Some setups on the stocks that I’m watching.

First is AAPL. This is a watch and you would wait until it breaks out of the Bull Flag or creates a pivot low.

Chevron is also forming a Bull Flag and just like Apple above, wait for the breakout. I currently own Chevron.

I like Ford but we have a down trend and up trend that will collide soon. A break in one direction or other should happen soon. Price is also below the 200 day moving average which makes this trade a little risky. I would also have to see a price break above the last pivot high before I invested in Ford.

First Merit is a slow grinding stock but it is working on another Bull Flag and worth watching. I currently own this stock.

GE current uptrend is a little steep so I would think that it would have to slow or consolidate for awhile, but a bull flag is forming, so I will play it if there is a breakout up.

My current Stocks that I track.

Tracking to many stocks at one time is just not good. You always feel as if your chasing your tail and even though you might miss a few great runs, at least if you focus you might be able to trade and make stable profit. So here is my list:

AAPL, BIDU, CAT, CVX, F, FMER, GE, HD, KOG, LLY, MRK, PFE, PNC, RAI, SYY, UA.

Technology – 2

Industrial Goods – 2

Basic Materials – 2

Consumer Goods – 3

Financials – 2

Services – 2

Healthcare – 3

Update Wednesday 12/28/11

Got stopped out of QCOR yesterday and here is my updated tracking sheet.

New Report Format for stocks

So above you we see my latest reporting tool built in Excel that will help me track my Profit and loss statement much more effectively. The only column that I need to explain is the potential profit. It is based on how many shares I purchased, cost per share, and then subtracted by my Stop loss order in case things go against me. That is what we call managing risk. As I move along this new year of 2012, I’m sure that I will tweak it to show months and something else I would like to show is my actual risk per trade and actual risk based on all I own against what I have invested.

If you have any suggestions, please email me or tell me in person and I will consider showing it.

Here is a chart comparing the markets around the world.

All that comes to mind is, Ouch!

Monday’s picks

I really do not have anything for this week but I will show you my favorite that I got in on Friday. FMER is my new favorite.

This is my second favorite and I have been waiting to pounce on it since my oldest son asked me my opinion about HD. That would be Home Depot.

After looking at all the stocks in my list, if I was going to buy one Monday this would be it. Merek (MRK).

Let look at last Monday’s buy and sells

Let’s start with Under Armor (UA). Opened up $80.99 and slid downhill from that moment on. It never met the requirement of $82.64 or above, so it was a no go and no money lost. I got bumped out for a $11.94 loss.

Questcor Phram (QCOR) had large swing on Monday, but by 1pm, so had your door to entry when it pushed back through $43.33. Stoploss should be between $41.50 – $41.75 and you should have a small gain because it sits at $43.89.

Kodiak Oil (KOG) never gave you chance to enter Monday and once it didn’t all bets were off. You should have never purchased this. Even though I put my Good till Cancel order on it, I paid the price buy having my fire off on Tuesday and I got in and out same day for a $82.16 loss. What an idiot for not cancelling that order Monday night. Stick to your rules and dumb things like that will not happen. No follow though the day after pivot is a good sign that wasn’t meant to be. Doh!

This leaves us Apple (AAPL), we may have gotten burned on this one. For the first 30 minutes the stock the stock stayed above $390, then floated down and then back above by the end of the day. Ok, you should have bought here and set stoploss at $385. Tuesday things turned ugly toward the end of the day and then the rest of the week, got worse. You should have gotten bounced out Wednesday, so this was not a winner. To make matters worse, AAPL created a lower pivot high and now it is back on the watch list and not a buy at all.

Caterpillar (CAT) never even got close to $98.20, so it to was no go.

So in conclusion, 3 out of 5 were a no go and 2 actually fired a go. AAPL failed, but as of right now you should still be holding QCOR with a small gain. So as long as you were disciplined, not much harm was done and should be about even considering your still holding QCOR.