opened below the pivot, retraced and went back down through the previous days value area, average volume is 15 million, stock is Ford, these size prints kind of seem random right in the middle of the day/range, stock usually has 10k size on the bid/offer only news on F is that there is a board meeting later on next week.
I would never trade that stock. The news is immaterial. The stock is too thick. Pivots and value areas have no bearing on tape reading. Let me explain something a little more clearer here for everyone. When there is a real buyer or seller in a stock, they don't give a crap about technical levels or pivots points. They have stock to buy and they need to buy it now! Do you guys understand how a broker gets order flow? He is graded on his ability to beat the VWAP (Volume weighted average price). This is his report card. That means his job is to get stock and try to work with the specialist so he does not run the stock up 10 dollars. If he does not buy all the stock he is suppose to, he's fired, it's that simple. That's why you will see late in the day when the buyer comes back, he will be bidding size at the high of the day. You'll see plus tick bids. I have met many specialists in NY and I met their brokers. I have talked to them extensively. They do NOT look at charts! They work order flow. This is their job. If anyone of you guys ever get a chance in NY and you know someone on the floor, spend a day down there at a post and watch how a specialist works an order. It's very methodical and very precise. You would be amazed at how well they do their job. If someone has 600k shares of stock to buy after the company just raised its earnings estimates, they want the stock and they want it now!
Mav, Thanks for your comment. It is usually near the high of the day. The prints are usually small size, and so i assume there is not an aggressive seller. Since the stock is strong all day, is it reasonable to think it will move higher? One more question: Nothing is 100%. How accurate is double prints, perfect prints, etc? I am trying to quantify my tape reading skill.
Anyone knows how to find a complete list of stocks with trading range at around $2. Most of the stock screening website like yahoo can not use trading range as a criteria.
I use MSN stock screener. I set it to find stocks where TodaysHighPrice >= TodaysLowPrice +1. Just use that and change it to 2 to find stocks with a $2 range. Hope that helps. -spxdes
Spxdes, Thanks a lot. This is helpful but it only gives you the list of stocks with today's range of $1. Can we use average trading range as a criteria.
Maverick, I was actually discussing the VWAP in one of my classes a few days ago. Are there any ways of getting an idea of what that price will be? What should we look for on the tape to figure this out? Also, do you ever research for stocks with a thin float or high betas, etc.? My firm tells new traders to avoid trading stocks in the news when you are starting off because they are too active and there is too much noise. They recommend trading lower volume so you actually see how the specialist prints. Thanks for your great thread! It is very helpful and much appreciated! -spxdes
I am sure you can. Mess around with it and you will probably find a way. I also have other criteria I use for my searches such as daily avg. volume, stock price, beta, and sometimes sector. This is a good way to find stocks with nice smooth moves that can be used to learn to read the tape more easily in my opinion. -spxdes