John, it finished flat for the day.
For three weeks now Herzog has been leaning on the stock (at 3/8 today). It's like he has a supply, if needed, but doesn't really want to sell any. He just wants the stock lower. Herzog is brokering for someone, of course, though it's not beneath these guys to front run. The other mm's, particularly the trading houses, probably know this and are now trading against his offer. Today the bias was to the buy side because the same situation presented on the bid side. Mayer & Schweitzer showed a buy of 9,000 shares most of the day so the other mm's were trading off of that. The message I am trying to convey is; the mm's feel that if they need stock they can go to Herzog and if they get hit with too much they can lay it off on Mayer & Schweitzer. Marketmakers love a situation like this which in small chunks is riskless. They don't have to show a bid or an offer, just compete, and they get a chance at the inside on every trade. Of course tomorrow may be different.
The steadier the trading is, like today, the more likely a breakout. You probably made a good buy today, John. Personally I will get aggressive when I see Herzog move up or a new CEO with credibility come on board. |
