Google is making a run at a big fat round number - 1200 -- which would also be a new all-time high, and time is of the essence to get aboard what could be a rocket ship ride much, much higher. We don't have much time to waste so I'll just cut right to it.
When you talk about the fundamentals of these banks, then people get really scared, but there comes a certain point where that horribleness gets priced in.
I'm rarely, if ever, a bottom-feeder in the stock market. But knowing that $DB is just too big of a name to allow to go bust (I think regulators learned their lesson with Lehman Brothers?), it seems like a low-risk, potentially high reward play to dip our toes in the water in a risk-defined play to participate in a rebound.
Sector rotation has been a hot topic as this bull market keeps finding fresh legs to pull us higher. As we scan the entire marketplace looking for clues as to the next sector to wake up, we've identified the Home Builders as a viable option with some clearly defined levels to keep it simple.
Americans love their burgers. And customers around the world love American iconic brands. These two forces are unlikely to change in the near future, and thus sales at McDonald's restaurants around the world should continue to be strong. Of course, I couldn't care less about the fundamentals. I'm just watching price action and volatility and see a nice opportunity to profit shaping up in the options market for $MCD this summer.
Rotation is the big word that's got us stock market bulls excited around here. It seems every couple of weeks there's a new sector that takes the baton to lead the broader indices higher. And just when one sector looks like it might be running out of steam, another one shows up to take that baton further down the track.
How long until the track runs out of runners? We don't know, but we still see a lot of contestants lacing up their shoes. Either way, after such a great relay race, if you're concerned that the next runner has a higher than normal chance of stepping on a crack, but you'd hate to be sitting on your hands if he builds on the lead, then I've got a trade that I think allows you win in both scenarios.
It happens far too often: a game-changing company comes on the scene, has a massive run in its share price, makes a ton of people a ton of money, and becomes a media darling with constant, breathless stories about this exciting new widget maker.
But then the sideliners who sat with their hands in their pockets begin to grumble about how "the stock is overbought", "it's going to crash," "the founder is a fraud," "this company is a scam," etc. No skin in the game, just bitter about not participating. It seems in recent years, Tesla (and it's founder Elon Musk) has been the poster child for this phenomenon.
The Technology sector ETF $XLK in recent months has overtaken its previous highs set in the year 2000. For anyone that was trading during that time, you know that breaking these levels is a big deal. Do you think 18 years of reclaiming former highs is going to stall right here? I don't.
But maybe you think this week's stretch break higher is a little much and while you're bullish too, perhaps you're more cautiously so in the near term? I don't entirely disagree. Thankfully we've got some well defined levels to trade against while seeking to earn some income.
Technology stocks continue to lead the broader markets higher, and that still keeps us at All Star Charts bullish on stocks. How can you not be when technology has such an important weight on the indexes?
JC recently drew attention to the leadership in the Payments Processing space. It seems that nearly every chart of every major company in the sector looks insanely bullish. And it's hard to argue when you look at names like Visa ($V), Mastercard ($MA), Global Payments ($GPN), Paychex ($PAYX), and Square ($SQ).
But my attention is squarely focused on an opportunity in Paypal $PYPL and here's why...
The $XLE Energy Sector ETF is currently scoring one of the highest implied volatilities relative to it's biggest ETF peers. Sure, it's warranted as price action has been a bit erratic of late. And we can argue about the politics and economics behind the moves and what they all mean. But I'll leave that to another guy who doesn't value his time. All I care about is putting myself in trades where an edge exits.
And when IV is priced high, these are often great opportunities to hunt for credit spreads.
Options are a leveraged instrument, and if you're not careful, it's easy to find yourself exposed to more risk than what you're comfortable with. A subscriber to All Star Options pinged me this week with some questions and I thought our discussion might be fruitful to everyone...