Normally, I like to take at least some profits off the table as targets get MADE, but I had a relatively small position in ARNA and I liked the chart so well, I held it when we got to the first two targets (5.23 and 5.64).
ARNA rallied to over $6 in after hours on Thursday on news that the company would hold a conference call at 8AM Friday morning, but during the call, it traded down about 30%, in the low 4's, in response to the news on trial results. UGH.
Pre-market trading was well below the bottom of the Ascending Triangle, so it was marked for a "Take No Prisoners...This Is Just For Openers" opening. I don't try to interpret the news in terms of how the stock "might respond" later on. When a pattern gets broken, I simply want outta there. ARNA came off the lows right before pre-market trading ended at 9:15AM, so I sold it for a small loss. As it turns out, the CEO spoke at about 10:30AM on CNBC, after which the stock rallied sharply. I would have been fine holding it, but that's a "coulda...shoulda...woulda." More often than not, holding a Gap Down opening below a pattern, like we had in ARNA Friday morning, gets punished, so I don't hold those.
Loss: $250
2 comments:
Good Morning,
Sorry to hear about that loss. It's similar circumstances that try my trading patience and put me on tilt often ruining my trading for the day.
Good Morning, Mark,
Thanks. Yeah, that's frustrating, especially when the trade was going to well. I was up close to $4,000 on paper in after hours on Thursday, but that's the breaks, eh?!
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