FFIV

Duck Brother’s Investing stock pick of the week is FFIV. FFIV produces data storage devices for networking delivery. This stock has an outstanding pedigree and is forming a flat base. The buy point is $143.85 and its current price is $130.08. Over the last week volume has dried up and the 50-day moving average has caught up with the price. Watch this stock over next week for price and volume movement upward.

Since inception of this weekly stock pick Duck Brother’s is up 7.49%. LULU made us 24%, INFA has made 6.56%, and MIPS lost us 8%. PCLN and EBIX have still not made the buy point and should be watched closely for upward movement.

EBIX

This week I will be discussing EBIX. EBIX is a company that produces software for insurance companies. The company has a median price target of $25.64 and its earnings per share have steadily been growing. EBIX has a buy rating from marketgrader and is currently creating a cup with handle base. This week the pattern should fall down to the 50-day moving average where it will gain support. Once this happens if institutions are buying the company it will re-bound reaching the buy point of $24.76 with 40% or higher volume.

A recap of Duck Bother’s stock picks of the week. LULU is up 54.14%, INFA is up 9.45%, MIPS crashed -8%, BIDU and PCLN have not made the buy points. Using William J. O’Neil’s strategies we sold LULU at a 24% profit, are still holding INFA with a 9.45% profit and sold MIPS with a -8% loss. All together Duck Brothers pick of the week is up 8.46%.

PCLN

This last week was a difficult week for Duck Brothers investing. My stock pick of the week ended in a big disappointment. MIPS hit the $16.03 buy point on Monday with increase volume, up by 148%. The stock decreased over the next three days, trending down toward the 50 day moving average. I still believe in the stock, because the fundamentals look great and it’s above the 50 day moving average. In fact the stock over last week created a cup with handle which is William J. O’Neil’s most talked about base. Continue watching this stock it’s going places.

Since the inception of this Blog Duck Brothers investing has analyzed four stocks. The stocks are LULU, INFA, BIDU, and MIPS. LULU after hitting the buy point has run up 47.02%. Implementing William J. O’Neil’s 3-to-1 sell rule we sold at a 24% profit. An example of the 3-to-1 sell rule would be selling at an 8% loss or a 24% profit. This is what we did with LULU. INFA has gone up 7.88% since the buy point. BIDU never hit the buy point and MIPS decreased 8% hitting our sell rule. So far we have picked two winners one loser and a dud.

This week we will talk about Priceline (i.e. PCLN). Priceline is an online travel agency specializing in economical tickets and packages. PCLN is making a five week flat base. Its buy point is $428.20 and its current price is $400.64.

MIPS

Last week I talked about BIDU, China’s largest search engine. Its buy point is still $115.14. Keep this stock in your watch list and watch for volume to increase by 40% or more. I have a confession to make. This last week I bought into BIDU. When I did this I became a predictor. I thought BIDU was going up and I would get a discount price if I bought then. It still can go up, but the truth is no one knows what BIDU will do. I do not want to predict the market; I want to invest in the market. Investing is about earning money, making logical decisions, not gambling. This is a lesson learned. I still hope my gamble earns me money, but with any gamble there is more risk than there should be.

This week I will analyze MIPS. MIPS is a company that is in the semiconductor sector. More specifically they make 32-bit and 64-bit chips for computers. Currently MIPS is forming a 6 week base and its buy point is at $16.03. MIPS had its follow through day on Thursday with volume up 189.6%. This suggests institutions are buying MIPS.

Following William J O’neil’s strategy I’m up a total of 15.46% over the last month. I earned 24% on LULU and I’m up 6.94% on INFA.

BIDU

The correction we witnessed in November was small, declining only 3.69%. Even though the correction was small and painless, I’m glad I stayed on the sidelines. This rule of thumb is the only way to prevent major losses during a large correction. During the correction leaders changed hands and stocks hit buy points, LULU and INFA to mention a few. LULU and INFA are the first two stocks I analyzed on this blog. LULU is up 14.6% and INFA moved forward 5.62%. This week I will be writing about BIDU.

BIDU is China’s largest search engine. Some people refer to it as the Google of China. Its chart is currently making what William O’Neil calls a flat base. A flat base is a second base usually forming after a cup with handle. The characteristics to look for are horizontal movement and decreasing volume. Generally it takes five to six weeks of flat sideways movement to form. Currently BIDU’s price is at $109.23 and its buy point is $115.14. Remember look for increasing volume of 40% or higher and a price increase of 2%. At this point the follow through day has arrived and institutions are buying large quantities of the stock. When you buy after the follow through day there is an 80% chance the stock will increase.

My 'Could Have Been' Portfolio

Here is a look at what my portfolio could have been this year. This is a listing of stocks that I bought, when I bought them if I had held them until now. These buy points are from my portfolio with the actual dates, shares and prices that I invested in during 2010. Now I know that this does not really matter, but it is an interesting exercise to see where I could be if I had just held onto my winners this year.

I like this exercise because it tells me that I made some good pick, at great buy points but I didn't have the patience or discipline to hold onto them for the long haul. Dose this mean that there is a problem with my fundamental strategy, not necessarily. Does this mean that I should reconsider where I place my stop losses, probably. I think it is important to evaluate your investing strategy on a monthly basis, to see if you are making the smartest moves that you can. Although I missed out on some big gains this year by selling too early, that does not mean that I was a bad investor. It just shows me that I need to loosen the reigns on my stops and lets the winners go a little longer. Now I can adjust my strategy and move forward with confidence that I can pick good buy points.

It is also interesting to look at the chart for these 5 stocks. This is the kind of chart that all investors dream about.