IRA Investing: Don't Sell IRA Stocks at New Highs

This ratio is currently fluctuating very close to the level of one, indicating that a positive environment is in place for equity prices.

What could cause this ratio to increase and become more bearish? Clearly, higher bond yields that would probably be caused by increasing inflation would be negative. Also, decreasing corporate earnings that would cause P/Es to increase would be a negative.

Currently, though, this indicator is in a very positive position.

So my longer-term indicators are still bullish, even at these market levels. My intermediate-term indicators did not show any change last week, and all three remain neutral. This set of circumstances leads me to use a target cash position of 10% in my IRA, and my actual cash position at the end of last week was 11.6%.

My cash position actually increased last week due to my sale of Sauer-Danfoss(SHS Quote). I had held this stock for seven months, and it no longer appeared on my screening system as a buy. Therefore, I liquidated my position. I was not able to find a suitable replacement last week, but I am continuing to look for new ideas.

Last week was a good one for my IRA because I was able to pull ahead of the S&P 500 for the second quarter. Among the good performers was CF Industries(CF Quote), which was up more than 9% as the fertilizer industry continues to exhibit good momentum.

Another winner was Layne Christensen(LAYN Quote), which I just purchased a couple of weeks ago. The company reported earnings for the quarter ended April 30, 2007, that were substantially ahead of estimates, leading to an increase in price of 8.5% for the week. Even after the move last week, I still consider Layne Christensen to be a buy.

The following table shows the current holdings in my IRA:

Symbol	Name	Purchase Date	Cost	Price	Gain
Regular Holdings
ADPI	American Dental Partners	1/30/2007	$20.75	$25.94	25.01%
AHG	Apria Healthcare	11/16/2006	$24.42	$29.27	19.86%
AMP	Ameriprise Financial	12/18/2006	$55.09	$63.30	14.90%
AMSF	Amerisafe	12/18/2006	$14.18	$18.40	29.76%
BDX	Becton Dickinson	11/10/2006	$71.29	$76.02	6.63%
BKI	Buckeye Technologies	11/16/2006	$11.83	$14.46	22.23%
CALM	Cal-Maine Foods	4/16/2007	$13.30	$13.46	1.20%
CF	CF Industries	5/3/2007	$40.57	$46.31	14.15%
CGX	Consolidated Graphics	5/1/2007	$76.88	$73.80	-4.01%
CHUX	O'Charley's	2/1/2007	$21.55	$22.95	6.50%
GIB	CGI Group	3/9/2007	$8.52	$10.89	27.82%
INMD	Integramed America	2/6/2007	$11.47	$12.10	5.49%
KCI	Kinetic Concepts	2/6/2007	$49.75	$51.26	3.04%
LAYN	Layne Christensen	5/22/2007	$41.26	$44.09	6.86%
METH	Methode Electronics	3/8/2007	$12.93	$15.94	23.28%
NOOF	New Frontier Media	1/8/2007	$9.46	$9.03	-4.55%
QD	QuadraMed	3/19/2007	$3.06	$3.26	6.54%
SCHL	Scholastic	1/3/2007	$36.23	$32.51	-10.27%
TBSI	TBS International	5/15/2007	$18.48	$22.70	22.84%
WEL	Boots & Coots	3/22/2007	$2.25	$2.03	-9.78%
WHQ	W-H Energy Services	5/17/2007	$60.96	$63.92	4.86%
WRNC	Warnaco Group	3/14/2007	$26.99	$34.25	26.90%
One Month Screen
CR	Crane Company	5/15/2007	$42.53	$43.86	3.13%
GDI	Gardner Denver	5/15/2007	$39.49	$41.33	4.66%
NCX	Nova Chemicals	5/15/2007	$35.54	$35.75	0.59%
PAS	PepsiAmericas	5/15/2007	$24.47	$24.68	0.86%
TFX	Teleflex	5/15/2007	$75.49	$80.73	6.94%
Performance Results As Of 6/1/2007				IRA	S&P 500
	Quarter To Date			9.1%	8.1%
	Year To Date			18.5%	8.8%