Weekend Review and Watchlist

Despite the fact both the S&P and NASDAQ finished at all time highs, this was actually a frustrating week for our portfolio and trade ideas, as we underperformed and saw some damage done to several of our names.

Underperforming is no crime over any arbitrary period, but it was a truly bizarre week, as when the market was struggling to make new highs we had a new portfolio entry, added to one position, and had four new trade ideas, but by Friday's close as the S&P and the NASDAQ made all time highs, we got some exit signals and have half a dozen names on the verge of getting stopped. 

So what gives?

Clearly, we weren't in the names that were leading that final advance this week, which seemed to be focused on index heavyweights GOOGL, MSFT, AMZN, and SBUX after a great set of earnings reports, as well as some strength in sectors where we have no exposure. But that's OK. We've benefited handsomely this year when the shoe's been on the other foot, including when energy names weighed on the market.

So although our Marketfy portfolio only gained 0.6% on the week vs a 1.8% advance for the S&P, as of Friday's close it was +13.2% YTD vs +2.9% for the S&P. That's still an impressive outperformance.

Full analysis and commentary on current signals, as well as entry/exit posts, additional trade ideas, and a comprehensive watchlist is available here.

What's important at this juncture is to not let the frustration of this week tempt you to tinker with your rules and process. Be adaptable to changing market conditions, yes, in terms of being prepared to take signals no matter what, but not in terms of adjusting your rules on the fly. There will always be periods of erratic performance, and I believe this week we were caught in the crossfire of an ongoing sector rotation and a handful of high-profile earnings reports making an impact.

The strength this week in Consumer Discretionary ($XLY) making an all time high, Healthcare ($XLV), and the resurgence of Technology ($XLK), are all reflected in the names making it to our watchlist this weekend. 

Here's just a sample:-

$AET

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$CNC

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$ENDP

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$CDK

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$QLYS

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$CBG

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$FISV

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$DIS

Full analysis and commentary on current signals, as well as entry/exit posts, additional trade ideas, and a comprehensive watchlist is available here.

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Posted to Alpha Capture on Apr 25, 2015 — 1:04 PM

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