I got caught in the DNDN downmove today. DNDN traded down 15 points in 40 seconds. Then DNDN was halted. We are waiting for it to reopen.

I was long a core position in DNDN from 24.43. This was support. DNDN was trading strongly. It traded down from 24.75 to 24.32 where I bought some more. DNDN was not trading below 24.43. It traded quickly down to 24.15 where I bought some more. I was scaling into the 24 level. I did not think it could trade below 24 when I bought some more. Ripper.

You must live to play another day. DNDN had no business trading below 24. But when it did I was too slow to exit. I should have just smacked the bids below 24 immediately. I gave DNDN just a little room, below 23.75. And in so doing I could not exit until 22.80ish. That was a rip. This was my mistake. That is what we call a quick 5k out the window.

DNDN traded all the way down to near 8. Then it was halted. I was just a touch slow to exit but I did hit the bids. You can’t hold the stock below 24. This was support. Below support we have no idea where DNDN could go. And in this case as crazy as it may have seemed that it could go to 8, it actually did. The market has taught me that anything is possible.

I am not sure why DNDN went down 15 points in 40 seconds. But I do know that I was too slow to hit. I know that I had to hit the stock below 24. I would not change scaling into 24 like I did since it was so strong. The news on DNDN was not supposed to be released until 3:20EST. It was 1:25EST. DNDN was trading very strongly. It was thick. It had not traded below 24 for a signifiant time period. There is unusual call volume at 30. DNDN traded strongly to 25, where it did not indicate the top. My buys were outstanding.

I am interested to see how DNDN trades when it reopens. The news was positive and better than expected. Will DNDN open above 30? Will DNDN open near 24.40 and then trade up towards 25? Will it fail at 25 or bust through this level? Will DNDN open and then get sold because the news is now out? I am not sure what scenario will play out. But I am anxious to trade it. And I will be ready for any of the above. I do know that it will offer excellent trading opportunities for me when it reopens.

The most likely scenario is for DNDN to open above 24, and then test the 25 level. Above 25, I will aggressively trade DNDN on the long side. But this does not have to happen.

I am not sure why DNDN dropped 15 points in 40 seconds. At this point it doesn’t matter. I took my rip. Now I must focus on future trading opportunities. Was it fair that DNDN dropped 15 points in 40 seconds and I took a rip? This is not relevant. The market does not have to be fair. As a trader I must make sure that I live to play another day. I took a rip in the downmove, but I survived. 5k is not a loss that I cannot withstand. In fact it is not even a loss that I cannot erase when DNDN reopens.

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