T0rM3nTeD's paper trading journal

Closed my position in TWTR today. Details and thoughts below.

Symbol: TWTR (LONG)
Date Entered: 4/28/16
Price Entered: $14.92
# of shares: 221
Total Investment: $3,297.32
Stop set: $13.50 (MAX RISK $243.57 - 3%)
Target set: $18 (TARGET GAINS $660.68 - 20.64%)
Date Exited: 5/27/16
Price Exited: $14.82
% Return: -0.67%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): -$42.10
Immediate Thoughts: I thought Twitter was at the bottom, and still believe that it's at the bottom ($14-$15 range). I was in for a month and got tired of watching it go up and down. It was a headache and completely unpredictable. I think it's at the bottom, but is going to take some big news to rise. A CEO change, rumors of a selling of the company, etc. The company's management is what's holding me back from staying in the position. I will take my money and put it somewhere that has more upside and more predictable. I'm not happy with how the trade went, as I entered mainly based on company name and nothing technical about the chart other than support at the bottom. It was more of a gut feel, and less of a "system" play. The lesson to be learned for myself on this one is to stick to basics and not enter trades purely on company name or gut feelings.

 

Got stopped out of my position in S today. Details and thoughts below.

Symbol: S (SHORT)
Date Entered: 5/17/16
Price Entered: $3.50
# of shares: 810
Total Investment: $2,835
Stop set: $3.80 (MAX RISK $242.93 - 3% portfolio loss)
Target set: $2.50 (TARGET GAINS $790 - 28.57% profit)
Date Exited: 5/31/16
Price Exited: $3.80
% Return: -8.57%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): -$263.00
Immediate Thoughts: I thought this was going to break down underneath that 50MA and continue to head down. Sprint just is not a name you hear in the running for the mobile market too often anymore. In hindsight, I should have set a tighter stop, as I should have known that once it was heading up, it wasn't going to be breaking down anymore. Or at the very least, manually exited the trade. I could have cut my losses much sooner, as after a day or two of having the trade open, I no longer liked the outlook. I should have paid closer attention and exited early. I'm fine with the original thought and entry, but definitely waited too long to exit as the stock moved the opposite direction and continued to.

Thankfully most of my other positions have been big gainers the last few trading days to help soften the blow on this one.

 

Got stopped out of my position in F today. Details and thoughts below.

Symbol: F (LONG)
Date Entered: 5/11/16
Price Entered: $13.33
# of shares: 484
Total Investment: $6,451.72
Stop set: $13.00 (MAX RISK $159.80 - 2% portfolio loss)
Target set: $14.50 (TARGET GAINS $546.28 - 8.78% profit)
Date Exited: 6/1/16
Price Exited: $13
% Return: -2.48%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): -$179.72
Immediate Thoughts: Honestly I'm not sure why I set the stop at $13 (even number/support). It was either a typo or I wasn't thinking straight, probably the latter. I should have done something more like $12.90ish so that if there was a bounce back after dropping through support I wouldn't get stopped out early, which is EXACTLY what happened. This bounced right back up to $13.11 at close of the day. In almost all my positions, I set the stop a little below support so if there's a bounce, I don't get my position closed too early, so this will just help me reinforce that idea.

 

Opened up a position in XRX, RH, and BP today.

Symbol: RH (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/1/16
Price Entered: $32.95
# of shares: 75
Total Investment: $2,471.25
Stop set: $30.70 (MAX RISK $169.35 - 2% portfolio)
Target set: $46 (TARGET GAINS $958.75 - 39.61% profit)
Current profit/loss: +3.37%

Symbol: BP (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/1/16
Price Entered: $30.78
# of shares: 109
Total Investment: $3,355.02
Stop set: $30.50 (MAX RISK $84.67 - 1% portfolio)
Target set: $33.15 (TARGET GAINS $238.33 - 7.70% profit)
Current profit/loss: +1.82%

Symbol: XRX (SHORT)
Date Entered: 6/1/16
Price Entered: $9.90
# of shares: 605
Total Investment: $5,979.50
Stop set: $10.25 (MAX RISK $169.35 - 2% portfolio)
Target set: $9.05 (TARGET GAINS $484.25 - 8.59% profit)
Current profit/loss: -0.81%

 

Forgot to post a weekly update. So here goes with my current portfolio.

Weekly update on OPEN positions (total gain/loss since position was started):

LONG plays:

• GE: Entry price $30.89. Current price $30.11 -2.53%
• DIS: Entry price $104.14. Current price $98.52. -5.40%
• KMI: Entry price $17.08. Current price $17.96. +5.15%
• BAC: Entry price $14.15. Current price $14.86. +5.02%
• BYD: Entry price $18.49. Current price $19.42. +5.03%
  
• RH: Entry price $32.95. Current price $34.06. +3.37%
• BP: Entry price $30.78. Current price $31.34. +1.82%

SHORT plays:

• XRX: Entry price $9.90. Current price $9.98. -0.81%

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Weekly update on CLOSED positions this week:

LONG plays:

• FCAU: Entry price $7.03. Exit price $6.75. -3.98%
• TWTR: Entry price $14.92. Exit price $14.82. -0.67%
  
• F: Entry price $13.33. Exit price $13. -2.48%

SHORT plays:

• S: Entry price $3.50. Exit price $3.80. -8.57%

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Things I'm currently watching closely next week and in the near future:

• DIS to move up past $100 and the 50MA. It's only a matter of time before this breaks through $100 again.
• GE to announce their dividend soon.
• KMI and BYD are getting closer to my target prices of $19.03 and $21.22 respectively. Will be watching for possible exits soon.
• SCTY looks interesting for a possible entry if it drops down to support around $18-$19.
• X to drop down to $13.20 for an entry with a target price of $20.
• MCD to drop down to $118 for an entry with a target price of $131.50.
• AMD to drop down to $4.31 for an entry with a target price of $5.
• SKX to continue heading back down to the $26 range for another swing trade up to $34. It's been trading in that 26-34 channel since last October, bouncing off each 2-3 times.
• FCAU to drop back under $7 for a possible re-entry and a ride up into the $8's.
• ATVI a possible reentry (maybe in the low $37's).

Another poor week closing 4 positions all for losses Lots of my currently open positions though are doing well right now. If I were to close everything at this moment, I'd cover most of those losses, and still be up on the year about 25% on my portfolio. Just got to keep that in mind and not let these losses aggravate me. Overall for my first couple months, I think I'm doing well and learning a lot, and that's what's important.

 

Thanks @Tiptopptrader. I'm still very new, as you know. Learning and fine-tuning as I go along. Any advice/input/criticism on anything I post is always welcome and encouraged. I take criticism pretty well, and use it as learning experiences, so feel free to chime in on any thoughts I post in this thread or anywhere else if you want to!

 

I entered AMD at $4.31 and AMSG at $75.31. Will post details later tonight.

 

Details on the positions I opened up today in AMD, and AMSG.

Symbol: AMD (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/2/16
Price Entered: $4.31
# of shares: 1679
Total Investment: $7,236.49
Stop set: $4.16 (MAX RISK $251.91 - 3% portfolio) NOTE: I did not put this stop-loss in yet as I wanted to let the drop finish today to see where it landed.
Target set: $5 (TARGET GAINS $1,138.51 - 16.01% profit)
Current profit/loss: -1.62%

Symbol: AMSG (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/2/16
Price Entered: $75.31
# of shares: 104
Total Investment: $7,832.24
Stop set: $73.80 (MAX RISK $167.94 - 2% portfolio)
Target set: $82.18 (TARGET GAINS $694.48 - 9.12% profit)
Current profit/loss: +0.97%

 

Closed my short position in XRX at $10.21 for a loss. Not liking what I'm seeing anymore, so I'll take a slightly lower loss than if I wait for it to stop me out. Will post details later.

 

Closed my position in BAC today at $14.62 for a gain. Not sure what will happen with Yellen so locking up profit. Can always re-enter later. Details later.

 

Closed my positions in XRX and BAC today. Details and thoughts below.

Symbol: BAC (LONG)
Date Entered: 5/11/16
Price Entered: $14.15
# of shares: 355
Total Investment: $5,023.25
Stop set: $13.70 (MAX RISK $159.80 - 2% portfolio loss)
Target set: $17 (TARGET GAINS $991.75 - 20.14% profit)
Date Exited: 6/6/16
Price Exited: $14.62
% Return: +3.32%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): +$146.85
Immediate Thoughts: I entered into BAC thinking it had a shot to hit $17-$18 if there was indeed a rate hike in the near future. The way the market was shaping up and the state of the economy, most people were predicting no more rate hike this month, and I decided I would lock up a little profit ahead of the Yellen speech today. I figured if no rate hike was announced, like was predicted, the stock would drop down and I could always re-enter at a lower price. Currently the stock is sitting at $14.52, so in the very early stages, it's looking like the right decision.

Symbol: XRX (SHORT)
Date Entered: 6/1/16
Price Entered: $9.90
# of shares: 605
Total Investment: $5,979.50
Stop set: $10.25 (MAX RISK $169.35 - 2% portfolio loss)
Target set: $9.05 (TARGET GAINS $484.25 - 8.59% profit)
Date Exited: 6/6/16
Price Exited: $10.21
% Return: -3.13%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): -$217.55
Immediate Thoughts: I was thinking as everything becomes more and more digital and XRX gets more and more phased out, this would be a decent short opportunity. There was resistance at the 50MA and 200MA just above my entry point. I manually exited this trade before my stop loss, as I was no longer liking what I was seeing with the chart, and the price had broken through the resistance I previously spoke of. In hindsight, I should have exited sooner after it broke through resistance, but I still saved a little from my stop price.

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While the 2 positions I exited today resulted in a loss, almost every position I still have open resulted in large gains. Very good day for me.

 

Bought SLV at $15.57 with a real tight stop to see if it can hold above the 50MA and head up.

 

Closed my position in RH at $35.68 to lock up profits ahead of tomorrow's earnings, which I expect to be a miss.

Details of both transactions later

 

Details on the position I opened up today in SLV.

Symbol: SLV (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/7/16
Price Entered: $15.57
# of shares: 486
Total Investment: $7,567.02
Stop set: $15.50 (MAX RISK $87.42 - <1% portfolio)
Target set: $17 (TARGET GAINS $674.98 - 9.18% profit)
Current profit/loss: +0.19%

 

Closed my position in RH today. Details and thoughts below.

Symbol: RH (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/1/16
Price Entered: $32.95
# of shares: 75
Total Investment: $2,471.25
Stop set: $30.70 (MAX RISK $169.35 - 2% portfolio loss)
Target set: $46 (TARGET GAINS $958.75 - 39.61% profit)
Date Exited: 6/7/16
Price Exited: $35.68
% Return: +8.29%
Profit (after $20 total trading fees): +$184.75
Immediate Thoughts: I entered into RH because it appeared to be coming off it's bottom, MACD had just crossed over, and the stock was just coming out of being oversold. There was no real resistance until the 50MA at around $39. Everything pointed towards a quick easy gainer as long as the market didn't crash. I overlooked the fact that earnings was one week after I entered, so was not able to remain in the trade as long as I had hoped and got nowhere near my target price. It was still an 8+% gainer though, and I was able to lock up profits before earnings after close tomorrow. I am not expecting a positive earnings report, so I decided to exit early an hour or so before close today.

 

Glad I exited this. I posted earnings results in the RH thread here and they missed resulting in the stock down almost 17% so far: http://stockaholics.net/threads/rh-restoration-holdings.1159/#post-10932

My position in AMSG is up over 2% today and now even more after hours on reports that they could be merging: http://stockaholics.net/threads/amsg-amsurg-corp.575/#post-10942

My position in BP is over my target price, I should have already closed it if I was sticking to my target, but I've gotten a little greedy apparently. I will probably be closing tomorrow.

 

Just re-entered into BAC after selling it on Monday for a profit ahead of the Yellen speech.

Symbol: BAC (LONG)
Date Entered: 6/9/16
Price Entered: $14.11
# of shares: 449
Total Investment: $6,335.39
Stop set: $13.70 (MAX RISK $179.50 - 2% portfolio)
Target set: $18 (TARGET GAINS $1,726.61 - 27.57% profit) - assuming a rate hike announcement and follow through, otherwise it will be a short trade taking profits (probably 3-4%) like last time.
Current profit/loss: +0.00%