GLW should be a core long term holding in your portfolio.  They had a little hiccup in share price about 6 weeks ago (down to the mid $14′s) but have moved up about 25% since that point.  It was kind of odd that they sold off, because Corning has made it a habit over the past few years to pre-announce in a way that essentially says that they are on track.  That is what they did on 10/22/2009.  After that announcement, they sold off about 7%-8% within a week.

I wish that I would have taken the opportunity to add to my current position.  Let me reiterate why GLW is a great long term buy.

A leader in the following core sectors:

• LCD
• Filtration Systems
• Fiber

Corning - GLW

Those three sectors alone are fantastic long term plays.  We haven’t even seen the real impact of climate regulation and the continued move toward larger and flatter TV’s, monitors, and devices will allow the LCD division to generate plenty of cash.  Let’s not forget about our constantly growing demand for bandwidth which ultimately leads to more fiber.

There are plenty of other markets that Corning is entering with plenty of R&D money.  This is a smart long term play.

I would recommend the following three stocks to virtually any investor:

1. CELG (Celgene):  This stock might be the one with the highest opportunity to pop.  The Obama health plan is a bit of a drag for this sector, but once things shake out there, the stock is poised to perform well. In fact, we were strong on CELG below $39 on 4/15/2009.
2. GLW (Corning): Corning is solid, good financials, and in the position to profit from a growing economy.
3. MTB (M&T Bank): Some exposure to the financial segment is not a bad thing.  You could do this via an ETF (such as XLF) or via a solid stock like MTB.

These stocks have been touted on this site since we started BobandScott.com.  I have owned a core number of shares in CELG & GLW for at least 5 years and have traded a bit during that time.  I have owned MTB from the mid 20′s and have added to my position on a couple of occassions (in the mid 40′s).  MTB is a solid regional player that stands to benefit with the recovery in the economy.

Bob

I am currently in a TimothySykes.com short of DRGZ.  I will stomach the short term pain over the next couple of days since I don’t expect to be able to find shares to short.  Short them while you can.  I had some success with a past call where shares were available during the run but not during the fall (GWSC).

I am speculating on the earnings of FNFG (First Niagara Financial Group).  They are a regional bank (In my back yard) who have been clicking on all cylinders for the past 6 months.  They did 2 offerings during the worst of it.  Took TARP and were one of the first to pay it back.  They report earnings on Friday.  My option play is a speculation that the numbers will be good and will move this stock back up to the level the reached in late April.

I also placed a buy of ERX (energy bull).  This is a volatile way to play oil and the energy sector.  As I write this, half of my position sold off (7.48% gain in 1 day).  I am holding the other half to speculate on the EIA petroleum status report due at 10:30 today.

I have written many times about how much I like Corning.  I placed an option trade and the shares got caught in the market downturn.  I bought 10 more contracts.  I sold 8 of the 10 contracts yesterday for a 33% gain.  I am holding my last 9 contracts for a longer term play. If the recovery is real, Corning will be a big winner.  These are Nov 15 call options.  Plenty of time left and well into the money.

Bob

Check out my trading log to stay up to date with what I am up to.   I might not be writing lengthy articles regarding each move, but you can catch up on my thoughts with the Bob and Scott Twitter feed.

BTW: Scott has been on Vacation.  He’ll be back to share.

First, pay attention when trading.

Second, stop fighting what you believe to be true

This isn’t the first time I have mentioned how important it is to have your head in the game when trading.  Not all trading software is dummy proof and you can make mistakes if you aren’t careful.  I was a bit fatigued today and decided to make a relatively small long term investment in a stock trading around $147 per share.  When trading, I get used to shares that are in a certain price range.  Determining the number of shares to buy or sell for a trade is generally in the hundreds or thousands of shares.  For example, a trade in MTB, GLW, or CELG would be in hudreds of shares.  A trade in shares of Citi (C) or AIB would be in thousands.

It isn’t often that I am trading something that is north of $100 per share.  Today was no exception.  I was INVESTING!  I decided to open a position in shares trading around $147.  I had a trade in my head as I was making this purchase and placed my order for 250 shares rather than 25 shares.  Due to my setup, I don’t get a total trading cost confirmation from my software until the trade goes off.  I had intended to purchase about $3600 worth of shares only to find I made a purchase of $36,000 worth of shares.  Oops!   Big oops.

I was in a position that has bitten me in the past.  Not one where I made a large trade by mistake, but one where I held onto something when I didn’t like the risk reward.  At the point the trade went off, I felt that there was possibly another $0.50 upside in the stock for the day.  I felt the downside probably carried about $2.00-3.00.  That kind of risk/reward didn’t suit me and I got rid of the excess shares within about 15 minutes of my trade.  Within about 2 hours, I was missing out on a gain of about $700.

The investment that I describe above was in shares of Goldman Sachs.

In earlier articles I mentioned how Goldman Sachs is at the center of it all.  Well, rather than continuing to fight (on whatever ground I was fighting) I decided to pick up some Goldman shares as a long term investment.  If I believe what I read, write, and discuss, Goldman will find a way to make money regardless of what the economy does or what the markets do.  They are a huge part of the market.  In some cases, they put themselves in the position to be the tail that wags the dog.

• Is there a bubble? Goldman will short it and cause the fall…
• Are things oversold?  Goldman will buy in with great entry points helped, in part, by their own research and trading action and participate in the upside movement.
• Is oil trading on supply and demand of the oil, or of the instrument that is used to trade the oil?  Doesn’t matter… Goldman will work it to their advantage.
• Compensation an issue with firms that took TARP money.  Easy one.  Pay it back and bring in the warrants at great prices.  Ahhhh.. it is good to have friends in high places.

Goldman Sachs

What will Goldman do with the riches that they will generate?  Well, for one, I now hope that their shares fly high.  However, I would imagine that their are some other classes of shares that participate in some rather sweet dividends.  I suppose that I could look that up, but I wouldn’t be allowed in the club anyway.  Goldman common is good enough for me.

Flat panel: TV shift continues
Green Tech: Filter products
Network build outs: ongoing and stimulous money helping to spike the current spend
Cell phones and other devices: Gorilla glass ®.  Let’s hope for that Apple tablet type device to boost 2h 2009.

If you are looking for a nice long term investment, consider Corning.  There has been a bit of a swing in share price, but anything under $15 a share should look like a fantastic entry point in a couple years time.

I am trading in some option contracts right now.  Down a bit on one batch and up a bit on my second batch.  I might just see myself out of these contracts tomorrow.   However, I am getting a bit greedy and will consider a hedge of a gain rather than an outright sale on these contracts.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Corning - GLW

Corning - GLW

Corning appears to be performing well.  A couple of bits of good news have trickled out this week and the price target was raised today by RBC Capital Markets.

Corning is getting dragged down with the rest of the market in this rough economy.

Episode 20 - All In

Sites mentioned today: http://www.lightinthebox.com/

Bob’s trading success continues. He is on a roll. Corning is his latest gain. Listen to the podcast and view recent successes on his trading page. It’s hard to dispute the results. Why does the Dow do what they do? Is the Dow an accurate measure of the economy. Speaking of the Dow, Bob and Scott discuss where the market started this January. Do you know where the market started in 2009? We were suprised to find out the answer.

This was a nice trade in terms of percentage gain.  Bought at $1.80 (5/28) and sold at $2.10 (6/1).  Just a few short trading days and the net (after transaction costs) was +13.65%.

I’ll take it.  I moved my limit order up to $2.20 on my other GLW options.  With the rally this morning, I could see being out of those rather soon.  That would be a much larger gain since I purchased those contracts on last weeks pull back ($1.55 entry).

If I am taken out, I will be looking to get back in between ($1.85 – $1.95).  SYMBOL: GLW KC (Month: Nov | Strike Price: 15 | Type: Calls)

Corning - GLW