Category: INO.com Contributors

This 'Hated' Stock Might Be The Right Fit For Your Portfolio

Posted on by Daniel Cross

Daniel Cross - INO.com Contributor - Equities


There's a popular myth on Wall Street about short sellers being the smartest guys in the room. After all, stocks, in general, do tend to appreciate over time, but picking stocks that fall requires a bit more homework and skill. But short activity in a stock isn't always a good thing.

When enough short sellers team up on a stock and it happens to post better than expected results, they either bail out at the first opportunity or run the risk of getting caught in a short squeeze. If the stock appreciates too much too fast, they'll get called out of their positions creating an event that turns into massive buying on an already hot stock that can cause a quick spike in value.

For one stock, a slew of bad news seemed like the ideal playground for initiating a short position. Continue reading "This 'Hated' Stock Might Be The Right Fit For Your Portfolio" →

Silver Update: Killing It Softly

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


Experiment Results

It's time to check the results of my silver analysis. Back in November, I wrote an update on silver, in the first part of which I made an error analysis session of an earlier post and in the second part I added an experimental clone chart. There were two calculated targets: a price target and the time target.

In December, I was out of patience and was going to write a post once silver hit the price target. But it was crucial to wait until the time came to check both results on the date outlined in my earlier post. Below I've included the experimental clone model chart from my earlier post and added fresh comments highlighted in red to show the results and changes for your convenience.

Chart 1 Silver Weekly: Amazing Math

Silver Weekly Chart
Chart courtesy of tradingview.com

What do we see? Let’s start from the pleasant result. Yes, the price target was hit accurately almost cent to the cent: The $13.65 projected target versus the actual low of $13.63 in December. I was really surprised by this outcome as it strengthens my confidence in the world of numbers. By the way, the AB/CD concept target ($13.7) from my September post has also been hit. Continue reading "Silver Update: Killing It Softly" →

Bank of Japan To Release More Stimulus?

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor - Forex


Yep, it's the same old story; once again, Japan is just muddling through. Private consumption is weak and inflation is practically non-existent. And inflation could get worse with the latest plunge in oil prices. And with Japan barely slogging through, investors' call for the BoJ to amp its efforts are on the rise.

So what's the problem? In the eyes of the BoJ, the situation isn't really bad enough to require further intervention.

What The BoJ Sees

So why wouldn't the BoJ want to add any more gunpowder to an already aggressive stimulus plan? The answer comes in two parts.

The first part was covered extensively in my last article and thus needs little elaboration. That is the BoJ wants the Abe government to shoulder some of the burden. It needs to fulfill its own side of the bargain and push forward much needed financial reforms.

And the second part? The BoJ wants to hold some gunpowder in its arsenal... just in case things get worse. With the Chinese stock market meltdown radiating across the world, the BoJ wants to make sure it has enough "weapons" to unleash. But so far, in the eyes of the BoJ, it's not yet bad enough to risk the economy.

Graph of Japanese Annual Inflation
Chart courtesy of The Statistic Bureau of Japan

Let's take a quick look at the latest key data. November's inflation figure (annualized), albeit rather low, still wasn't the textbook definition of deflationary pressures. From a total of 10 various segments, from food to energy to housing, only transportation and energy fell on an annual basis while Housing prices were unchanged at 0%. Despite the dismal numbers, for deflation to be a risk, prices of most items need to fall. And as the chart below shows, that has yet to happen. Continue reading "Bank of Japan To Release More Stimulus?" →

An Unlikely Hero For Your Portfolio

Posted on by Daniel Cross

Daniel Cross - INO.com Contributor - Equities


The markets have been anything but predictable just a few weeks into 2016 and investors are wondering if we're on the verge of a major bearish reversal or it's a temporary correction. Oil seems to go lower and lower despite with no sign of stopping anytime soon while the economy is still reeling from the loss of Chinese demand and the impact of the first Federal Reserve rate hike. For investors, there's no better time to start getting defensive.

When uncertainty reigns in financial markets, certain sectors become safe havens. Companies that offer products that are used regardless of the state of the economy like healthcare and consumer staples tend to outperform during these times. These types of stocks generally carry a dividend yield as well which helps protect investors from downside movements.

The consumer staples sector is particularly attractive in the very beginning of a possible bear market because it's historically provided relatively high returns with low volatility. While most investors think of this sector as “boring” filled with plain vanilla stocks and companies, it's actually one of the highest returning sectors in the market regardless of economic direction.

Annualized returns by sector from 1962 to 2015 revealed that consumer staples generated gains of 12.9% – trailing just slightly behind healthcare. From a volatility standpoint, consumer staples had the second lowest with utilities being the least volatile. Continue reading "An Unlikely Hero For Your Portfolio" →

An Aggressive Covered Call Options Strategy For Netflix

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Netflix is a high-flying growth stock with a sky-high valuation based on its price-to-earnings multiple. Due to its rapid growth, expanding original programming, wrestling market share away from big cable companies, expansion into international markets and its overall ubiquity, it’s difficult to arrive at an accurate valuation based on traditional metrics. Due to these factors and the difficulty of placing an accurate valuation on Netflix, options in the form of aggressive covered call writing may be an effective way to leverage this high-flier while mitigating downside risk and generating additional income. Netflix offers a confluence of volatility, liquidity and a high level of interest which gives rise to high yielding premiums on a bi-weekly or monthly basis which bodes well for options trading. Selling aggressive covered call options (i.e. aligning the strike price at or near the current price) to generate current income may augment overall portfolio returns while mitigating risk. This may be particularly invaluable if one is long a highly volatile stock such as Netflix. Below, I’ll walk traders through an aggressive options trading strategy leveraging Netflix stock a proxy. Continue reading "An Aggressive Covered Call Options Strategy For Netflix" →