EFNT +6, NEWP +5, MACR +5..SNDK + 3 3/4
after hours, it did have its first positive earnings just like i thought, and a small call position was advocated but in the backdrop of this volatile market it was hard to be totally contrarian. I went short EXAR twice (an excellent stock) and at the end..I felt good because it did well, after I covered it moved down another 3 points.
Then I picked up some MACR calls at the last minute because the stock looked oversold and it was knocked pretty hard. Now MACR is up 5 after hours. Basically you have to be totally contrarian at the end of the day, the more the market tanks the best time it is to buy calls, and the cheapest. But sometimes you can't trade all that emotionlessly while recalling in your mind's eye previous 'travesties' that have happened 'the morning after'.. I had my hot key poised at least 3 times to pick up the NEWP calls but chickened because these were about 7 bucks and that translates to an immediate 2k loss (about 30% if the stock moves down about 4 points).. So I can't say 'woulda, shoulda.. etc. but the others were in the 'trading plan'.
These volatile markets are great but it has also made the logical action after an obvious trading 'set up' a little harder to follow through. Unfortunately, others are trained to buy the highs and sell the lows so we traders are at least more aware of the truth in that tragedy. But we have to be really without emotion and 'go the other way' to get the beef of the trade. I do preach it but don't practice it enough. But in a rational analysis you can't blame yourself for not making perfect trades and sure buying call options in 4 of our earnings plays would have turned a perfect day into an amazing day (including tomorrow's gap up) but it was not to be.
Even with the strictest power of will over emotion, the little trickle from the IBM, AAPL, DELL, NVLS disasters that cost a lot of people so much grief is indelible in your mind and try what you will, it will take a lot more than a good earnings report from a MACR, EFNT or NEWP to eradicate it completely. |
