Wednesday, January 16, we had three Stocks to Watch and two Around the Horn subscription trades on our radar. All of these trades were profitable.

Encana Corporation (ECA) was a Fastball short for Wednesday’s Around the Horn subscription trade list. ECA was beautiful but you had to stick with it. ECA opened gap-down, almost to the profit target. When it traded back up within 10 cents of the entry level and reversed, that was the time to hop in. It zoomed past the profit target and by using a violation of the 8 period moving average as a trailing stop, profits were nearly two points.

Encana Corporation (ECA), 5-Minute Chart


Thomas & Betts Corp (TNB) was a Fastball short for Wednesday’s Around the Horn subscription trade list. TNB hit the entry off the open, trading within pennies of the stop loss before sinking like a rock to the profit target and beyond. If you left shares open or stuck with the trade, profit potential was almost twice as great, with an exit off of lows on a cross of the 8 period moving average.

Thomas & Betts Corp (TNB), 5-Minute Chart


Smith International Inc (SII) was a Fastball short for Wednesday’s Stocks to Watch trade list. SII opened, tested lower, tested higher, and then offered entry opportunity either off consolidation of lows or at the suggested entry level. SII traded below this entry price, consolidating before again trading lower. Exit was on the breakout to the long side of the third consolidation area.

Smith International Inc (SII), 5-Minute Chart


Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD) was a Fastball short for Wednesday’s Stocks to Watch trade list. PXD gapped open lower and well below our suggested entry level. The stocks to watch trades are inherently intraday plays, so we keep this on the radar anyway. The entry at the end of the first hour and ? of trading is too good to pass up, with a consolidation on support and continued lower highs, this is the kind of setup we like for a pop down. Exit is anywhere from the bounce off lows 15 minutes later or anytime late in the afternoon and into the close.

Pioneer natural Resouces Co (PXD), 5-Minute Chart


Nike Inc (NKE) was a Fastball short for Wednesday’s Stocks to Watch trade list. Again, the stocks to watch trades are inherently intraday plays, and there was money to be made in NKE all day, depending on strategy and comfort levels. In this case the suggested entry level probably resulted in a scratch trade off the open, but careful observation could have resulted in at least two 50-cent or so trades off of breaks to the downside from resistance, with exits on breaks to the upside. NKE could have also been played in just the opposite way (or both sides), with the long side ending up to be even more spectacular. That is beyond our comfort level, as Adrian’s research the night before had this as a short, but some of our traders are creative and see the possibilities.

Nike Inc (NKE), 5-Minute Chart


Tuesday, January 15, we had three Stocks to Watch, two Extra Innings and three Around the Horn subscription trades on our radar. Of these, two were profitable, two were gapped beyond our entry, one was a scratch and three were no-shows.

Suntrust Banks Inc (STI) was a Switch Hitter short for Tuesday’s Around the Horn subscription trade list. STI gapped down on the open, but still managed to tag our price. Entry was in the morning with the initial profit target shortly thereafter. Exit was at the profit target on a bounce off lows.

Suntrust Banks Inc (STI), 5-Minute Chart


Compania De Minas Buena (BVN) was an Infield Fly short for Tuesday’s Stocks to Watch trade list. BVN opened lower and traded higher, giving us a good entry opportunity in the first hour of trading. Exit was over two and a half points later anywhere in the afternoon or end of day.

Compania De Minas Buena (BVN), 5-Minute Chart


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Julie Peterson-Manz is cofounder of TraderInsight.com. Email her at julie@traderinsight.com.