I love earnings season. Perhaps it's the CPA inside of me, having practiced in public accounting for a couple decades. Maybe it's the excitement of new fundamental information being released that alters the valuation of companies. But mostly, I think, it's the short-term inefficiency... READ MORE
Growth stocks have been hammered on both an absolute and relative basis over the past several weeks, but as we move into earnings season, should we pay attention to rising AD lines? The accumulation/distribution line, developed by Marc Chaikin, doesn't really look at whether the stock is... READ MORE
I'm sure that most of you have heard that old Wall Street adage "buy on rumor, sell on news." Well, it's never truer than with earnings. Wall Street meets with management teams prior to the end of the fiscal quarter and gathers a lot... READ MORE
The NASDAQ has been the unwanted third wheel the past month or so as the Dow Jones has moved above 32000 and 33000 and the S&P 500 has approached 4000. Of course, it's all about perspective and the NASDAQ has been the leader since the pandemic... READ MORE
From a short-term trading perspective, options expiration presents a host of opportunities. The market makers were at it again this week, looking under every seat cushion for a few extra bucks. The key is to beat them to the seat cushion. Let's rewind to our EarningsBeats.com March... READ MORE
We've been in a solid secular bull market for years, but the past couple years have been difficult for sure. Still, we've seen plenty of stocks breaking out over and over again (ie, autos, renewable energy, etc.). But not all stocks have participated, even those in... READ MORE
At the time of my last ChartWatchers article two weeks ago, the 10-year treasury yield ($TNX) had just closed at 1.46% after reaching an intra-week high at 1.61%. Well, we didn't stop there. The TNX had a big day on Friday, gaining nearly 11 basis points... READ MORE
In last weekend's Part 1 of 2, I discussed what divergences are and provided an analogy. Divergences can flash a refueling warning light during a long-term journey higher. If you recall, I illustrated it by using Starbucks (SBUX) as an example: Divergences can mark long-term tops, but I&... READ MORE
When you look into a technician's "tool kit", you'll likely find a divergence analysis. Generally speaking, any time you have higher prices and lower (fill in the blank) or lower prices and higher (fill in the blank), there's either a negative divergence... READ MORE
I know it was a rough week last week; I only need to take one look at my own portfolio to figure that out. But the stock market doesn't go up in a straight line. There will ALWAYS be pullbacks. But be careful which "stories" you... READ MORE
This is an exciting day for EarningsBeats.com and its members. It's the day when we select the 10 equal-weighted stocks for each of our 4 portfolios - Model, Aggressive, Income, and Strong AD. Portfolio results-to-date have been superb and you can check out our holdings the past... READ MORE
I believe the bull market vs. bear market debate has ended. We've been through a trade war, 100-year pandemic, an economic shutdown, a very divisive political battle, mountains of debt, etc., and where do we stand? At an all-time high. That should convince you that we're... READ MORE
We've seen a hiccup the past few days, but overall money has rotated strongly into small caps. There are a couple ways to visualize this rotation. I tend to use price relative charts so that I can view the relative momentum on a historical basis. To do this,... READ MORE
Happy Valentine's Day! The Volatility Index ($VIX) is one of the sentiment indicators that I pay close attention to. So many sentiment readings deal with "feelings", which I tend to discard. I want to know what is actually going on with THE MONEY. Don't... READ MORE
When we go through our quarterly portfolio "draft" at EarningsBeats.com, we take a top down approach. We first evaluate the overall market to determine if we're bullish, neutral, or bearish. Clearly, we're bullish. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high... READ MORE
The quarterly earnings that have poured out are utterly amazing. We're not just talking slight beats; Corporate America is CRUSHING it and the pent up demand hasn't even kicked in yet. In the meantime, the Fed is content to sit idly by with interest rates hovering... READ MORE
It's hard to believe, but our 9th quarter of Model Portfolio performance is nearing an end. Barring a last minute collapse, we will outperform the S&P 500 for the 8th time in those 9 quarters. I'm proud of the performance of all of our... READ MORE
I know the Gamestop (GME) craze has slowed down considerably, but short squeezes will always be in play. When a stock's float has been heavily borrowed against and borrowed shares sold, those short sellers must buy those borrowed shares back at some point down the road. And when... READ MORE
I want you to look at a 5-year relative chart without titles and, before you look below the chart, see if you can name the industry group that's been responsible for this amazing long-term relative strength: The relative price action (vs. the S&P 500) has remained... READ MORE
Recently, we introduced a newer, very organized way of viewing earnings results at EarningsBeats.com. We call it our Upcoming Earnings ChartList, which our entire community can download into their own StockCharts.com account, assuming that you are either an Extra or Pro members. Others can still view the ChartLists,... READ MORE
There are a number of sentiment indicators in the stock market, but I prefer those that indicate the panic taking place "at the moment", rather than those depicting "feelings". So I've always used the Volatility Index ($VIX) and equity only put call ratio ($CPCE)... READ MORE
Just stop. Listen, the two key drivers to the long-term direction of the stock market are (1) earnings growth and (2) monetary policy. That's it. The rest is completely noise that you need to tune out. Most humans are innately pessimistic. It's how we're... READ MORE
You can usually tell whether a strong earnings report is upcoming simply by the way a stock is trading prior to earnings. Wall Street has one major advantage over the rest of us. They contact management teams throughout the quarter and they have a fairly strong idea how business conditions... READ MORE
I have written countless articles on the art of buying stocks in a short squeeze or on the verge of being in a short squeeze. The results can be truly astounding. I'm going to walk you through three recent short squeezes. If you owned ANY of these three... READ MORE
Follow my logic: You expect ENPH to go higher, so you buy 10 calls at XX strike price on ENPH. The market maker that sells you those 10 contracts employs a covered call strategy and buys 1000 shares of ENPH. (This protects the market maker as ENPH's stock... READ MORE
We all knew it was coming - or at least we should have. Industries that struggled throughout the pandemic and restrictions would come back to life once positive vaccine news hit and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But let me caution you first. They... READ MORE
You might think the stock market is really unpredictable and, for the most part, I'd agree with you. But when we get to options expiration week, there is a consistent theme that emerges nearly every month. The market makers are looking to steal you blind. Once per month,... READ MORE
All of the stocks and ETFs in our 5 current portfolios are "drafted" in real time during our members-only events that we hold quarterly. I don't Monday Morning quarterback; I listen to what Wall Street is saying and stick with the themes that are driving big... READ MORE
I wrote about a pending short-term correction in AAPL shares a couple weeks ago right here in the DITC blog. My article, "Apple (AAPL) Prints Reversing Candle, Short-Term Selling Possible", illustrated the reversing dark cloud cover candle that had taken place at key price resistance established at the... READ MORE
Any time that it behooves market makers to direct prices lower, I get nervous. So that means I get nervous as we approach the 3rd Friday of every calendar month (monthly options expiration day), especially if we've seen a nice advance leading up to it. If you'... READ MORE
Whether you're investing in individual stocks or ETFs, finding that next BIG winner makes a huge difference in your absolute results and your relative results vs. a benchmark like the S&P 500. At EarningsBeats.com, we spend a great deal of time researching stocks and reviewing... READ MORE
The demon lies within. Listen, I know because I've had to overcome this demon. Stock market success - true, sound, market-beating success - didn't occur until I realized one thing. The stock market, collectively, is smarter than me. When I began constructing our stock portfolios at... READ MORE
Imagine you're in a crowded theater, there's one small exit in the lower corner and someone yells, "FIRE!" Or perhaps you're the bottom grain of sand in an hourglass. That's what many of the short sellers likely feel like today... READ MORE
Happy New Year! Many market pundits view every year in the stock market exactly the same. I do not. I believe there are "big picture" headwinds and tailwinds that impact the stock market in much the same way as currents impact fish attempting to swim upstream vs. downstream.... READ MORE
Candlestick charting can be very useful if you're a short-term trader, especially when you see a reversing candle at key price support or resistance. Yesterday, we saw a dark cloud cover candle form on more-than-average volume, suggesting to me that AAPL may have topped near-term. Make no mistake,... READ MORE
Consolidation requires patience and anyone that's owned AMZN during the 4th quarter knows what I'm talking about. Since September 30th, the S&P 500 has gained more than 10%, while AMZN has flat-lined. Many will view this relative weakness as a signal to avoid AMZN... READ MORE
When I speak to anyone about ETFs, the conversation nearly always revolves around performance. I'm not saying that performance isn't important. Ultimately, it's what we all look at. But I'm surprised that many ETF investors have no plan. They hear about this... READ MORE
Since the March lows, the NASDAQ has seen its RSI approach or pierce the overbought 70 level on 11 different occasions. The only meaningful correction that's taken place on any of those 11 occurrences, though, has been the September selling. Historically, September is a poor month, so we... READ MORE
We combine fundamentals and technicals at EarningsBeats.com to deliver market-beating returns. While past results can never guarantee future results, our strategy has a documented record of crushing the S&P 500, not just beating it. Our approach is undeniably simple: find companies that are (1) underpromising and overdelivering,... READ MORE
I love to see a leading industry group go through a lengthy consolidation period on both an absolute and relative basis....and then break out. There haven't been too many groups that have consistently performed better than software ($DJUSSW) over the past several years. Here's a... READ MORE