March 28 - Morning Trade Report

March 28th - Morning Trade Report 

Today we experienced large gaps in price prior to the open which greatly impacted our ability to get filled at the entry prices we targeted.  We have made it a point not to chase stocks and therefore if we did not get filled at our initial price, then we waited for a new entry point to confirm and then if the trade still made sense, we traded the position.


On March 27th we announced our picks for this mornings session. This watch-list was calculated based on the closing prices on March 27, 2012. Below are the individual stocks we announced on Wednesday. This list was compiled by using the closing prices from NASDAQ and the NYSE percentage up and percentage down securities.  We then used a MetaStock filter overlay of volume, share price and percentage increase on average daily volume over a 24 hour period. 


The picks announced below are for information purposes only and not to be construed as investment advice.  We DO NOT get paid by third parties to announce our picks.  The picks announced are for trading in our portfolio only and not to be used to unjustly influence the market.

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OPXT (S) - Profit Potential Did Not Justify The Trade
XOMA (S) - Did Not React As Planned (Covered .02 off of target price)
NBIX (L) - Did Not React As Planned (Sold at $7.98 for a .20 profit)
ARNA (L) - Did Not Get Filled At Target Price (Entered long trade at 10:12am @ $2.80)
GALE (L) - Reacted BetterThan Planned
MMR (L) - Did Not Get Filled


Here is our trade blotter for March 28, 2012 for the mid morning of trading. 

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Pantheon Traders incorporates a short-term trading strategy we coined the “Controlled Bounce”. This strategy is implemented by executing trades in stocks that have seen a market anomaly in their share price. We have found that historically a 25-30% next day reversal is more often than not the norm on a stock that has been the recipient of either a positive or negative percentage change of more than 11% intra-day. In order for this reversal to be confirmed to trade, the individual issue’s volume must exceed 2(x) average trading volume prior to the market close with a stochastic crossover above 20.00. For this trade, we implemented a leverage ratio of 4:1.This is not an offer to buy or sell securities.  This information is used to track the performance of our own portfolio ONLY and is not to be construed as investment advice. Trading involves a high degree of risk and should not be attempted by people that are risk adverse. Don't invest what you can't afford to lose.

Stocks end mixed; Dow down 17 a day after big gain

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of Wall Street's quietest days in months ended mixed after investors spent the day waiting to see if Slovakia would block an expansion of Europe's financial rescue program.

Slovakia's decision came after U.S. stock markets closed. That country's parliament rejected a bill to strengthen the powers of a regional rescue fund. The sixteen other countries that use the euro have already signed off on the bill, but the measure requires unanimous support.

There are ways around Slovakia's opposition, but the move temporarily sets back efforts to address Europe's debt jam, which has been the most important issue for financial markets for months. Investors worry that if Europe doesn't contain its debt crisis, a default by the Greek government could deliver a devastating blow to European banks and cause them to freeze up lending.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 17 points after moving between small gains and losses throughout the day. The index traded within a range of only 82 points, the narrowest since July 20. The relatively tepid trading came a day after the Dow surged 330 points, its largest increase since Aug. 11.

During Slovakia's 10-hour debate, European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet warned that countries needed to act urgently to stem what he called a "systemic" crisis that threatened global financial stability.

"I think markets want to say `who cares about Slovakia,' but the reality is every little country has to agree," said Randy Warren, investment strategist at Exton, Pa.-based firm Warren Financial Service.

Greece has been on the brink of defaulting on its debt for months. If that happens, it would hurt European and U.S. banks by decimating the value of Greek government bonds they own. Those banks would then be less likely to lend to each other and to businesses. That could plug up an already weak global economy, with implications for everything from bank stocks to international trade.

The Dow lost 16.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 11,416.3. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.65 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,195.54 The Nasdaq composite rose 16.98, or 0.7 percent, to 2,583.03.

Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. plunged 5.6 percent in after-hours trading after reported that its earnings slumped from the previous quarter, suggesting demand from Europe has slowed.

Markets have been swinging wildly since early August, when Europe's economy suddenly seemed closer to the brink of collapse.

Moves of more than 100 points for the Dow have become commonplace as traders react swiftly to every whiff of news coming out of Europe. The S&P 500 is up 8.8 percent since last Tuesday, when it traded 20 percent below its April peak. Had the S&P closed at that level, it would have put the index into what analysts call a bear market. The index is still down 5.1 percent for the year.

Many market watchers think the volatility will continue until heavily indebted countries like Greece, Spain and Italy have established a clear path out of their current debt mess. Some hope that the summer's heavy selling may have reflected the worst of the market's fears.

"It appears that barring an uncontrolled meltdown, the bottom is in," said Warren.

In corporate news, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. fell 2 percent after the car-rental company said it was taking itself off the market after failing to get acceptable takeover proposals from Hertz or other companies.

Discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores Inc. rose 4.4 percent. Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have offered to buy the company for $22 per share in cash, a 7 percent premium from Monday's closing price.

Alcoa is the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report third-quarter results. Many analysts hope that the upcoming wave of corporate earnings reports will pull investor focus away from Europe and back to the health of U.S. corporations.

Analysts expect earnings from S&P 500 companies to rise about 12 percent from the same period last year, according to data provider FactSet. Revenue is expected to rise 11 percent. Investors are concerned not only with companies' performance over the last quarter but what they expect to earn over the next year. A series of gloomy forecasts could compound fears that the country could enter another recession.