YRCW as well.

 

[nirad3]

I'm all over Sprint.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sprint-tweaks-pricing-promises-life-193218763.html

 

[Mystery Achiever]

I will also share a stock I started buying last month that I really like for long-term fundamentals. AFC Enterprise (AFCE) runs Popeye's restaurants and is executing a major re-branding and expansion plan. The CEO seems very strong and came to the company a few years ago with a solid background in both consumer marketing and restaurant management.

Note: While there seems to be plenty of room for growth both domestically and internationally, the stock has already run up 46% this year. And, with a market cap under $1B and avg. vol. of only about 200k/day, expect some volatility. As always, DYODD.

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=AFCE&p=D&yr=0&mn=7&dy=0&id=p95628265989

 

[cstu]

For those who like stocks to have good stories (points finger at self), check out Clearwater Seafood, which trades on the Canadian Exchange under CLR and CSEAF domestically (though if you avoid grey markets, you'll avoid this). Full disclosure, my fund is long this stock and it is thinly traded but, it's a very well positioned company with a lot of stars aligned correctly. From our Q2 newsletter...

During the quarter we established a position in Clearwater Seafoods (CLR CN, $4.95C). The company is a vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of lobster, clam, scallop, and shrimp in the North Atlantic. No new licenses have been issued in their area of operation for the past 20 years. Barriers to entry are high at the same time demand is growing. Insiders own 70% of the shares and have attempted to take the company private twice while an outside entity tried to buy it and failed at a higher price. We think the company is worth between $7 and $8 in a transaction but hope they remain public and grow it organically and by acquisition. There are approximately six private companies which fish the North Atlantic for alternative species and could be appropriate acquisitions at the right price. In the meantime, China’s beef imports have jumped 10-fold in the January – April period versus last year and prices are up 33% year over year, suggesting to us that competing seafood protein exported into China has upside as well. Further, CEO Ian Smith ran Asian operations for Campbell Soup and should be able to expand margins with value-add product while cost per pound has fallen steadily for the past three years. We hope the company is allowed to grow – if not, a transaction will garner a good return. Averaging down is seldom a prescription for capital gains, but this is one we would add to at lower prices.

Keep in mind many of my picks have been horrendous performers, but I like this one, own it personally, put my mom into some shares recently and think it's got very little downside risk.

Looks like a good company, wish you'd told us in October though.

 

[General Malaise]

For those who like stocks to have good stories (points finger at self), check out Clearwater Seafood, which trades on the Canadian Exchange under CLR and CSEAF domestically (though if you avoid grey markets, you'll avoid this). Full disclosure, my fund is long this stock and it is thinly traded but, it's a very well positioned company with a lot of stars aligned correctly. From our Q2 newsletter...

During the quarter we established a position in Clearwater Seafoods (CLR CN, $4.95C). The company is a vertically integrated harvester, processor and distributor of lobster, clam, scallop, and shrimp in the North Atlantic. No new licenses have been issued in their area of operation for the past 20 years. Barriers to entry are high at the same time demand is growing. Insiders own 70% of the shares and have attempted to take the company private twice while an outside entity tried to buy it and failed at a higher price. We think the company is worth between $7 and $8 in a transaction but hope they remain public and grow it organically and by acquisition. There are approximately six private companies which fish the North Atlantic for alternative species and could be appropriate acquisitions at the right price. In the meantime, China’s beef imports have jumped 10-fold in the January – April period versus last year and prices are up 33% year over year, suggesting to us that competing seafood protein exported into China has upside as well. Further, CEO Ian Smith ran Asian operations for Campbell Soup and should be able to expand margins with value-add product while cost per pound has fallen steadily for the past three years. We hope the company is allowed to grow – if not, a transaction will garner a good return. Averaging down is seldom a prescription for capital gains, but this is one we would add to at lower prices.

Keep in mind many of my picks have been horrendous performers, but I like this one, own it personally, put my mom into some shares recently and think it's got very little downside risk.

Looks like a good company, wish you'd told us in October though.

We initiated the position in Q2 2013....sorry my crystal ball was broken back then.

 

[nirad3]

I will also share a stock I started buying last month that I really like for long-term fundamentals. AFC Enterprise (AFCE) runs Popeye's restaurants and is executing a major re-branding and expansion plan. The CEO seems very strong and came to the company a few years ago with a solid background in both consumer marketing and restaurant management.

Note: While there seems to be plenty of room for growth both domestically and internationally, the stock has already run up 46% this year. And, with a market cap under $1B and avg. vol. of only about 200k/day, expect some volatility. As always, DYODD.

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=AFCE&p=D&yr=0&mn=7&dy=0&id=p95628265989

They just purchased 12 failing KFC stores here in the Twin Cities. I love me some Popeye's. A good buy, both food-wise and investment-wise.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

The CEO talked about those recently- I think it was in the earnings call. I had to do a search to find one to go try when I started following the stock.Turned out that location had just changed to the new name and signage the night before. Maybe good investing karma?

Popeye Trivia - The chain is named after Popeye Doyle (French Connection)...not the Sailor Man.

 

[Das Boot]

I will also share a stock I started buying last month that I really like for long-term fundamentals. AFC Enterprise (AFCE) runs Popeye's restaurants and is executing a major re-branding and expansion plan. The CEO seems very strong and came to the company a few years ago with a solid background in both consumer marketing and restaurant management.

Note: While there seems to be plenty of room for growth both domestically and internationally, the stock has already run up 46% this year. And, with a market cap under $1B and avg. vol. of only about 200k/day, expect some volatility. As always, DYODD.

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=AFCE&p=D&yr=0&mn=7&dy=0&id=p95628265989

They just purchased 12 failing KFC stores here in the Twin Cities. I love me some Popeye's. A good buy, both food-wise and investment-wise.

I've been very underwhelmed and disappointed at their food quality, and I've tried different locations.

Not that it can't be a good stock, but my in-store experience with them doesn't inspire investing confidence.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Appreciate any feedback, Boot, esp. since my personal experience is minimal.I imagine locations - not to mention personal taste- vary. The quality and service was good for my one test LOL. (Customer service was identified as a problem and is an area of focus)

Looks like the takeover of the KFCs in Minn was a pretty big local story with KFC trying, but failing, to get a buyer who would keep the outlets as KFC. Popeyes was approved by the bankruptcy court with a lower bid on the certainty of payment, I believe. Gotta love the strategy of entering a market (they previously had just one Minneapolis location) by taking out your competition using the very locations customers were used to coming to for chicken. THey normally do a lot of consumer research around site location, anyway.

Here's one article on it from an author who clearly prefers Popeyes.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/caroltice/2012/10/25/popeyes-buys-up-bankrupt-kfc-restaurants/

 

[Das Boot]

Appreciate any feedback, Boot, esp. since my personal experience is minimal.I imagine locations - not to mention personal taste- vary. The quality and service was good for my one test LOL. (Customer service was identified as a problem and is an area of focus)

Looks like the takeover of the KFCs in Minn was a pretty big local story with KFC trying, but failing, to get a buyer who would keep the outlets as KFC. Popeyes was approved by the bankruptcy court with a lower bid on the certainty of payment, I believe. Gotta love the strategy of entering a market (they previously had just one Minneapolis location) by taking out your competition using the very locations customers were used to coming to for chicken. THey normally do a lot of consumer research around site location, anyway.

Here's one article on it from an author who clearly prefers Popeyes.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/caroltice/2012/10/25/popeyes-buys-up-bankrupt-kfc-restaurants/

And I appreciate the heads up on Popeyes, I'll definitely be checking them out as a stock.

I keep stopping at different ones occasionally to see if I've just had bad luck, but I've yet to find one where I was very pleased with the food quality or taste.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Well, it will probably stall/reverse now, for sure! Like I said, it has had a big run. Three years ago it was a $9 stock....that I didn't know about.

 

[Penguin]

TSLA free falling today, possible entry point coming up

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

TSLA free falling today, possible entry point coming up

Same with XONE and SSYS.

ONVO killing it with NYSE listing. Seems like an opportunity but not profitable. Worries me.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

TSLA down on Goldman note. I think the range they gave on fair value was 58-113, but I did not hear the scenarios associated with those prices

XONE is down on BB&T downgrade and their skepticism over likelihood of a takeover.

Hot sectors like 3D and biotech are generally weak today, likely on profit-taking before Bernanke talks to Congress tomorrow.

ETA- Link to the Goldman valuation of Tesla. Price target is 84, which is average of their three scenarios. (58.83.113)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100890550?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=100890550%7CTesla+shares+hit+by+Goldm

 

[Penguin]

TSLA down on Goldman note. I think the range they gave on fair value was 58-113, but I did not hear the scenarios associated with those prices

XONE is down on BB&T downgrade and their skepticism over likelihood of a takeover.

Hot sectors like 3D and biotech are generally weak today, likely on profit-taking before Bernanke talks to Congress tomorrow.

ETA- Link to the Goldman valuation of Tesla. Price target is 84, which is average of their three scenarios. (58.83.113)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100890550?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=100890550%7CTesla+shares+hit+by+Goldm

Yeah, I read that earlier today. It closed AH @ $106.70 I'm going to watch this one closely, they report earnings next week. If it drops below $100 it'll be a 25% dip since Monday's opening.

 

[optionmaven]

TSLA down on Goldman note. I think the range they gave on fair value was 58-113, but I did not hear the scenarios associated with those prices

XONE is down on BB&T downgrade and their skepticism over likelihood of a takeover.

Hot sectors like 3D and biotech are generally weak today, likely on profit-taking before Bernanke talks to Congress tomorrow.

ETA- Link to the Goldman valuation of Tesla. Price target is 84, which is average of their three scenarios. (58.83.113)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100890550?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=100890550%7CTesla+shares+hit+by+Goldm

Yeah, I read that earlier today. It closed AH @ $106.70 I'm going to watch this one closely, they report earnings next week. If it drops below $100 it'll be a 25% dip since Monday's opening.

I don't think it drops below a hundo....personally. I'd buy at the 105 range, set a stop loss of 7 %, and know that its going to rebound. I like this stock alot and wouldn't be surprised if it really blew up to 200 within the next yr. Owners seem to be really impressed with the car. Granted, stock has seen a meteoric rise already, but it won't stop if the product is that good. jmo.

 

[humpback]

TSLA down on Goldman note. I think the range they gave on fair value was 58-113, but I did not hear the scenarios associated with those prices

XONE is down on BB&T downgrade and their skepticism over likelihood of a takeover.

Hot sectors like 3D and biotech are generally weak today, likely on profit-taking before Bernanke talks to Congress tomorrow.

ETA- Link to the Goldman valuation of Tesla. Price target is 84, which is average of their three scenarios. (58.83.113)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100890550?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=100890550%7CTesla+shares+hit+by+Goldm

Yeah, I read that earlier today. It closed AH @ $106.70 I'm going to watch this one closely, they report earnings next week. If it drops below $100 it'll be a 25% dip since Monday's opening.

Which would still leave it up well over 100% in the last 3 months.

 

[Penguin]

It's back up $10 from the H close

 

[humpback]

It's back up $10 from the H close

After being down $4.50 at one point too. Crazy.

 

[Arid Filch]

Does anyone have an opinion on VXX? It looks like a good opportunity, especially if you believe there will turbulence in the market in the coming months. Shares are selling for 15.80 an all-time low. When the fund was started in 2009 shares sold for over 1,800. What do you guys think? Mystery Achiever?

 

[culdeus]

Does anyone have an opinion on VXX? It looks like a good opportunity, especially if you believe there will turbulence in the market in the coming months. Shares are selling for 15.80 an all-time low. When the fund was started in 2009 shares sold for over 1,800. What do you guys think? Mystery Achiever?

Does anyone even understand how the #### volatility hedges work? Just asking because I have read all the prospectus on this crap and it's still way over my head.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Sorry. Fitch, that is outside my wheelhouse. I could see Vol. spiking in August if we get back to debt ceiling fights in Washington. But that is about my lack of confidence in Congress, not insight into VIX and Futures.

ETA- Found this recent article on it

The conclusion:
"VXX offers a good short-term trading vehicle to gain exposure to a potential spike in volatility. Despite having a persistent headwind due to VIX futures often being in contango, VXX will often rise when VIX is moving up and receive an added bonus to performance when the VIX curve is in backwardation. Over the long term VXX will experience some price deterioration, but in times of increased market volatility VXX is structured to give long holders the benefit of the increase in volatility."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11976706/1/5-misperceptions-about-vxx.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

 

[Arid Filch]

Does anyone have an opinion on VXX? It looks like a good opportunity, especially if you believe there will turbulence in the market in the coming months. Shares are selling for 15.80 an all-time low. When the fund was started in 2009 shares sold for over 1,800. What do you guys think? Mystery Achiever?

Does anyone even understand how the #### volatility hedges work? Just asking because I have read all the prospectus on this crap and it's still way over my head.

I know less than you but this article helped me to understand a little bit. http://www.thestreet.com/story/11976706/3/5-misperceptions-about-vxx.html

 

[optionmaven]

Sorry. Fitch, that is outside my wheelhouse. I could see Vol. spiking in August if we get back to debt ceiling fights in Washington. But that is about my lack of confidence in Congress, not insight into VIX and Futures.

ETA- Found this recent article on it

The conclusion:

"VXX offers a good short-term trading vehicle to gain exposure to a potential spike in volatility. Despite having a persistent headwind due to VIX futures often being in contango, VXX will often rise when VIX is moving up and receive an added bonus to performance when the VIX curve is in backwardation. Over the long term VXX will experience some price deterioration, but in times of increased market volatility VXX is structured to give long holders the benefit of the increase in volatility."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11976706/1/5-misperceptions-about-vxx.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Unless you are well versed with it, theres got to be hundreds of ways to make money in the market besides this. Cnbc earlier today showed something about how there was a nearly 20 billion influx into the US market. Anyways, this dog not only has fleas, it has ticks and tumors.

 

[optionmaven]

This is all I would need to know as to why not to invest in it. More manipulation by the powers that be.

"Those instances when VIX is higher and VXX loses value on the day are when VXX receives the most criticism. There is a lack of understanding regarding why VIX would go up and VXX move down on the day."

and....

"VXX is not VIX, but VXX does have a relationship with VIX. VXX began trading on January 30, 2009 and admittedly is down dramatically (over 99%) since trading debuted."

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Didn't the same thing happen a few years ago with oil? The Oil ETF went down while oil was spiking?

Anyway, I agree with you, optionmaven.

 

[culdeus]

This is all I would need to know as to why not to invest in it. More manipulation by the powers that be.

"Those instances when VIX is higher and VXX loses value on the day are when VXX receives the most criticism. There is a lack of understanding regarding why VIX would go up and VXX move down on the day."

and....

"VXX is not VIX, but VXX does have a relationship with VIX. VXX began trading on January 30, 2009 and admittedly is down dramatically (over 99%) since trading debuted."

well that's not good.

 

[Arid Filch]

Sorry. Fitch, that is outside my wheelhouse. I could see Vol. spiking in August if we get back to debt ceiling fights in Washington. But that is about my lack of confidence in Congress, not insight into VIX and Futures.

ETA- Found this recent article on it

The conclusion:

"VXX offers a good short-term trading vehicle to gain exposure to a potential spike in volatility. Despite having a persistent headwind due to VIX futures often being in contango, VXX will often rise when VIX is moving up and receive an added bonus to performance when the VIX curve is in backwardation. Over the long term VXX will experience some price deterioration, but in times of increased market volatility VXX is structured to give long holders the benefit of the increase in volatility."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11976706/1/5-misperceptions-about-vxx.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Any thoughts on AAPL? If they beat estimates this afternoon, shouldn't they see a bump?

 

[Arid Filch]

This is all I would need to know as to why not to invest in it. More manipulation by the powers that be.

"Those instances when VIX is higher and VXX loses value on the day are when VXX receives the most criticism. There is a lack of understanding regarding why VIX would go up and VXX move down on the day."

and....

"VXX is not VIX, but VXX does have a relationship with VIX. VXX began trading on January 30, 2009 and admittedly is down dramatically (over 99%) since trading debuted."

well that's not good.

You think that is bad, look at TVIX. It went from 894 in Sept 2011 to 1.84 today. Down over 99.8%. People must have made some serious money shorting these.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Any thoughts on AAPL? If they beat estimates this afternoon, shouldn't they see a bump?

I think direction may hinge more on what they say- or don't say- about new products and their release dates. There is a lot of disappointment around recent lack of innovation.And small screen size on iphone.

 

[Arid Filch]

I made a day trade on PBF energy, bought at 22.27 and sold at 22.77. I still think it looks good long term but it was half my account invested so it was a gamble.

 

[Arid Filch]

Any thoughts on AAPL? If they beat estimates this afternoon, shouldn't they see a bump?

I think direction may hinge more on what they say- or don't say- about new products and their release dates. There is a lot of disappointment around recent lack of innovation.And small screen size on iphone.

Yes, it's seems like all the negativity and disappointment could drag it down even if the numbers surprise. And it is dropping right now leading into the conference call. Probably more risk than reward in the short term but I still want to roll the dice.