There were two good trading opportunities in RIMM today.  Below 50 on the Open was an excellent short.  Above 47.50 after the Stimulus Package agreement was leaked.  Everything else, and I mean everything else, was a shit show.  Let’s discuss.

First, I am not a huge fan of cussing.  But if you had just spent the day trading RIMM like I had you would understand.  And I have read Dr. Steenbarger use this term so it must be acceptable.  I made good trades at two spots.  I lost at almost every other.

On the Open I caught the downmove below 50.  This was a chop!  I held a core below 50 for almost the entire downmove.

RIMM traded higher towards 48 but then started another intraday downtrend.  RIMM traded near its intraday low of 46.60ish.  RIMM could not trade above 47.  I was short and licking my chops.  I was short in front of 47 and ready to hold.  I was anticipating a move through the intraday low.  I was anticipating a new down leg with panic.  But I got something different.

All of a sudden SPY spiked.  SPY was at their lows of 82.51.  SPY spiked.  SPY spiked to near 83.  And RIMM traded above 47.  It was all so sudden.  There was no breaking news.  RIMM had been so weak.  And now here was RIMM trading at 47.50.

And the volume came.  Oh boy was there a ton of volume done at and near 47.50.  And SPY climbed higher.  But then a strange thing happened.  RIMM went up when SPY spiked.  Then SPY traded even higher and the 47.50 offer would not lift.  RIMM went from stronger than SPY to much weaker than SPY near 47.50.

Hence the dilemna.  Do I short?  Do I get long?  Do I sit on the sidelines?  OK so the third option was not realistic.  I am a professional trader.  I live for stocks that are moving.  I live for battles at 47.50.  Like I wasn’t going to get long above the level and short below?  That would be like putting a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of me, leaving the room for 20 minutes, and expecting some remaining when you returned.  Please……

Overall I traded RIMM with a short bias near 47.50.  I just did not believe the spike in SPY and RIMM.  With no new breaking news there seemed no reason for this upmove.  But the buying at 47.50.  And there were no pullbacks when 47.50 had held the offer.  Generally even when RIMM was strong it would pull back at least 30c when it met resistance.  And resistance RIMM had met at 47.50.  Yet it could not pullback.  At best it made a few lame attempts to touch 47.43.  But this was no downmove.

Finally we got the news about the Stimulus Package.  I suppose this is what caused SPY and RIMM to spike previously. And then RIMM traded above 47.50. I flipped my short.  The best way to trade this play was to just develop a position from here.  Long above 47.50, sit back, and wait for something different.  Sit back and wait for RIMM to make me sell her.

Overall I worked very hard today.  I gave it my best effort in RIMM.  But I got beat everywhere expect the two spots above.  It was like a day on the court where everything I put up clanked off the rim.  Lots of back rims, front rims, left, right, etc.   If I would have confined my trading to the the short below 50 on the Open and the long above 47.50 it would have been nothing but net.

Not everyday on the Street is profitable.   But we got UConn v. Syracuse tonight on ESPN so that’s good.  Enjoy your evening.