Ascending Triangle Archives | Opportunity Identified

September 28, 2014 | Posted by David Zarling, Head of Investment Research

Nike Revisited: Did you JUST DO IT?

That was quick. Last week, our technical analysis pointed to a good probability of higher prices in NKE after identifying an ascending triangle on a weekly time frame. Maybe you got stopped out at 79.50. Or, maybe you enjoyed the 10% gain! One of the first questions I got from individuals who saw this analysis and subsequent gain was… Why? What happened? My answer: does it matter? Does the 10% gain not count if we don’t know exactly why. You see, every ounce of our body is programmed to ask this question. It could be curiosity. It could be our rebellious nature. We want to know why. In investing, this desire to know why is looming in the deep recesses of our analytical minds. But guess what? We cannot know everything. Do you want to know why NKE went to $89? Because that is what it’s worth. Price is the final arbiter of value. Why is NKE worth $89? Because enough money believes such that it created demand that outstripped supply to the tune of $89/share. That’s really what happened. Sure, fundamentalists will point to earnings. Ok, that’s fine. But how many times have you seen great earnings and see the price drop? That’s right. It happens a lot. Could it be that price forecast the earnings would be that good? Absolutely. We can think what we think, but we must trade what we see. What did we see? That the likelihood of higher prices in NKE were pretty good. Now what? Move your stops up to $84.50 (which is equal to 50% of this original move).

If you benefited from this information, you’re welcome. Share the wealth. Share 360 Investment Research with your friends. Trade safe, curious investor.

September 21, 2014 | Posted by David Zarling, Head of Investment Research

JUST DO IT

Nike has broken through overhead resistance to new highs on weekly and daily time frames. The move comes after the fourth knock on the 79-80 door. Corrections take place in one of two ways – through price (declines) or through time (sideways price consolidation). This bullish continuation pattern in NKE is a classic ascending triangle, meaning that price formed this pattern during a period of consolidation within an uptrend. In an ascending triangle, one trendline is drawn horizontally at a level that has historically prevented the price from heading higher (for NKE, 79-80), while the second trendline connects a series of increasing troughs (marked with a “360 green” line). What’s great about patterns is that our risk and rewards are well defined. In this case, our reward target is 96ish, a 17% gain. And we can choose one of two stop loss levels to manage risk – either 79.50 (below previous weekly resistance now turned support) or tighter at 80.75 (the ideal support level on a daily basis)

We have our entry (right now), our stop loss, and our target. We don’t enter a trade without an exit plan. So we have our game plan and will enter this trade because of the robust risk/reward opportunity. If we get stopped out, we don’t care. That means our risk management is solid. We’ve removed the emotion while identifying great potential gains. You’re welcome.

July 9, 2014 | Posted by David Zarling, Head of Investment Research

Keep Calm and Carry On?

Of late, the FTSE (London Times Stock Exchange) has been struggling to make new highs. When looking to the left on the daily chart, we see that lower highs and lower lows (even though minimal) are beginning to accumulate. In addition, this level appears to bring out plenty of supply (sellers). The overall trend is up, but tightening within an ascending triangle. This price action makes us sit up and take notice. A substantial move could be in the works within the next three months. The FTSE has struggled since early 2013 to clear the 2008 highs. We’d like to see this index break upward (or at minimum, hold this level) to confirm all other current global equity bull markets. If FTSE breaks down, it will cause us to watch all other global equity markets (most notably, the US) with more scrutiny. Keep calm, curious investor.