We Have Moved.

Dear readers,

I have finally registered a domain dedicated to my stock trading blog. The new blog name will be The Stock Trading Advisor and the new web address is www.thestocktradingadvisor.com. Please edit all your bookmarks to reflect this change.

I'm going to be a little bit more professional in the new website, apart from the usual stock trading tips, I have added a trading result page for all to see. You can also expect to find more interesting market news and my personal views on them. Lastly from 2011 onwards, there will be a performance presentation on a month-by-month basis so that you can easily compare our performance to some of the major indices.

Thank you.

NYSE : Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands
LVS has always been one of the best gaming stock for me. They have divested out of the Vegas Strip and have now captured the second largest market share in Macau, behind only SJM Holdings. On top of that, I believe the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is destine to do very well.


This is exactly the reason why I'm taking an unusual risk yesterday. As many of you would probably have known, I seldom buy a counter base on very short-term charting. This time round though I feel that LVS has alot more upside potential and I'm very looking forward to their quarter result announcement. An entry point around the region of US$36.50-$36.60 looks good. ***Note : Please do not buy too much, As I said, this is an unusual move.


Buy Las Vegas Sands at US$36.60.

Bloody SingNet and a Few Updates

Damn SingNet connection has been giving me big problems recently. Lost my internet connection back at home and apparently SingNet couldn't find out what's the problem. I'll only be able to update on our portfolio once they got it resolved.


Meanwhile, it seems like we have been pretty lucky for the past week. If you have been following my trades, we would have taken profit on MGM Resorts International before the stock tumbled due to the disappointing result expectation.


The rest of our current portfolio seems to be doing ok. Iron Mountain is slowly climbing back since 5 Oct 2010. The company stock is now trading around $21.50 for a paper profit of about 3.8%. I've managed to enter Quiksilver Inc at the price of $4.16 and this counter is sitting comfortably at $4.38 now. Rick's Cabaret is also doing well at $7.49 now. That's about 7% in the money for us. Ezra Holdings from SGX is trading at $1.87 before dropping to $1.82 today. Anyway, we'll be holding this till the rights shares are available for trading.


Most of you would have already noticed we've been selling of alot of our positions and holding on to some cash. I'm waiting for the market to tank a little before trying to find for some good counters that's been trading at discounted prices.


Be patient and good luck ahead!

NYSE : Quiksilver Inc

Quiksilver Inc
Quiksilver Inc is an apparel company that designs, produces and distributes clothing, accessories and related products for young-minded people. One of my favourite brands around for all my beach wears.


The company stock has taken some beating from the recent high in late April, dropping from US$6.09 to as low as US$3.37. The company is in the black and announced EBITDA of $53.5mil. Revenue has drop a little comparing to 2009 but profit has increased. It seems the stock has now reach a fairly good price.


The stock had actually broken the downward trendline on Wednesday but due to market uncertainty, I didn't feel that it is a good time to enter. But on Friday it seems to have found the strength to push further. I believe there is potential for it to hit about US$4.65.


Entry price : Any price below US$4.25
Cut loss price : Around US$3.95 where it will break the recent upward trendline
Target price : Around US$4.65 (looking forward to end Oct quarterly result)

NYSE : MGM Resorts International Reaching Target Price

MGM Resort International
Wow wow what a day Friday was! The gaming stocks rallied yet again. This time round coming from the good news of the Nevada revenue growth. Naturally, MGM with their number of businesses in the Las Vegas Strip had the best response to it, rallying to close at US$12.67.


The after market trading push this stock further up to US$13.56!


I've got to be honest here though, for those of you who did not manage to take profit on Friday, you'll most probably take alot more than me on Monday. I sold the remaining of my MGM shares at US$12.68 for a good profit of about 18.5%.


Sell MGM Resorts International at US$12.68

Risk Reduction Action

A quick summary of things, this morning Hang Seng Index has touched 23,000 points. Such a whole number is usually a strong resistance level and true enough the index ended slightly lower at 22,880 points today.


Dow Jones Industrial has also almost touched the 11,000 strong resistance mark. As written in my previous post on indices I think the market might be due for some retracement. Of course there is a chance that I may be wrong and the market will rally to a new level but I would like to keep some profit and minimize the risk now.


I've sold off half my holdings of MGM Resorts @ US$11.86 today. Not going to hold till my true target price. If the market does tank in the next few days, we'll have opportunity to buy back what we sold today.


Remember, keep your profits! Don't let the market take it back from you!


Sell half portfolio of MGM Resorts International @ US$11.86.

NYSE : Iron Mountain Inc

Iron Mountain Inc

Iron Mountain Inc is one of Warren Buffett's favourite stock recently. The Berkshire Hathaway has over few occasions acquired a big amount of the company stocks.

Yesterday was a bad day for Buffett, Berkshire as well as Iron Mountain. The stock drop a whole 10% before pulling back slightly to close at a drop of 8.6%. This come amidst news of the company's 2011 forecast results, which of course is worse than expectations. At the same time, Iron Mountain has authorized about $200mil for another round of share buy back program.

Overall company financial statement looks sound and company is making good profits. The shares buy back should also help to improve the value of the liquid stocks in the market. I'm giving this counter a buy with a long-term view.

Entry Price : US$20.45

Cut Loss Price : To be safe I'll put it as US$19.50

Market Update and MGM

We're at the point of time now which I feel the market has probably gone up a little too much and is due for a slight retracement. Let's take a close look at both the Dow Jones Industrial and Hang Seng Index to have a better feel of things to come.

Dow Jones Industrial Index

The US market has completed a spectacular September month, rallying from approximately 10,000 points to the current level of 10,800. In this month it also forms 3 higher highs. Although it has rallied quite a fair bit, I believe there might be still a little bit more of upside possibility. Strong resistance should come at approximately near the 11,000 mark.

Hang Seng Index

Switching over to the Hang Seng Index (which is usually the key measurement for Asian markets for me), it has already reach a resistance level at 22,400. Even if it goes up, the next strong resistance level will be at approx 22,550 level and I don't really feel it makes much sense to gamble on such a small gain.

Looking at both US and asian market, it seems a good time now to sit back, relax and wait for a retracement before entering the market again. Most of the good counters seems to be overly bought and doesn't offer any value now. At the moment of me typing this post, the general asian market has tanked today and Moody's looking at the possibility of downgrading Spain's rating. Doesn't look very bright for Europe side either.

MGM Resorts International

Wow wow this counter flew yesterday, moving up a whooping 5.44%. At one point during the day, it was up more than 7%. This comes amidst news that MGM Resorts is seeking to list her Macau casinos. Read more about it from MarketWatch here. Although this is not really new news, I'm happy that it still has enough effect on this counter.

NYSE : MGM Resort International Inc

NYSE : MGM Resort International Inc
It's a real pity we cut stop MGM the last round when it drop. As I said before, I'm very bullish about the gaming industry and it is for all to see that LVS, SJM and Genting went up alot in the recent months. MGM is one of the most heavily shorted counters in NYSE. Although MGM's performance is nowhere near the rest, I strongly believe it's at a very attractive price still and there is plenty of room to go up.


Recent few days performance has outperform LVS (which I feel isn't alot of upside potential now). MGM has broken it's recent downward trendline yesterday with a strong 8% gain. With this gain, it also forms a higher high and I believe this counter should start a gentle uptrend soon.


Entry price : US$10.73
Cut loss price : US$8.92
Target price : Approx US$12.50 (there is potential to be more)

NASDAQ : Rick's Cabaret International

Rick's Cabaret International (RICK)
Rick's Cabaret International is a company that operates upscale gentlemen's clubs and restaurants. They have been making some decent profits at the first half of the year. The 3Q result was just released and it's a little disappointing. For the 3Q, the company made just approx $850,000 or $0.09 per share. This is actually less than half of the profits from a year ago. However, the year-to-date profit of $4.58mil is an improvement comparing to 2009's $3.41mil for the first 9 months.


The stock has came down a long way since March 2010 from $16 to the current value of approx $7. I value this stock for 3 main reasons :
- it's a profit making company and is actively acquiring lots of smaller clubs recently
- it has a pretty healthy balance sheet and I believe the company will be fairing much better as the economy recovers
- this industry has a pretty high bearer of entry and I don't foresee much of the competition that can compare with Rick's


Technically, the counter has broken the downward trendline. I believe this counter should start to move uptrend instead of the downtrend over the past 6 months. This could be a mid-long term counter and I'm prepared to hold it for a while.


Entry point : Now (whatever price below US$7)
Cut-loss : Approx US$6


*Note : This is a company that operated within a "sinful" industry. To put it blatantly, Rick's operated strip clubs so if it's against your morale principles to deal with anything "unethical", please avoid this counter.

SGX : Genting Hong Kong Limited

Was chatting with an old time friend today about some of the counters he's been looking at. Thing is, he's more into long term investing while I'm more into short-term trading. Anyhow, it's always nice to be able to learn more about any good counters.


The past 1-2 weeks have been the weeks for Genting Hong Kong Limited. The share price have rocketed from $0.31 to $0.51 and volume have been at an all time high. As I usually do not like looking at penny stock counters, I must admit I've completely let this one slip off the hook.


So a little bit of digging research done over the weekend yields this :
- Company owns 3 main businesses : Star Cruises - AP, 50% Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and 50% Resort World Manila (RWM).
- The real potential of this company is RWM which is opened only in Aug 2009 and is currently only 55% completed.
- To date, only 200 tables and 1200 slot machines are operational in the casino. RWM has license to operate up to 2000 tables and 7000 slot machines. RWS have 530 tables and 1300 slot machines.
- Total cost of developing RWM is estimated to be US$550mil comparing to RWS initial estimate of S$5.2bil.
- Profit of RWM for last quarter ending June is approx US$10mil. Profit for RWS for last quarter ending June is approx S$390mil.


RWM definitely has the potential to be very successful once they are fully operational if they can fill up the tables. The initial development cost is a fraction compared to RWS and I think RWM have a pretty strong call to break even before RWS does. Genting Hong Kong Limited is definitely a new counter I'm going to monitor. I believe it will not be a penny stock in the near future.

Recap and Pointers for the upcoming week(s)

It's been a while since anything worth blogging is happening in the market. I've some points to note down for recap and a brief outlook on next week.


Some time around the 3rd week of August, there were some little concerns about the market doing a double dip. I actually wrote a point about the US market probably not going to drop by too much. You may read about the analysis here. The US market is actually up for a consecutive week now so all is good.


I've still had an open position for Ezra which we've bought recently. Do take note there is a 1 for 5 rights issue for this counter. Please exercise the right to buy the additional shares at $1.18. That should bring our average price for Ezra to about $1.71.


China property prices has gone crazy yet again despite the government tightening. You should be able to find plenty of reports confirming the sudden rise in prices in September again. Probably due to the pent up frustration during the "seventh" month... who knows? Here's one such article. I foresee the Chinese government coming in with further tightening actions soon if the trend continues. As such, I'm not going to touch property counters for the time being. In fact, I just advised a friend to sell of his Yanlord shares. There should be very limited upside and we're better off investing in other more exciting stuff.


So what are the exciting stuff? Gaming counters of course!


Las Vegas Sands, Genting International and SJM Holdings have all rocketed quite a fair bit recently. Results have been nothing short of spectacular. Ok maybe not so spectacular for LVS but seeing the result of RWS, I think there's alot of potential for LVS to be in the black this coming quarter. I'm also monitoring some other retail counters as well as a little bit of a sinful stocks. Will post it up when the opportunity arises.


Coming next week.....

Hang Seng is currently trading near resistance level. 21,805 points was the recent high and the market is near this level.

Straits Times index also seems like there's going to be limited upside, probably facing strong resistance near the 3,100 level.

Looks like if you guys have any counters that is in-the-money now can consider taking some profits. I believe the market is due for a small dip soon and that's when we'll look to enter again.

I Signed up for SocialSpark!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.


I was looking for ways to monetized my blog and only recently signed up for SocialSpark. Similar to many other marketing network sites, SocialSpark is a company that enable bloggers to connect with advertisers through their portal.


The first impression I get was that it was user-friendly and fun. The bright colours and attractive webpage caught my attention and I decided to give them a go. The signing up process was easy and smooth going. I was done within minutes and pending only my blog approval.

The company seems to be professional and I could see available offers immediately. There are many different ways a blogger can earn some money through SocialSpark. There are sponsored post (like this one), CPC ads, affiliates or even sponsored ads. You as a blogger could choose the kind of advertisements you want. The monetary payout is more than decent. As your blog gets more popular, more leads will be available and you'll of course get more chances to make some side income. I'm looking forward to seeing more exciting ads available for me.


I know alot of bloggers are constantly looking at ways to monetize their blogs and I would highly recommend you to look into SocialSpark. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with what you'll find available for you here.

 
Code of Ethics 
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NYSE : MGM Resort International Inc

With regards to my MGM Resort International post earlier, yesterday night it seems MGM have dropped to our cut loss target price.


You may have sold of your MGM yesterday night near market close at $9.14. Unfortunately this was one trade which didn't turn out good. I'm still keen in looking to enter this counter at another better entry point.


As of now, Dow Jones Industrial has closed below the 10,000 support level. It seems the market has taken a bad turn and might tank further. It is advisable to sit out this period and monitor for any turn in events. I do not believe it's worth shorting the market now as companies seems to be performing well.

US Jobless claims drop 31,000 to 473,000

The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell for the first time in four weeks, down 31,000 to 473,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.


Despite the decline claims are still at an elevated level that reflects the weakened state of the U.S economy. First-time filings for the latest week are higher by 4% compared to the start of 2010 and by nearly 11% since early July.


US initial claims - 473,000
Projected initial claims - 490,000
Previous week initial claims - 504,000
4-week average initial claims - 486,750
Previous week 4-weeks average initial claims - 483,500 


The full article is available from MarketWatch.

SGX : Neptune Orient Lines (NOL)

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL)
The latest operational update on 16 August 2010 showed that NOL container shipping volume (FEU) for Period 7 (26 June 2010 - 23 July 2010) increased 18% comparing to same period in 2009. There is actually a decrease in volume gap. The initial periods for 2010 had a larger shipping volume increase when compared to the initial periods of 2009. Perhaps this is a sign of economy growth slowing down. The Average Revenue Per FEU, however increased 39% y-o-y for Period 7 while YTD revenue per FEU increased only 15% y-o-y. This shows an improved core freight rates in the major trade lines.


I felt that NOL has been a lagger in this recovery and this counter has still got more upside potential then others (eg. property and bank counters).


Technical analysis shows that NOL has came down recently from $2.16 to the $1.90+ range. The short-term support level is around the $1.83 mark but there is also a chance on NOL having mild support around $1.87. This counter have not closed below $1.90 yet but I feel a good time to enter is probably when SGX market opens tomorrow.


Entry price : $1.83 - $1.87
Cut loss price : $1.75
Target price : Around $2.15 (will post when the time is nearer)
NOL did not hit entry price on 25/8/2010

D-Day for the Market

What a day. The global market tanked today to the trendlines support levels which I mentioned in the previous post on major indices. Tomorrow will seem like a crucial day. Should the trendlines fail to hold, we'll need to cut losses of the previous positions we took and prepare for the worse.


A quick recap:


Hang Seng Index
Closed at 20,659. I actually wrote support level at about 20,750 so might still be ok.


Shanghai Stock Exchange
Closed at 2,777. This is hitting the short-term resistance level and I foresee it turning down.


S&P 500
Closed at 1,052. Support level 1,055.


Dow Jones Industrial
Closed at 10,040. Support level around 10,000.

Signs of Uncertainties Ahead

The recent spate of stellar earning reports, coupled with the faltering US economy (worsening job situation), has resulted in investors having a very mix idea of the market direction. Fears of a double-dip recession seems to be at a high and may have a negative effect of the upcoming week.

I'm looking at some of the major indices for some preparation for next week:

Dow Jones Industrial

Looking at the chart, we seem to be at the crossroads now. Our current level is just touching the border of a middle support level. Should the negatives continue, I would be looking at Dow reaching a level of approximately 10,000. Upside though is approximately 10,700. The next couple of days will be crucial.

S&P 500

The S&P looks to be very near the main support line. I am expecting to see strong support coming in at the 1055 level. But should this support be broken, the market is going to look very bleak. Again, we should know the answer by the first half of the week.

As a summary, should the support levels hold, I'm not expecting a huge drop in the US market. Probably at most 1 day of big plunge before the market start picking up again. HOWEVER, do take note of the mentioned support levels, once broken, we could be in for a bad ride.

Hang Seng

Let's start with the Hang Seng index for the Asian markets. The Hang Seng seems to be trading within the recent channel. Upside resistance level should be about 21,650 and downside support should be somewhere 20,750. However, should 20,750 support be broken, again it looks like there could be a significant plunge. Limited upside potential.

Shanghai Stock Exchange

Oh how I hated the past few months of China market. China seems to have lost her steam, and in addition to all the tightening from the Government, the market seems to have come to a standstill. Good news is, I think the Chinese Government has succeed in taming the market and I don't foresee any further tightening policies coming up. Bad news is, the Shanghai Stock Exchange is trading just below the middle resistance level. We'll need some strong momentum to broke this level. If not, I see the market turning south to a level of about 2,580.

Overall, I think majority of the world market seems to be trading at either resistance or support level. It's very hard to see a clearer direction it's heading. As such, I would recommend conservative investors to sit out this period and wait for the fog to clear. For the more ambitious traders, the next few days will be crucial. I foresee either some good bargains coming up, or some cut losses to be made.

Good luck.

SGX : Ezra

Ezra

Ezra has been one of the few oil and gas company that I've like monitoring. Judging from their 3rd quarter financial statement, they seem to be pretty stable. I'm also giving them extra points for having JVs with Keppel Corp.

The share have taken some beating in the past few months dropping from about $2.50 to the current level of around $1.80. Base on the chart, it seems like a decent time to enter this counter. However, looking at the oil and gas industry as a whole, this might take a while to hit a good profit level. Nevertheless, I'll look to enter tomorrow if it opens above $1.82. (Judging from tonight's US market result, there is a high chance of that happening).

Entry price : $1.82 or slightly above

Cut loss price : $1.62 (conservative readers can try $1.74)

Target price : Should be above $2.10 (will post it when the time is nearer)

SGX : Genting Singapore PLC

Genting Singapore PLC

Genting has recently just posted their strong quarter result. Their share price has skyrocketed in the past 2 days. Congratulations for anyone who have bought them before!

I've created this post because many of the people around me are starting to notice Genting now. Seriously now?!? It's too late, the stock has rocketed way beyond my initial target of $1.49. Question is, will it still go up? I wish I have a crystal ball to tell you the answer. I seriously do not know, but since it's way over my target price, I'm taking the profit now. Seems like this counter will be too erratic in the next few days for me to trade. Good luck to whoever's still holding it but I'm out.

NYSE : MGM Resort International Inc

MGM Resorts International Inc

MGM Resorts International Inc has just recently posted their second quarter results which was bad. The company lost $883 million, or $2 a share. However, this was due mainly to various charges, which if removed, the company would have lost just 35 cents a share. This information was published from MarketWatch. Base on this, I felt that the company's share is still worth taking a look at and I'm expecting a much improved result for their 3rd quarter.

From my technical chart analysis, the timing looks good to enter pretty soon at a price of $9.90.

Entry price : $9.90

Cut loss price : $9.20

Target price : Around $12 (will post when I feel it's time to sell)