This Week's Rocket Stocks Portfolio Update
Historically, the best time to be a buyer of stocks is when fear, panic and uncertainty riddle market psychology and send stocks to discount prices. As traders' emotions constantly shift, it can be especially hard to time when to take profits.
Each week I write a
Rocket Stocks column
and compile a
in which I try to identify stocks that could move much higher in the coming week, no matter how the market does. These Rocket Stocks picks are primarily for people who like to trade around market-independent catalysts.
Prudent investing involves taking profits, and with the market up 550 points in two days, that is exactly what I am recommending with this week's picks.
I recommended
Deere
(DE) - Get Report
as a play off last week's broad selloff. Deere delivered a huge quarter last week, reporting earnings that handily beat even the highest Wall Street estimates. While shares were up, most investors and traders were preoccupied with the market selloff and did not give Deere the respect it deserved. With the stock now up nearly 7% since I wrote about it Monday, I would take profits.
I also featured
E*Trade
(ETFC) - Get Report
, which was down as much as 10% on Monday. Early this morning the company announced a $2.55 billion capital infusion from a group led by Citadel Investment Group. Mitchell Caplan has stepped down as chief executive officer, and Jarrett Lilien has been named acting CEO. The news of the investment sent shares soaring in premarket trading. The stock is on track to open about 15% higher from where it started the week. I would definitely lock in a gain on this one.
I also talked about
(GOOG) - Get Report
, as a new ad pricing would help its revenue. Thanks to a few analyst upgrades, Google shares are up 1.8% since Monday. I would lock in that gain.
For an additional pick this week, I would be a buyer of the
Ultra Short Oil and Gas Pro Shares
(DUG) - Get Report
for a short-term trade. With oil down a quick $6 in the past two days, this exchange-traded fund has hardly moved. I have also noticed some inefficiency with its price movements compared to crude and natural gas.
For the rest of this week's picks, check out the
Rocket Stocks for the Week of Nov. 26-30
at Stockpickr.com.
At the time of publication, Altucher and/or his fund had no positions in stocks mentioned, although positions may change at any time.
James Altucher is president of Stockpickr LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties, and a managing partner at Formula Capital, an alternative asset management firm that runs a fund of hedge funds. He is also a weekly columnist for
The Financial Times
and the author of
Trade Like a Hedge Fund
,
Trade Like Warren Buffett
and
SuperCa$h
. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Altucher appreciates your feedback;
to send him an email.
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