On vacation for a few days - update in a few days

I am off for a few days and will update when I return
The one thought I would like to share: the volatility that I have outlined over the past few weeks pointed to an inflection point.
The signal has been made - no correction at this time, the market want sto go up

Bought TEVA

TEVA - 200 shares at $41.6

Bought STX

Bought STX 500 shares @ $24.35

Purchases Today

TIE - Bought 400 shares @ $41.8 at opening
Earnings yesterday was fabulous

Market hysteria

Just like that, last week has mostly reversed.
Sadly, we got stopped out of 3 stocks, all of which have resumed their climb.

Ah well, it is a reflection on the trading aspect of things (setting stops and getting back in). I think it completely reinforces the investing aka stockpicking.

We have $40K plus to invest. We missed an opportunity last week.
The question now is timing of reinvestment -
There will be upside pressure as we enter earnings season in April (pre-earnings will start now.). Intel excepted, I haven't heard any restatements yet, which leads me to believe that positive news is on the way.
There is potential havok from the Fed meeting in 10+ days. I do think that Bernanke will signal ongoing rate hikes (especially after the strong manufacturing numbers).

Big picture - invest all the way. Little picture - timing is a tough game to play.

Week 18 Performance: Down 8.7%

Revising this Monday 3/12 - I didn't realize that we we were stopped out of TIE. Which sux because it's right back up.

Week 18
Dow +0.5%
S&P -0.4%
NASDAQ 0.88%
LiveRocket -8.7%

YTD
Dow 3.35%
S&P 2.72%
NASDAQ 2.59%
LiveRocket 4.81%

Since Inception
Dow 5.3%
S&P 5.2%
NASDAQ 4.3%
LiveRocket 14.8%

Terrible performance. This week hit us hard. Why did we get hit harder than the broader market? Partly because we are in market sectors that have performed very well the past few months and they were ripe for profit taking. Partly because we are in small cap stocks which tend to be much more volatile than the broader market.

We are still stuck in a no-man’s land of pre-earnings and this market is nervous about rate hike potential in 2 weeks. Last week I noted that the NASDAQ had begun a slow rise above the DOW. This week took it away and more. That means sector rotation back to safety.

During these times of extreme volatility, the key is to return to basics. Because this typically isn’t stock specific but general sentiment, that means buying opportunities. This is what I do
1. If I have been stopped out to lock in gains, do I want to get back in at a lower price? For example, we got out of STX at $25 and it’s at $24. We can own more shares with the same amount of money. If we believe in the stock, why or why not?
2. If it’s general moodiness and I expect the stock to significantly outperform, do I add more. For example, when TIE slipped below $40, someone asked me what to do. I said double up, and it’s now ~$42.
So we were stopped out of: JLG and STX. JLG gave us a 47%+ yield in 4 months and STX delivered 24.4% for less than 2 months.

Do we get back in or do we sit tight? I think we buy back in because, even if it’s short term awkward, these stocks are long term winners.
Here’s a re-cap of our week’s performance.

FINANCIALS
ET – Down 5%
GHL – Down 4%

COMMODITIES & EQUIPMENT
JLG – Down 13%. We got stopped out at $56.
GRP – Down 6%
TIE – Down 5%. We got stopped out at $39. Gonna buy back in. Dammit.
JOYG (on our watch list) – Down 7%
MDR (on our watch list) – Down 5%

HI TECH
STX – Down 15% (we got out at $25).
MRVL –Down 10%+.
TRID – Down 10%+
AKAM (on our watch list) – Down ~3%. Basic resistance below $25
SNDK (On our watch list) – Down 7% to $53.

HEALTH
NTRI – Down 4% for the week
TEVA (on our watch list) – Down 4%
GILD (on our watch list) –Up 1.5%