BBY

BABA – Alibaba (Last:108.56)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

The Bahb-ster has taken a breather lately, but there shouldn't be much doubt about which direction it will head on the next thrust. This is a coiled rattlesnake that might be fun to play with, and so I'll suggest a Jackpot-type bet, as follows: If the stock pulls back to the 112.31 midpoint pivot in the first hour of Tuesday's session, try to buy four Nov 22 118 calls for around 0.35. I'm guessing they'll be trading for around that much, but you can adjust your bid on-the-fly, based on a price that looks do-able as BABA closely approaches the pivot.  _______ UPDATE (10:33 a.m.): Check the chat room -- as you always should -- for some very substantial price adjustments that were made on-the-fly.  Officially, I'll record 117 calls bought for 0.30 and 118s for 0.25.  Please note that a 108.98 target is in play -- an extreme anomaly, considering the broad averages are trading moderately higher today. _______ UPDATE (November 19, 10:50 p.m.): The calls are a distant longshot at this point, but don't give up on them, since this stock can easily move $5-$6 in a day.

BBY – Best Buy (Last:27.15)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

It's one thing to wish Best Buy well as it attempts to survive the blight that has all but wiped big-box stores from the retail landscape.  But the odds are daunting and growing still moreso each time the company changes leadership at the top (which lately has been all too frequently).  Wall Street has bought into BBY's story as though a turnaround were a fait accompli, but I'll suggesting fading the institutional action by buying puts if and when the stock closely approaches the 27.37 target shown. Specifically, you should buy four July 25 puts with the stock trading 27.32 or higher. Stop yourself out if they trade for 0.20 less than the acquisition price. _______ UPDATE (May 7, 11:04 p.m. EDT): No point in getting in the way of this projectile, since it remains a strong stock in a strong market.  Looking at it from the bright side, my minimum upside projection is now 27.82, a Hidden Pivot midpoint, but any higher would put a 33.09 target in play. (see new chart.) Let's try a low-risk speculation by legging into some butterfly spreads centered on the 33 strike. To start, buy eight July 30-33 spreads in a 1:2 ratio for a 0.05 credit._______ UPDATE (May 20, 3:56 a.m.): BBY topped at 27.15 on May 14 but now looks bound for higher highs.  You should use 28.60 as a minimum upside projection over the near term (see inset), but be alert to a possible stall at the 27.65 midpoint pivot of a lesser pattern. _______ UPDATE (May 28): The stall occurred at 27.37, just 28 cents from the midpoint resistance noted above. The subseqent dive to 25.17 created a bearish impulse leg, so a short fron 28.60 should be put out of mind for now. ________ UPDATE (June 3, 2:12

BBY – Best Buy (Last:27.19)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

It's one thing to wish Best Buy well as it attempts to survive the blight that has all but wiped big-box stores from the retail landscape.  But the odds are daunting and growing still moreso each time the company changes leadership at the top (which lately has been all too frequently).  Wall Street has bought into BBY's story as though a turnaround were a fait accompli, but I'll suggesting fading the institutional action by buying puts if and when the stock closely approaches the 27.37 target shown. Specifically, you should buy four July 25 puts with the stock trading 27.32 or higher. Stop yourself out if they trade for 0.20 less than the acquisition price. _______ UPDATE (May 7, 11:04 p.m. EDT): No point in getting in the way of this projectile, since it remains a strong stock in a strong market.  Looking at it from the bright side, my minimum upside projection is now 27.82, a Hidden Pivot midpoint, but any higher would put a 33.09 target in play. (see new chart.) Let's try a low-risk speculation by legging into some butterfly spreads centered on the 33 strike. To start, buy eight July 30-33 spreads in a 1:2 ratio for a 0.05 credit._______ UPDATE (May 20, 3:56 a.m.): BBY topped at 27.15 on May 14 but now looks bound for higher highs.  You should use 28.60 as a minimum upside projection over the near term (see inset), but be alert to a possible stall at the 27.65 midpoint pivot of a lesser pattern. _______ UPDATE (May 28): The stall occurred at 27.37, just 28 cents from the midpoint resistance noted above. The subseqent dive to 25.17 created a bearish impulse leg, so a short fron 28.60 should be put out of mind for now. ________ UPDATE (June 3, 2:12

BBY – Best Buy (Last:22.94)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

We hold 400 shares @ 22.85 purchased yesterday without a stop-loss.  I'm now recommending that you tie the position to a fixed stop at 22.69, exiting half for a partial profit if 23.80 is hit first.  We've traded this stock from the long side and the short in recent months because it has been quite volatile. _______ UPDATE (10:30 a.m.):  BBY has gotten a nice bounce from yesterday's lows, but because it has turned heavy at these levels,I'm recommending the sale of half the position now for around 22.43. _______ UPDATE (April 17, 2:33 a.m. EDT): With the sale of 200 shares for 22.43, we've lowered our cost basis on the 200 shares that remain to 22.27.  For now, use an impulse-leg stop based on the 5-minute chart. At the moment, that would imply exiting the position on an uncorrected downdraft touching 23.32 (see inset, a fresh chart).  _______ UPDATE (3:35 p.m. EDT): As planned, we exited at 23.31 for a theoretical trading profit of $210.  The stock subsequently rebounded more robustly than the market as a whole, and although this is ostensibly bullish, we'll stick to our discipline and not look back.

BBY – Best Buy (Last:22.94)

– Posted in: Current Touts Rick's Picks

The rally has reached the point of hysteria, driven by the prospect of 1,400 Samsung mini-stores in Best Buy showrooms.  That's great news, of course, but not nearly sufficient to clinch a turnaround for one of the last big-box retailers. Keep in mind that I was quite bullish on the stock when the company detailed its recovery strategy early in 2013. I even remained optimistic when the man who created it, a hotshot from Starbucks, quit after just a couple of months. But with the share price at current heights the burden of proof falls heavily on bulls.  From a Hidden Pivot standpoint, the forecast is not rocket science:  If the stock smashes through the 25.33 midpoint resistance where it ended last week, odds would favor a blowoff to 29.18.  ______ UPDATE (April 12, 1:51 a.m. EDT):  Sellers have taken charge and seem intent on driving the stock down to at least 23.84, the midpoint support of the pattern shown.  If the pivot fails, however, we could see more downside to as low as 22.79 -- a 13% correction from the recent high. I'll recommend bottom-fishing at the lower number via camouflage, or with a 22.85 bid, no stop. _______ UPDATE (April 15, 6:43 p.m. EDT): Because I'd advised buying without a stop-loss, we are long 400 shares with a 22.85 basis.  For now, use a fixed stop at 22.69, making it o-c-o with an order to exit 200 shares at 23.80.

BBY – Best Buy (Last:22.11)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

I turned quite bullish on the stock in mid-January, when it was trading around $14. My inspiration was part technical, but the other part was an article in Wired magazine that suggested the company had some good ideas for turning things around.  The guy who brought those ideas -- from Starbucks -- departed after only a couple of months, but it appears that BBY has taken his game plan to heart.  That said, the stock has gotten considerably ahead of results and looks like it will be an opportune short at or near the 22.19 target shown.  My original target was 19.86, but with that Hidden Pivot now choking on dust, I simply relocated the B-C coordinates to a higher bracket.  Long-term investors should consider covered writes if and when the stock approaches 22.19, but that number can also be shorted using camouflage if you've got no position. _______ UPDATE (March 18, 11:10 .m. EDT): After five days of relentless climbing, BBY has hit a recovery high today, so far, of 22.21 -- two cents above the target that was disseminated when the stock was trading 10% lower.  Longs can do covered writes here by selling April 22 calls for 1.03 or better. Officially we are short 400 shares from 22.19, stop 22.31.On an o-c-o basis, cover half the position at 21.94. _______ UPDATE (11:35 a.m.):  Off a so-far correction low of 21.92, we've covered half the position, leaving us short 200 shares with an adjusted cost basis of 22.44.  Retain the 22.31 stop-loss for the shares that remain, lowering it to 22.21 if 21.76 is touched.  _______ UPDATE (March 19, 12:55 p.m. EDT):  The stock bottomed at exactly 22.76, so we covered the remainder of our short position at 22.21. The trade was a scratch.  It seems most unlikely

BBY – Best Buy (Last:19.32)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

If you used the 14.97 'external' peak to get long via camouflage as I'd advised, you could easily have done so using a 15.36 'buy' signal that triggered on January 23  (60m, A=14.54  on 1/17; B=15.77, C=15.05).  My target now is 18.86, but I'll track a long position only if  I hear from at least two subscribers who are on board.  A second opportunity to enter -- also presumably via camouflage -- would come on a pullback to 15.66, the midpoint pivot of the bullish pattern shown. _______ UPDATE (March 6, 10:20 a.m. EST): Having been early to the party, I will now say that it's a tad overdone. My longstanding target at 18.86 was clear and compelling on the daily chart, and so the short-squeeze opening above it today is undeniably bullish. But as far as Best Buy's turnaround attempt is concerned, the jury is still out. Earnings reported last week were not great, but such is Wall Street's overweaning, greedy obsession for exploiting-to-the-absolute-max any new "story" that is even remotely bullish, that the stock has surged simply because the earnings story wasn't as bad as it could have been.  That's the kind of news that passes for a bullish excuse these days, but it hardly makes the company's shares a fetching buy at these levels.  Keep in mind that what had stirred me up in the first place -- a story in Wired magazine last autumn about a honcho from Starbucks whom Best Buy had hired to shake things up -- is no longer viable. That guy quit after a few months, and it remains to be seen whether his 'legacy', such as it is, will enable Best Buy to be the last man standing as big box stores approach their twilight. From a technical standpoint, today's high

BBY – Best Buy (Last:14.25)

– Posted in: Current Touts Free Rick's Picks

The stock has been on a tear this week, but I'd be surprised if it's because the cud-chewing herd has caught the bullish scent of factors cited in yesterday's commentary.  We'll sit back for now, since the 6.76 bear market target identified in yesterday's commentary still looks pretty compelling. If the stock impulses above the 14.97 peak recorded on November 16, though, we may have to jump in.  Meanwhile, the chart shows a 14.52 rally target in prospect if its sibling midpoint at 13.59 is swept aside. _____ UPDATE (December 7, 12:40 a.m. EST): The stock has relapsed after having rallied no higher than 13.49. (Please note: The "Last Price" will always be the price of the stock at the time of the original post, or, when applicable, the last update.)  _______ UPDATE (December 24, 11:58 a.m. EST): Following an idiotic, one-day short-squeeze frenzy 25% above the market, Best Buy has relapsed and is flirting with new lows.  Under the circumstances, we'll continue to wait for that fabulous buying opportunity down near 6.76.  I still think the company is on the mend, but it could still take a few months before investors have their belated epiphany. ______ UPDATE (January 15 at 1:21 p.m. EST):  An explosive rally begun last Friday holds great encouragement for beleaguered shareholders. The so far high of the move is 14.67, and although it would take quite a bit more than that -- specifically, a push exceeding 48.83(!) -- to negate the 6.76 bear-market target, the thrust so far is powerful enough to have turned the daily chart (if not yet the weekly; that would take a print at 21.61) bullishly impulsive. What this means is that, 6.76 target or not, the stock is a short- to intermediate term "buy" on any b-c pullback from 14.67