Thankful for 401K return through Q2 - 2012

I am thankful for my self-managed 401K return through Q2 2012.  It is 31.8%!  I may have taken a small hit last year, in my other account, with an algorithm experiment but this year is going well thankfully.  I will be the first to recognize that it is best to be not get full of oneself because the market can humble one quickly if one is not careful.

There are lots of great resources out there if you would like to get started investing / trading stocks.

Here are several.

• http://www.investors.com/ 
• http://www.finviz.com/
• Google Finance
• Bloomberg TV - http://www.bloomberg.com/tv/
• http://www.marketwatch.com
• CNBC (they have some good news videos for keeping up on the market)
• Yahoo Finance (has great data regarding analyst price targets)
• Earnings calendar (from Yahoo Finance, another tool helpful when screening stocks)

Cheers.


“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” - Seneca





Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

AAPL update before Q2 earnings 2012

The fruit stand, aka Apple, is trucking along despite the worries of some over the mess in Europe and the seeming lack of political will to "do the right thing".  Some have similar concerns for the USA regarding the "Fiscal Cliff" and national debt.

Back to AAPL though, how do you feel it'll fare for its quarter two earnings of 2012 in a few weeks?  For the short term the call options volume looks relatively good up to $610.  The analyst opinion still looks good also with a mean target of $713 (43 analysts).  There's a variety of fundamental data out there too.  Insider transactions look favorable also.

There are rumors that the iPhone 5 is coming around October but who knows...  Best of luck with your trading / investing.

For other stock ideas, check out investors.com.  They have a free trial if you need access.  Cheers. (AAPL graph source - google.com/finance)

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” - Seneca





Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

Data for The Fruit Stand (aka Apple - AAPL)

Here's some recent data for The fruit stand , also know as Apple (AAPL).  According to Yahoo Finance, their mean price target is roughly $707.  The call options volume looks pretty good up to the range of $650 - $670 so far.  Finviz.com has some good data too on insider transactions, short interest, and a variety of other data points.  It should be interesting to see what happens when, as some are guessing, in the near future that Apple announces the iPhone 5.

I'm still holding long positions by the way.  Best of luck with your trading and/or investing. Cheers.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” - Seneca





Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

Return for 1st quarter of 2012

I am thankful to report that the return for my self-managed 401K for the first quarter of 2012 is 35.4%.

My other account seems to be about the same but the reporting lags a bit (roughly 33% through the end of 2/2012).

It's been an interesting year so far with the issues in Europe.  Although the situation seems to be improving somewhat - http://www.bloomberg.com/video/89345081/ .

I'm still holding long positions in AAPL by the way.  More interesting data here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/op?s=AAPL+Options , http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ao?s=AAPL+Analyst+Opinion , http://research.investors.com/quotes/nasdaq-apple-inc-aapl.aspx?fromsearch=1 , http://research.investors.com/stockcheckup/nasdaq-apple-inc-aapl.aspx .

Good luck with your trading / investing.  Cheers.

Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

Update 3/20/12

Apologies for not updating this sooner.  I was stopped out of my long position in Apple the other day at $590. I might consider another long position, or positions, in AAPL.  The data (call volume, analyst price targets, sales, etc...) looks pretty good so far.

It'll be interesting to see how the market reacts to the dividend and stock buyback initiative.  There's still concerns about Europe and China also...  Best of luck with your investing / trading.  Cheers.

Update: I bought back into AAPL at roughly $595.94.  Have a good one.

Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

Still bullish on the fruit stand and iPad 3 is on the way.

I may sound like a broken record but I am still bullish on AAPL. An announcement regarding the iPad 3 is due on 3/7.  Call options volume still looks good and other technical data points and fundamentals look favorable as well.  There were some interesting Bloomberg podcasts recently regarding the overall market and Apple as well.  Good luck with your trading / investing.  Cheers.

Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.

AAPL again

I bought another long position in AAPL this morning.  There's still uncertainty regarding Greece.  However, Apple should be fine in my view regardless.  Good luck with your trading / investing.  Cheers.

Disclaimer: Please only use this information with a grain of salt and at your own risk / for educational purposes. I am not an investment advisor so please seek professional help if that's what you're looking for.