Although the NASDAQ was down 2.22% and the Dow was down 1.99% on Tuesday, the stocks listed below sport some of the best relative strength ratings and best looking charts that I can find (looking at the charts from a trend trading perspective). The three stocks below have increasing earnings, increasing revenue, increasing fund sponsorship and are all fairly new to the market

The market is not in great shape so I don’t recommend buying blindly but do keep an eye on these candidates as their relative strength ratings have been impressive during turbulent times. APEI is the most interesting to me at this time.

American Public Education Inc. (APEI)
Industry: Services : Schools
Price: $47.74
Price Below 52-wk High: 10.33%
Market Cap: 850M
EPS Growth (MRQ): 23%
EPS Growth (TTM): 105%
EPS Rating: 99
Relative Strength Rating: 98

Earnings:
2010: 1.60E
2009: 1.13E
2008: 0.80E
2007: 0.64

Genoptix Inc. (GXDX)
Industry: Healthcare : Healthcare Facilities
Price: $38.40
Price Below 52-wk High: 7.94%
Market Cap: 637M
EPS Growth (MRQ): N/A
EPS Growth (TTM): N/A
EPS Rating: 80
Relative Strength Rating: 98

Earnings:
2010: 1.65E
2009: 1.11E
2008: 1.16E
2007: 0.78

[Read more…]

Are the airlines starting to lift off even though the rest of the market is in shambles?
Let’s take a look and tell me what you think.

AMEX Airline Index AMEX ($XAL): $22.89
Dow Jones US Airlines Index ($DJUSAR): $65.75

The airlines have made a recent 10/30 week moving average crossover to the upside so I have decided to take a deeper technical look. The group is up more than 63% since the beginning of July, the bottom of their recent decline also known as the pivot reversal. The group was up more than 80% in August (from the low) but then retreated in September and October but the key to this pullback is the fact that it made a higher low than the pivot reversal in July. The next key will be to make a higher high than the peak of $28.22 reached in August (this would show strength).

I’m not a bottom picker and I am definitely not a big fan of the airlines but I love to spot trends and hop on while they are getting started (if the ‘M’ in CANSLIM is cooperating – it’s not right now). I don’t like the airlines because they can be influenced negatively by a number of factors, including but not limited to a terrorist attack. Let’s not forget to mention the fact that they are not great businesses and have been looked upon as “loser stocks” by some industry veterans. Position sizing, risk management and hard stops won’t help in disaster situations when you are holding shares from this industry and that scares me (risky).

The AMEX Airlines Index components are made up of the following stocks:
(Name, ticker symbol and weighting)
Delta Air Lines, DAL, 14.52%
Ryanair Holdings Ads, RYAAY, 9.13%
Jetblue Airways, JBLU, 8.22%
Alaska Air, ALK, 7.87%
UAL Corp, UAUA, 7.86%
Lan Airlines SA, LFL, 7.39%
US Airways Group Inc., LCC, 7.37%
Skywest Inc., SKYW, 7.14%
Contl Airlines, CAL, 6.53%
Southwest Airlines, LUV, 6.41%
Amr Corp., AMR, 6.25%
Gol Linhas A.I. S.A., GOL, 6.18%
Tubosdeaceromex Adr, TAM, 5.12%

Of the thirteen stocks listed above, it seems that the larger established companies are the stocks with the best charts (in my opinion of course). Take a look but proceed with caution in this market:

[Read more…]