1:00pm ET: How to use the daily *Blue Plate Specials* in our Subscriber Services
A reader wrote in with a few questions regarding how to he could best utiliize the information in the daily *Blue Plate Specials* which is part of our package of subscriber services (see upper right column). He also asked whether or not entry, target, and stop/loss points were given for each stock mentioned.
Since others may have similar questions, I’m publishing my response to his inquiries:
Dear Richard,
The daily *Blue Plate Specials* consists of a list of stocks that meet certain technical criteria. Those looking to initiate long positions would be interested in stocks that are breaking out of bases and hitting new yearly highs. Stocks that are breaking out on heavier than normal volume stand the best chance of rallying further. Every trading day, subscribers will get a hand-selected list of just such stocks which they can then add to their candidate trading base.
We also have similar categories for stocks breaking out to new highs on lower volume, those breaking out of bases but not making a new high, stocks that are breaking down, and stocks that are hitting new lows. Similar analyses are also done for commodity, sector, country, and currency ETFs so you’ll know what sectors, currencies,and commodities are heating up and which are cooling off.
The *Blue Plate Specials* provides an instant technical view of the market and a springboard for your own investing strategies. For example, long-term investors would be interested in looking at those stocks that are breaking out to new highs as well as those on the Darlings of the Day (typically blue-chip stocks that are in extended uptrends).
I don’t give price targets as those can easily change according to changes in market sentiment, sector rotation, product lines, management, etc. The best price target is to look at a long-term chart of the stock and note the next level of resistance and pick that. Choosing a price target based on fundamentals is very tricky because it’s very difficult to know what will drive the stock higher and by how much. Most analysts give targets based solely on one metric, and they are rarely right.
Also, I don’t give stop-loss points because everyone has a different tolerance for risk. I feel that a good time to lighten up or outright dump a position is when it violates a major support level. If you happen to see one of your stocks on my breaking down list, you should probably examine the company’s fundamentals to see if it still meets your investing goals.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. (Please note that a definitive user guide is provided with membership.) I used to provide the *Blue Plate Specials* for free and you can look at past ones here (check out the article archive). I don’t do that anymore because I’d really like to get paid for my expertise and hard work–heck, everyone else does!
Thanks for writing. All the best,
Dr. Kris
12:55pm ET: Intraday support/resistance
SPX 1306/1318
DTX 520/528
DJIA 12175/12285
Nasdaq 2720/2765
OEX 585/590
VIX 18.2/19.8
Average VWAPs; +67/-33 (mildly bullish)
Trin range: 1.0 – 1.50