Alcon Inc. - ACL - close: 116.44 change: +0.72 stop: 109.90 It was a rocky session for ACL. The stock plunged to $113.27 Friday morning only to rally toward $119.00 midday. Shares then began to drift lower and then suddenly doped back to dropped toward $116 on news that an FDA committee had rejected a dry-eye drug by River Plate Biotechnology, which would have been marketed by ACL. I would expect another dip toward $115.00 and readers can open bullish call positions there. Our first target is $119.90. Our second target is $124.50.
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Apollo Group - APOL - close: 68.50 change: +1.18 stop: 63.85 *new* Monday is our last day for the APOL call play. The company reports earnings after the bell on Monday and Wall Street is looking for a profit of $1.12 a share. Friday's action was bullish with a new relative high and a close over the simple 100-dma. Unfortunately APOL still has overhead resistance at the 200-dma. I am raising our stop loss to $63.85, just under Thursday's low. More conservative traders may want to raise their stops to breakeven at $66.10. We will exit completely if given the chance at $69.95.
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Becton Dickinson - BDX - close: 70.94 change: +0.03 stop: 67.75 Friday was a very quiet day for BDX. The stock churned sideways in a narrow range. I remain bullish on the stock with the breakout over $70.00 but readers might want to wait for another dip back to $70.00 as an entry point. Our first target to take profits is $74.90. Our second target is $79.00. Currently the Point & Figure chart is bullish and forecasts an $86 target. We don't want to hold over the late July earnings report. Note: I'll admit that our second target at $79 is a little aggressive considering our time frame. Be sure to take some money off the table at $74.90.
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Covance Inc. - CVD - close: 48.86 change: +0.64 stop: 45.49 CVD is a new play from our Thursday night newsletter. The stock gained 1.3% on Friday and is testing technical resistance at its exponential 200-dma. I'm suggesting call positions now or on dips near $46.00. Our first target is $52.40. Our second target is $57.00 but we may run out of time.
Suggested Options: BUY CALL AUG 45.00 CVD-HI open interest= 833 current ask $5.60 BUY CALL AUG 50.00 CVD-HJ open interest= 571 current ask $2.45 BUY CALL AUG 55.00 CVD-HK open interest= 205 current ask .90
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Deckers Outdoor - DECK - close: 73.90 change: +2.00 stop: 67.75 *new* The window dressing in DECK was strong enough to shrug off a lackluster market and break out past its earlier June high. DECK gained 2.7%. If you're looking for a new entry point you may want to wait for a dip. Broken resistance near $70.00 should become new support. I am adjusting our stop loss to $67.75. Our first target is $78.50. Our second target is $82.50 but traders need to take some profits at our first target! $82.50 is more aggressive.
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Quest Diagnostic - DGX - close: 55.25 chg: -0.64 stop: 51.95 DGX encountered a little bit of profit taking heading into the weekend. If you're looking for a new entry point I would wait for a dip near $54.00. Our first target to take profits is $58.25. We'll set our second target at $59.90. More aggressive traders may want to aim higher. The Point & Figure chart has a new triple-top breakout buy signal with a $75 target. We do not want to hold over the late July earnings report.
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Express Scripts - ESRX - close: 67.79 change: -0.81 stop: 63.75 ESRX also encountered a little bit of profit taking heading into the weekend. Readers looking for new bullish entry points can watch for a dip near $65.00. Broken resistance near $65 should be new support. Our first target is $69.90. Our second target is $74.75.
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Euro Currency ETF - FXE - close: 140.71 chg: +0.80 stop: 137.90 The U.S. dollar is beginning to roll over again, which is good news for any euro bulls. The euro is breaking out from a three-week consolidation. Readers can open new call positions near $140.00. Our first target is $144.50. Our second target is $148.50. The P&F chart is bullish with a $168 target.
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Millicom Intl. - MICC - close: 56.64 change: +0.27 stop: 53.45 MICC is up four days in a row and volume has been evaporating during the bounce. That's potentially bad news. Readers may want to take a step back and wait for a dip near $55.00 before considering new bullish positions. Or use my earlier suggestion and wait for a breakout over $57.00. Our first target is $59.95. Our second target is $64.50. We only have about three weeks before MICC's earnings so we may not reach the second target.
Suggested Options: BUY CALL JUL 55.00 CQD-GK open interest= 299 current ask $3.60 BUY CALL JUL 60.00 CQD-GL open interest= 625 current ask $1.30 BUY CALL AUG 55.00 CQD-HK open interest= 63 current ask $6.10 BUY CALL AUG 60.00 CQD-HL open interest= 118 current ask $3.70
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Murphy Oil - MUR - close: 53.85 change: -0.52 stop: 49.90 Target achieved. Crude oil futures sold off on Friday thanks to news that violence in Nigeria may subside as the government negotiates an amnesty deal for the rebel leader. MUR traded sideways but saw a huge volume surge on the close possibly due to the Russell index rebalancing. I'm not suggesting new positions at this time. MUR looks ready for a dip. MUR hit $54.76 on Friday and our first target was $54.50. We have a second target at $58.00.
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Teva Pharma. - TEVA - close: 48.60 change: +0.53 stop: 45.95 *new* So far so good. TEVA gave us the entry point we were looking for near $46.00 and it's bouncing right on schedule. I'm not suggesting new positions at this time. Please note our new stop at $45.95. Our exit target is $49.85. My time frame is very late July. If you are willing to hold past the earnings report more aggressive traders may want to aim higher. We will plan to exit before the earnings announcement.
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L-3 Comm. - LLL - close: 69.05 change: -0.47 stop: 73.55 *new* The defense sector began an oversold bounce on Thursday but it stalled on Friday. The rebound in LLL rolled over under $70.00. While this relative weakness is encouraging I would still expect an oversold bounce. A failed rally in the $72-73 zone could work as a new entry point. I'm lowering the stop loss to $73.55. Our first target is $66.00. Our second target is $61.00.
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MDC Holdings - MDC - close: 30.56 change: -0.31 stop: 31.05 Honestly I'm surprised that MDC did not stop us our on Friday. The stock had rallied right to resistance at $31.00 and then stalled. On a short-term basis is does look like shares have turned more bullish. The fact that the homebuilders couldn't follow through on their bounce/rally last week is a good sign for the bears. I'm not suggesting new positions and still think more conservative traders may want to exit early. Our first target is $27.75. Our second target is $25.15.
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POSCO - PKX - close: 82.26 change: -0.08 stop: 84.05 The bounce in commodity and material-related stocks stalled on Friday. PKX hovered around the $82.00 level and volume was very light. I am suggesting that readers wait for a new drop under $80.00 as our next bearish entry point to buy puts. More conservative traders may want to tighten their stops toward $83.00. Our target is the $71.00-70.00 range.
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Symantec - SYMC - close: 15.91 change: +0.07 stop: 16.10 Tech stocks have been the relative strength leaders in this market and yet the rally in SYMC stalled at the $16.00 level. Shares are right underneath resistance at $16.00 and its 50-dma. A failure here can be used as a new entry point but readers may want to wait for a dip under $15.50 before launching positions. Our first exit target is $14.10.
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United Parcel Serv. - UPS - close: 49.86 change: +0.49 stop: 52.05 *new* Our bearish put play on UPS is now open. The stock finally bounced back toward round-number resistance at $50.00. We had a trigger to buy puts at $49.50. Currently our stop loss is at $52.05. I would still open new positions now or you could wait for a failed rally near the descending 200-dma (technical resistance) near $51.50. Our first target to take profits is $45.50. We do not want to hold over the late July earnings report.
Suggested Options: BUY PUT JUL 50.00 UPS-SJ open interest=14511 current ask $1.55 BUY PUT JUL 45.00 UPS-SI open interest=51830 current ask .25 BUY PUT AUG 50.00 UPS-TJ open interest= 1122 current ask $2.90 BUY PUT AUG 45.00 UPS-TI open interest= 1116 current ask $1.05
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Wynn Resorts - WYNN - close: 36.72 change: -0.44 stop: 37.65 The oversold bounce in WYNN stalled right where it was supposed to under resistance in the $37.50 region. I'm still a little concerned by the bullish reversal pattern formed last week but the overall trend is still down for WYNN. Technical indicators are mixed for WYNN but shares did under perform the DJUSCA gambling index. I would consider new put positions here although readers may want to wait for a new decline under $35.00 to open positions. Our first target is $30.25. Our second target is $26.00.
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