StockTwits for Idiot Retail Investors: Week #12

I skipped last week’s update. Not a lot of trades, got killed on my shorts, and busy in real life to the point that I couldn’t commit the requisite ten hours a week or so to trading. But here are some quick updates of the blunders of the last couple of weeks.

Crushed on BBY and FAZ

Totally missed out on the chance to cover all my BBY positions (the shorts and the puts) back when it was at $25, only to see it rise to $39 in a squeeze. I’m still short, although I can’t carry this for much longer. Their ad campaign (i.e., “I must not be cool enough for a Mac”) and their IT to me means that there’s a good company in there somewhere saddled to a failing business model. I did average down on the puts, which I think are a losing cause, so those will be the first to go.

I took a big one day hit on FAZ, but luckily bailed before it lost even more, riding it from 43 to 27. Stupid, stupid, greedy, greedy.

I also had some SPY puts that I need to pitch—well over my typical loose stops. I recovered a little today on all the weakness, and despite the futures looking up for tomorrow, I think I can sit it out a little bit longer. A lot of the government’s actions, working or not, seem to be improving sentiment, so this comes down to whether my desire to fight a trend is stronger than my trading account. Maybe the two weeks of goosing was just there to give cushion to this weekend’s firing of Wagoner. Although come on. Are corporate structures really working if it requires the government to step in and fire a guy who lost $82 billion under his watch? We’re not even talking market cap loss. $82 billion in losses. You think after the first, I don’t know, $40 billion or so they maybe think about “going in a different direction”? No one who gets fired after losing $82 billion is a “scapegoat”.

I’m within about 5% of the largest cash position I’ve had in the last six months, so being a little short isn’t hurting. It’s just hard to find things to bet for or against at these levels.

The Big Lesson These Last Two Weeks

If life events interrupt, set stops or get neutral before checking out.

Upcoming

The end of the quarter is near. I still hold some SRS, the BBY and SPY puts, long AMZN and sitting long INTC. Sometime this week I’ll sell April calls into whatever trend continues—either the INTC and ATVI on strength, or the SRS on weakness. I really need to get back to neutral and recalibrate for more limited attention. StockTwits has fallen by the wayside for the time being, although armed with TweetDeck, I’ll make another run at it in the second quarter. Apologies to the people in that community whom I’ve forsaken. I shall return. I may just be focusing a little more on the Code and Literature, and a little less on the Money.