LodgeNet Interactive Holding Almost Doubles

We almost had another double today with LodgeNet Interactive (NASDAQ:LNET). These are the guys that give you the internet and on-demand movies in hotel rooms. Four Sigma Trading picked this on March 27th when it had an unusually good move to the upside. Today's earnings propelled the stock up 88%. It seems the Four Sigma and Three Sigma systems are doing a good job of getting in on some stocks before good announcements. Four Sigma is up 27% so far this year and Three Sigma is up 26%.

The Trading Systems Wake Up From Their Winter Slumber

The Four Sigma and Three Sigma systems have been in hibernation.  Since the market has found its footing over the past few weeks, it has given the sigma values in many stocks the chance to rise. 

Last week, the system picked Dendreon Corporation (NASDAQ:DNDN) that went from $6.65 to $17.99 for a nice 170% gain.  You don't see gains of this magnitude in this short period of time very often, but it is a great case of what I've been seeing when a stock begins to make a strong move only to be magnified in the near future while others pile in.  In the case of DNDN, it seemed to catch the early good news of the cancer vaccine before the news results were released.

Another stand-out is Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE:RT) that has had a nice 20% gain since the system picked it last week although earnings and revenues were lower, the outlook for the stock is improving.

Overall, so far this year, the Four Sigma system has an overall gain of 24% and the Three Sigma system has an overall gain of 37%.

Stock Picks with Four Sigma Trading - Video Introduction

Here is the video introduction to Four Sigma Trading.  I explain why I created the systems and a brief overview of how they work.

Cantel Medical Continues to Show Strong Gains

The FourSigma System picked Cantel Medical (CMN) on December 12, 2008 at $12.86.  With their rise fueled by their positive earnings, the stock has put up an impressive 20% rise in that time.  CMN is going to meet some overhead resistance at around $18.00 which will be a key test before the next level in the low 20's.

Four Sigma Picks Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

Our stock picking systems have started picking up steam and today picked Valeant Pharmaceuticals.  It will put the stock into the portfolio if it trades above today's closing price anytime over the next 5 days.

Earlier this week, the system picked Cantel Medical Corp which has held on to a solid gain this week of almost 14% so far.

The Sigma value of the VIX has been steadily falling indicating some of the fear is leaving the market.  The overall market Sigma is still below 1, but it has been increasing little by little which is a very good sign.  There have been several industries that have broken into positive Sigma territory as a whole indicating strength.  These are industries you would expect to do well, but there are some surprises.  

Industries that have been rising are travel and leisure, education services, fertilizer chemicals, steel producers, heavy construction, and discount retailers.  In this economy and with the current Barack Obama plan for infrastructure investment, it's no wonder these stocks are doing well.

Keep watching for more stock picks.  I have a feeling 2009 may be a very good year for our stock picking system.  Watch it at www.foursigmatrading.com.

Positive Territory; Education Stocks Pass A Milestone Today

Since this economic turmoil in the market began a few months ago, every sector has been in negative sigma territory.  Today, for the first time in more than two months, one sector crossed above zero; education stocks.  These are the stocks that have been leading the way for the past month as jobless rates increase and people are looking to sharpen the saw in the classroom.

Apollo Group is leading the sector and has been on a relative tear approaching a new 52 week high.  Capella is up more than 50% from its lows in October.  Universal Technical Institute is a close third in its sigma performance teaching automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians.  It's no doubt these skills will be great to have as people are putting off the purchase of new vehicles and maintaining their old ones.

It's exciting to see the sector turn into positive territory although the market in general is still seeing a sigma value below 2.5.  Another bright sign is the sigma value of the VIX has been dropping and is now at -1.23.  This is an indicator that the volatility is calming down and getting back to normal.

Find all of the sector sigmas at http://foursigmatrading.com/industrygroups.php.  

Oil and Gas Stocks Continue to Get Drilled

Nov 20, 2008 – Jupiter, FL – Oil and Gas stocks are continuing to lead the market lower with the worst performance as a group according to a new trading indicator, Sigma, developed by Four Sigma Trading.  Carving the deepest lows is Nabors Industries, Ltd., a land drilling contractor from Hamilton, Bermuda sporting the lowest sigma value in the stock market.  Sigma shows how normal the current stock price is by measuring the standard deviation of the recent stock price movements. 

“Sigma is an oscillator that normally falls between -2 and 2 for a typical stock with the majority of the market hovering around an expected -1 to 1 “normal” level.  When things start going too far negative or positive, we know something abnormal is happening with the stock and it’s time to take notice” said Jim Snyder of Four Sigma Trading, “Nabors is currently the stock with the lowest sigma value at -9.31.” 

In this economy and the way oil prices are headed, it’s no wonder why these stocks are going lower.  The energy industry has the lowest sigma value as a whole at -3.46. 

“If you average all of the sigmas in the market right now, you get an average of -2.70 which is incredibly low,” says Jim Snyder.  “Looking at individual industry groups, those in discount retailing and some banking sectors are beginning to recover.” 

Watching the sigma values may give good ideas for stock picks.  Stocks making high Sigmas could be takeover targets, launching new products, or gaining attention from some larger players in the market.  The highest and lowest sigmas are flagged by Four Sigma Trading for further investigation on their website at FourSigmaTrading.com.  Find out more at FourSigmaTrading.com or read the Four Sigma Trading blog at foursigma.blogspot.com.