Identifying patterns in the marketplace is key to active stock trading success. When you see certain things happen over and over again, it's generally a good idea to at least entertain the possibility that they could occur again.

That's exactly the situation we face with TFSM (24/7 Real Media) as it heads into earnings Wednesday after the bell. To get a better idea of what to expect, just look at how others in the industry (internet advertising) have performed since their earnings reports this season (note that earnings releases are highlighted in yellow on charts):

First, there was GOOG--Google..."ouch":

Next up was YHOO--Yahoo!...."ouch":

And then just Tuesday we had VCLK--Valueclick...."ouch":

And now, it's TFSM's turn....will it be another "ouch"?

Now we've got a stock that just broke its uptrend that is about to report earnings after almost every big player in its industry disappointed Wall St. with their reports. Not exactly an exciting scenario for the short term trader.

Personally, I think 24/7 is an awesome company that could really make waves in the future of online advertising. Investors buying on pullbacks should be full steam ahead and short sellers should have their heads examined. Who knows...maybe this will be the company that bucks the trend, beats and guides higher--but trading is about risk and reward, and there are just far too many red flags on TFSM to justify a long position going into this earnings release.

Andy Swan is co-founder and head trader for DaytradeTeam.com.  To get all of Andyââ,¬â"¢s day trading, swing trading, and options trading alerts in real time, subscribe to a one-week, all-inclusive trial membership to DaytradeTeam by clicking here.