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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
The S&P 500 started the day with nice gains as attention shifted toward the start of earnings season. The index even challenged June’s highs just over lunchtime. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got and a late-day selloff slashed 85 points from those midday highs, transforming a great morning into a very disappointing afternoon.
Normally, it is incredibly bearish to see stocks retreat so decisively from a retest of prior highs. Rather than chase prices even higher, most owners took this opportunity to lock-in profits. That’s not unexpected given how far we’ve come since the March lows and the start of earnings season adds a new dimension of risk to the calculus. That said, if nothing else thrown at this market has been able to dent it, do we really believe some disappointing earnings will change the market’s mind?
Everyone knows earnings will be dreadful. We very easily could see some of the worst quarter-on-quarter declines in a generation, if not market history. But that’s the thing, everyone knows earnings will be dreadful and these results won’t catch anyone off guard. The same phenomena happened when we experienced the biggest jump in unemployment claims in modern history and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. Did the market flinch following those appallingly bad reports? Nope. It shrugged them off and continued higher.
As I’ve written previously, we continue giving this market the benefit of doubt until it gives a compelling reason not to. This afternoon’s fizzle was definitely a warning sign. But so far it was also only a single warning sign and this rebound has ignored countless similar signals over the last few months. For those reasons, I need further confirmation of a change in trend before I’m willing to abandon this rally.
For the time being, keep holding but move our stops up. 3k is major support but we should be out long before prices retest this level. Consider locking in some profits if prices open weak tomorrow morning and continue skidding in early trade. The next level to lock in further profits is if prices slip under 3,140. Cut through those and close weak again and we should be all the way out.
But just because a dip squeezes us out doesn’t mean we give up on the rally. If prices recover these support levels, we jump back in. Without a doubt, getting caught in a little whipsaw is annoying, but it sure beats holding a bigger loser or missing the next leg higher.
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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
TSLA is at it again, this time smashing through $1,300 and nearly reaching $1,400. Last month I wrote the post, “Is it too late to buy TSLA?” I even accused the stock of being a bubble. But unlike most critics, I don’t run from bubbles, I chase after them. And that’s exactly what I told readers last month.
This is a red-hot stock and there is a very good chance this is another bubble. While that scares some people, what should we be doing when we see a bubble? Why, buying it, of course! What a silly question.
That said, buying bubbles is risky and I told readers to be careful. I laid out a thoughtful trading plan that protected the late buyer but also left them in the best possible position to profit from the next big move.
[F]or the more adventurous, this is still buyable with a stop just under $1k. That said, late buyers should be prepared to get squeezed out a few times by false alarms and whipsaws. But as long as you are committed to buying back in every time the stock pops back above $1k, you will be in the catbird seat for the next leg higher. A few small losses are no big deal if we are there to catch the next big move. $1,200 here we come!
Obviously, my biggest mistake was being too modest with a $1,200 profit target. Silly me!
Now that we are nearly $1,400, is it too late to buy? Hell yes! We buy sensible levels where we can place an intelligent stop to protect our backside. Last month buying above $1,000 with a stop under this level was a very thoughtful level and a natural fit for this rally. As expected, there were a few whipsaws along the way, but as long as TSLA kept reclaiming $1k, we kept buying back in.
While riding whipsaws is annoying, it sure beats sitting through a 60% correction like stubborn owners did this spring. Even better, when stubborn owners were patiently waiting for prices to bounce back, the savvy trader is squeezing even more profit out of this trade. Why profit from a rally only once when we can profit from it twice?
Which brings us to the present. $1,400 is a stupid high level and we should be making a plan to take profits, not adding new money. Consider locking-in a portion of your profits practively and following the rest higher with a trailing stop. When this rally inevitably pauses and/or retreats, it will give us another sensible entry point and we buy back in for the next leg higher.
As for all of the other fanbois drunk on the Koolaid, remember, those that hold all the way up also hold all the way down. We only make money when we sell our favorite stocks. Just because we take sensible profits doesn’t mean we cannot buy back in when the time is right.
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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
The S&P 500 bounced off 3k support Monday morning and it continued that resilience today. The index now finds itself with a 100-points profit cushion as it continues defying all predictions of an imminent collapse.
The most prominent headlines scream “second wave”. This initially spooked the market into a 6% tumble a few weeks ago. But that single, fearful session was as far as this got and prices have remained “surprisingly” resilient ever since.
To those of us that have been paying attention, this resilience isn’t surprising. We know panicked sellers abandoned the market in droves two moths ago. But just as important as chasing off the weak, for every panicked seller, there was an opportunistic buyer who confidently ran into the fire to snap up those steep discounts.
Fast forward a few months and most of those confident dip buyers are still confidently holding for higher prices. If they bought during the “first wave”, doesn’t it make sense to assume they would continue holding through “second wave” too?
No matter what the critics claim, when confident owners don’t sell, scary headlines don’t matter. As long as prices remain above 3k support, the Covid rebound is alive and well. Savvy traders are buying this bounce off of support, not selling it. If prices tumble under 3k, we will be forced to reevaluate our outlook. But until then, continue giving this market the benefit of doubt.
Buy the dip and keep adding to what is working. If prices undercut 3,030, start peeling off longs and use 3k as a hard stop. If prices retest 3k over the next few days, buy the bounce and short the breakdown. It really is as easy as that.
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