MSW Mini-Screen: Top Stocks

Due the Mid-Week Special Screen on MSW last night, I promised members that I would post up a mini-screen that highlights some of the recent moves of our MSW Index stocks. Every one of these stocks has been actively covered since the initial coverage date listed below. As you can see, we have found many of the market leaders over the past several months as the major market indexes trend sideways to slightly higher. The MSW Index can hold up to 30 stocks at one time but has not held more than 25 all year due to the weakness in the NH-NL ratio (new high – new low ratio). The stocks listed below are among some of the top performers on the MSW Index in 2006.

The NASDAQ hit its highest levels in more than five years while the S&P 500 reached its highest level since May 2001. Volume increased on the NASDAQ, giving us an accumulation day but volume fell among NYSE stocks (mixed signals across the broader market). The NH-NL ratio surpassed 500 and 600 new highs this week on separate days, the first time the ratio has done this since January 26 and January 27, 2006. The week ending on February 2, 2006 did have three days surpass 500 new highs but none of them crossed above the 600 new highs threshold.

The completion to the mid-week special screen will be uploaded tonight on MSW in part II of the daily screen exercise. If SWN fails to recover the 50-d m.a. and then slices back below the 200-d m.a., I will be buying the put options I spoke about earlier in the week. Another stock we have been talking about recently , AAPL (the former MSW Index tenant), received strong support at the 200-d m.a. and then released news yesterday that users can now run Microsoft windows on Intel based Apple machines using boot camp software. The stock rocketed to the 50-d m.a. and then surpassed it in early trading today. The charts were telling us that support was coming from somewhere but we didn’t know why until yesterday. The charts always tell the story before it hits the wire and this is why I don’t trade the news (it’s usually too late). See you all tonight.

MSW Mini-Screen
All prices are from the close on Wednesday, April 5, 2006:

• PMCS – 13.25, the stock was up more than 8% on volume 115% larger than the 50-d m.a. Now up 16% on the MSW Index since 3/4/06
  
• OXPS – 31.00, up 6.9% on volume 58% larger than the 50-d m.a. as the stock recovered the 50-d m.a. Now up 42% on the MSW Index since 11/12/05
  
• TS – 202.24, up 6.33% to top $200 for the first time. Up more than 64% on MSW since 12/2/05 when we re-covered the stock at $123. We started our initial coverage last year in the $60-$100 run on 3/5/05 at $65.24 (a 210% gain). Moving up on the all-time MSW All-star list. If you thought buying the stock in the base at $123 was high; what do you think now at $200?
  
• STRL – 23.30, up 5.72% on volume 30% larger than the 50-d m.a. as the stock is now up more than 23% on the MSW Index since 2/4/06
  
• LVS – 60.71, one of the most recent additions to the MSW Index as the stock is now up 7% in one week on the MSW Index (looking for a $60-$100 advance this year).
  HAL – 77.34, one of the few energy stocks left on the MSW Index as it has gained 5.92% this week and has a total gain of 17% on the MSW Index since 12/10/05
  
• NETL – 42.03, the up-trend is still intact as the stock looks to make another new high. The total gain is now 78% on the MSW Index since the first day on coverage on 11/12/05 at $23.56 (only five months).
  
• NWRE – 30.15, looking to breakout from the most recent cup shaped base (without a handle at this point) to a new high. The stock is now up 49% on the MSW Index since 11/5/05
  
• NTRI – 48.76, I hung tight with NTRI as it corrected to the lower half of the trading range but held above the support at $35. It is now up 14% on the MSW Index since 2/25/06. Looking for a new high above the previous high at $50.00 set in late January
  
• GEHL – 40.39, profiled right here earlier in the week and covered on the MSW Index since 2/18/05 at $31.45 (lower than the pivot point of $35.15). A huge breakout this week as the stock has gained over 22% for the week and 28% on the MSW Index
  
• CBG – 80.70, the stock has now completed half of the $60-$100 run and is nearing a long term capital gain on the MSW Index since its initial coverage on 5/21/05 at $37.20 (a 117% gain).

Piranha