I am watching the major indices for a reversal pattern setup. For example, the NASDAQ and DOW have both violated their long term trends but they are yet to establish a definite “minor low” and then a failure to close above the previous high.

Let’s see if the NASDAQ and DOW will continue to form a chart similar to BLK.

Do not jump the guy and start shorting before the SIGNAL is given. Be patient, these patterns can take months to confirm.

We are looking for point #2 and point #3 to confirm before establishing a short (trend reversal position).

Point #1 has confirmed but that is not enough to place a short position, the risk is still high as the odds have not been confirmed in our favor. Without confirmation, the market could move higher which will lead to unnecessary losses.

Back to Victor Sperandeo’s book about the 1-2-3 setup:

At the point where all three of these events have occurred graphically, there exists the equivalent of a Dow Theory confirmation of a trend change. Either of the first two conditions alone is evidence of a probable change in trend. Two out of three increases the probability of a change in trend. And three out of three defines a change in trend.

Three out of three defines a change in trend : that is what I am looking for. At that point (if it happens) is when I will short and short heavily!

Lastly, keep in mind that this 1-2-3 pattern also works for reversal to the up-side:

“The bottom may be near but the upswing could take years if you go back and research history. Badly beaten down industries can take anywhere from two to five years to rebound and start trading higher.”

Give it time, past industries can and usually do take years to recover. The one “prediction” I did make has held true, NVR continues to be the group’s leader. Since my blog post on 8/24/07, NVR is the ONLY stock showing a gain with Hovnanian still down more than 75%. Toll Brothers is a distant second with a 10.77% loss.

(NVR) NVR Inc.: + 7.74%
(TOL) Toll Brothers Inc.: -10.77%
(MDC) MDC Holdings Inc.: -19.99%
(DHI) DR Horton Inc.: -22.76%
(RYL) Ryland Group Inc.: -30.15%
(PHM) Pulte Homes Inc.: -40.29%
(KBH) KB Home: -43.33%
(LEN) Lennar Corp.: -58.49%
(CTX) Centex Corporation: -67.11%
(BZH) Beazer Homes USA Inc.: -75.27%
(HOV) Hovnanian Enterprises Inc.: -75.99%

I guess it helped to work in this industry during the boom for approximately five years but I am sill surprised that some of the big guys haven’t merged or taken over their competitors.

Other than Housing, Biotech and Cyclicals also lead the market this past week (+26% & +10% respectively), these are not the groups of choice for leaders (in my opinion).

Here’s the original post from August 24, 2007:

The analysis below will show you why I select this stock as the best bet when the builders eventually hit a bottom and start moving higher.

Nathan Rothschild, founder of one of Europe’s most-powerful economic dynasties, uttered one of the most frequently quoted maxims on investment timing in the early 19th Century when he said, “The best time to buy is when blood is running in the streets.”

Now, blood is running in the streets for this industry and the homebuilders are getting their rear-ends kicked by Wall Street, the media and anyone else that will jump on the bandwagon.

So, when will the bottom arrive? Who the hell knows? And if someone tells you they know, just walk away because they are fooling themselves and anyone who listens.

The bottom may be near but the upswing could take years if you go back and research history. Badly beaten down industries can take anywhere from two to five years to rebound and start trading higher.

With that said, I would like to tell you why I feel that NVR Homes (NVR) is the best bet when the bottom does arrive and we start to see some life in this area.

Let’s start with the charts above. They shows us that NVR now has the sixth largest market cap and is the only leading US Big Builder to boast a current ROE above the double digit threshold (positive of course). Of the ten other major players, only Ryland Group (RYL) has a positive ROE while writing this piece. This is major because every one of these stocks were reporting 20%+ ROE’s over the past five to seven years with several of them averaging 35% or better. NVR had an ROE of 105.2% in 2003, 78.7% in 2004 and 92.3% in 2005.

NVR was one of the smarter builders by scaling back their land purchases in 2005 and 2006 when everyone else was going nuts buying land that was way overvalued. They were also the only homebuilder to receive a report card grade of A- by Big Builder Magazine in the May 8, 2007 edition. The magazine said:

NVR’s inimitable focus on EPS growth through capital allocation discipline and land-risk minimization has positioned the company to weather a deep and long downturn in superb condition. The company’s extreme concentration in the Washington, D.C., market and its immediate environs exposes it to that market’s vulnerabilities but allows for peerless operational discipline and flexibility in light of situational opportunities that emerge before a wider recovery. The company’s market share strength in its competitive arena give it leverage in renegotiating terms on optioned takedowns, allowing the builder to remain in control of assets even in a slower sales pace environment.

Financially, the company is maintaining its leadership role in areas such as cash flow, earnings, long term debt, ROA, ROE, net income and revenue. Since they are writing off the least amount of land due to their foresight in 2005, they are managing to keep their financial numbers above their peers and remain the best investment from this industry for Wall Street.

Finally, we must look to the charts where we see that NVR has the strongest relative strength (RS) rating versus every one of its peers in the industry. NVR is the only stock of the big builders to show a double digit gain over its price from one year ago; up 15.82%. Actually, MDC is the only other stock to show a positive gain from this time last year at 8.77%. Comparatively, BZH is down over 73% and HOV is down 55%.

Looking at the next set of charts, we can see that NVR has dropped the least year-to-date versus the other leading builders in the US. They have only corrected by 11.47% while the rest of the pack has corrected by an average of 45%. Once again, BZH has dropped the most in 2007 at 78.09% with HOV right behind at 65.04%.

Therefore, I rate NVR the best value buy in this group when it decides to hit bottom and turn higher over the next couple of years. Long term, I see NVR reaching the $700 to $800 range while some of the other builders will still be struggling to reach $15 to $20 per share. Amateur investors may argue that it is easer for a $12 stock to go to $20 but I will argue and place my money behind the $550 stock to move $250 points higher to $800. NVR almost reached $1,000 per share at its peak and I have no doubt that we will see it there one day but that could take a long time and beaten down industries need years to recover.

FYI: I do NOT own any shares in any of the companies listed below. If I do buy in this industry, it will most likely be NVR based on the intelligence of its management leadership.

Closing prices from 8/23/07:
(DHI) DR Horton Inc., $16.11
(LEN) Lennar Corp., $29.99
(PHM) Pulte Homes Inc., $17.59
(CTX)Centex Corporation, $31.86
(TOL) Toll Brothers Inc., $22.65
(NVR) NVR Inc., $571.00
(KBH) KB Home, $31.80
(MDC) MDC Holdings Inc., $45.41
(RYL) Ryland Group Inc., $31.47
(HOV) Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., $11.85
(BZH) Beazer Homes USA Inc., $10.24

The average gain of the stocks showing a profit is 26%.
The average loss of the stocks showing a loss is 11% (-5%, -8% and -21%).

The top performing position is DXO, currently up 65% with a peak gain above 70%. Following DXO is EJ at 56%, STAR at 50%, RVBD at 40%, FRPT at 32%, ARST at 26% and V & VMW tied at 25%.

Visa (V) has appeared the most with a total of eight mentions (I may be biased since it’s my largest personal holding). DXO has also been an active play of mine since 2008 so it has been the second most popular ticker in my tweets, appearing five times over the past two months (DXO first appeared on this blog last November as a speculative oil play).

I would like to emphasize that the stock down 21% (APEI) would have been cut for a smaller loss using simple money management tools but for purposes of this update, we’ll assume everything is still being held.

Below is the list of stocks highlighted on my Twitter account, listed in date order (starting on March 31, 2009):

• HTS: +7%, $26.15 from $24.35 on 3/31/09
• V: +25%, $69.28 from $55.60 on 3/31/09
• VMW: +25%, 32.59 from $26.12 on 4/1/09
• RVBD: +40%, $21.52 from $15.37 on 4/2/09
• STAR: +50%, $22.45 from $15.00 on 4/5/09
• CXO: +14%, $31.90 from $27.96 on 4/5/09
• DXO: +65%, $4.48 from $2.72 on 4/20/09 (1st posted on 4/6/09 at $3.07)
• EJ: +56%, $16.78 from $10.79 on 4/9/08
• ARST: +26%, $18.19 from $14.46 on 4/9/09
• FRPT: +32%, $9.36 from $7.09 on 4/13/09
• WMZ: +12%, $19.85 from $17.70 on 4/14/09
• CTCT: +10%, $20.14 from $18.36 on 4/20/09
• TNDM: +15%, $30.78 from $26.81 on 4/20/09
• CFL: +11%, $30.60 from $27.50 on 4/26/09
• PAR: +3%, $11.27 from $10.94 on 6/2/09
• APEI: -21%, $34.56 from $44.00 on 4/2/09
• MDAS: -5%, $15.90 from $16.79 on 4/23/09
• MELI: -8%, $23.62 from $25.60 on 5/12/09

If you haven’t joined already, take the few seconds to follow me on Twitter as the bulk of my analysis appears there weekly, if not nightly.

P.S. – the bragging title of this post probably signals a short term top in the market! As I wrote yesterday:

“The main purpose of the stock market is to make fools of as many men as possible.” – Bernard Baruch

The first has to do with real estate, something I have been focusing on over the past several months; the Nickerson book is a RE classic from the 1950′s & 60′s (don’t even think “get-rich-quick – can’t stand those). The second is a fiction classic that I have never read and have always wanted to. Or, you could always stick to the stock market books listed below; I have read them all!

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Learning about Stocks (Fundamental and Technical Principles):

System Development and Market Psychology:

Great All-around Reads:

All Others:

This is what I had to say a few weeks ago in my post titled DryShips (DRYS) Drying up?

All in all – I am not a buyer of the stock at this level. It may be a solid short term buy for traders that make these types of plays such as Blain and Rajin but it does not fit into my criteria for a trend trading opportunity.

I see a decent consolidation over the past few months but I have a problem with the current pattern that is forming if it does not test former highs near $130. Volume is increasing as it moves higher but the stock is starting to struggle near the last peak of $88.

I stick to my original analysis as I am watching the stock from afar or the weekly chart. I am not day trading DRYS or any stocks for that matter so I can cut through the noise and view the market on a weekly basis to assess the “true overall trend”. Don’t get me wrong, many traders made money on the recent spike in DRYS but I wasn’t touching it with a 10-foot pole. I look for the big runs and couldn’t be bothered with a few points here and there (and I am not about to support my broker with constant buy and sell commissions, even if they are minimal).

The easiest way to characterize this trade and the market in general is to view it all as a risk/ reward potential or an expected value, as I wrote yesterday. DRYS was not a +EV trade in my trading system but, it very well may have been an excellent +EV trade for a shorter term day trader such as Rajin or Blain.

Anyway, here are a few more charts that are starting to look suspicious (some more than others). The bottom line or point of today’s rant is the fact that I still feel that the market is headed for a decline or as I phrased it a couple weeks ago:
The Big Decline (long term perspective of course).

These charts are just examples as many more exist but they were some of the first I viewed Thursday night:

JASO – 24.83, JA Solar Holdings is currently trading in the handle portion of a cup with handle base (one of the prime setups in the CANSLIM philosophy).

• Portfolio Snapshot: Growth
• Highest Rated IPO’s
• JASO Cup with Handle Breakout
• China Super Stars
• Fresh IPO Ideas
• Recent IPO Updates

EDU – 80.08, New Oriental Education & Technology Group has come a long way since its correction down to the mid-$40 range. It closed above $80 on Friday and is now back within 15% of a new all-time high.

• Portfolio Snapshot: Growth
• Friday Morning Education (EDU)
• It Pays to Learn English
• China Super Stars
• Weekend Trender – EDU
• Intercontinental Education – The 20% Rule?
• Learning about New Oriental Education (EDU)
• EDU Breakout on Huge Volume!
• Intercontinental Education – The 20% Rule?
• Top 10 Stocks to Watch: Trend Buys

GU – 17.00, Gushan Environmental blasted 22.39% higher last week on above average volume as it closed at a new all time high.

• Portfolio Snapshot: Growth
• Gushan (GU) Making a Move
• The Next Chinese IPO – GU

TITN – 23.52, Titan Machinery is starting to flirt with all-time highs as volume is increasing during accumulation weeks

• Portfolio Snapshot: Growth
• Young Stocks Moving on Volume
• Titan Machinery (TITN)

Here is an example of the first few Questions and answers:

StockTickr: Tell us a little about yourself, Chris.

Chris: My name is Chris Perruna and I am 29 years old. I currently reside in New Jersey with my wife but was born and raised in NY (still my favorite place). I graduated college with a degree in Architectural Engineering and went to work for a historic preservation firm in Manhattan. I started as an intern with the firm while still in college and worked on several high end projects around the corner from Wall Street. It wasn’t until I was about to graduate that I knew I wanted to work on Wall Street and trade the markets professionally (rather than personally). I even signed up and took the trips to the exchanges each year through my university’s business school. I currently consult for a fortune 500 big builder as an architect (listed on the NYSE) and trend trade for capital appreciation. I am a trend trader looking for gains of 25% or more and losses no larger than 10% (preferably smaller). Understand that this 10% loss is calculated into a position sizing spreadsheet that only risks a maximum of 1% of total capital. My foundation is rooted in CANSLIM philosophies but I developed my system with detailed position sizing calculations and money management rules from Dr. Van Tharp.

StockTickr: What do you like to do outside of trading?

Chris: My hobbies include poker on a competitive level, a men’s flag football league in the fall and a softball league in the spring. It drives my wife nuts but I like to compete in most things I do so sports, poker and the market feed that craving. I also enjoy traveling, attending professional baseball and football games and dining at great restaurants. Del Frisco’s (NYC) gets the nod here!

StockTickr: How did you get started trading stocks?

Chris: I open my first brokerage account as a sophomore in college and have not stopped trading since. I first gained an interest in trading from my father who owned restaurants and traded heavily in the 1970’s and 1980’s. I still trend trade heavily based on his 200-day moving average plays. I started tracking stocks when I was a teenager but didn’t become “obsessed” until college. I started college when the 1990’s market was starting to really boom and I benefited greatly over the first couple of years – it was all luck, pure luck.

StockTickr: Most traders have a horror story about losing their shirt when they first started trading. What’s yours?

Click Here to view the entire Interview

If you are interested, you may want to search around the old site while the new site is completely updated with images and blog entries (formatted correctly from Google’s blogger).