– The Stock Market Companion –
15MinuteStocks
Market Update
April 30, 2010
——- Stock Market Investing since the 1980’s ——-
Published all Market Days
Monthly Subscription $29.95
 Today’s SMC Watchlist

– Executive Summary – 

The markets were down hard today.  The DOW (DJ-30) was down -158.7 points.  It tested the 11,000 line again in the late afternoon and held it.

Catalysts for todays sell-off –

• Energy sector stocks – large and small cap oil stocks related to the Gulf of Mexico oil troubles took hits again today. (It’s tough to be in the cross-hairs of the evening news with such a hugely negative event)
  
• Financial stocks – Goldman Sachs didn’t help the financial sector with overnight news that the US Justice Department is considering criminal charges.  (Back to the evening news…)
• The US Commerce Department reported today that the US GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% from January through March. (Source : AP)  For some market participants, this was disappointing.
  

For those of you who don’t have time to get into the body of this SMC 15MinuteStocks Market Update today, we want to leave you with this thought concerning Dendreon (Ticker: DNDN) and another surprise story –

Over the last decade there have been very few really new innovations that have come to the market.  For the purposes of stock investing, the SMC has been on the long watch for such new ideas.  It may be that Dendreon’s Provenge therapy falls into this category.  Immunotherapy is perhaps in its infancy in terms of combating cancer effectively.  Click HERE for an overview of what immunotherapy is about at Dendreon.

This is an exciting development.  Dendreon’s stock price will show us over time how institutions are gauging this new “technology” and Dendreon’s ability to commercialize it.  If our rough analysis based on Dendreon’s own forecasts that we submitted to you yesterday is accurate, and if they are able to successfully achieve these growth rates,  Dendreon will become a “must own” stock for institutions and mutual funds.  Google was such a stock back in 2004 and onwards.  Google (Ticker: Goog) ran from around $100/share in 2004 to it’s peak of approx. $747/share in 2007.

Aside from Dendreon, another very interesting development caught our attention today.  Rentech (Ticker: RTK) and United Airlines (UAUA) ran the first ever US commercial airline test flight using synthetic fuel.  It is a fuel made from natural gas.  This also could be a big deal. Click HERE for the exciting details.  RTK sells for $1.27/share now.  We remember back in 2006 when they were first getting their coal to gas plants up and running.  They were priced then at almost $5.00/share.  Needless to say, the price of natural gas as a commodity has a big impact on their business.  Natural gas is very low right now.

Both Dendreon and Rentech are publicly traded corporations; not companies that are privately held, where all you can do is watch.  You can invest in these companies at any time.  With the SMC, you will know when we think the time is right.  This makes these events even more exciting.  Accordingly, we have updated our SMC watchlist with these names.

For a good picture of what the daily SMC DJ-30 price chart looks like, click HERE.  You will see the importance of the 11,000 support line and near term targets for the market, if the DJ-30 breaks through the 11,000 support line.

(For our concise market assessments, market details, stock ideas, and SMC return on investments – see below) 

 

– Markets “At a Glance” –

(Please scroll down to the end of the report to see your favorite benchmarks – Dollar, Oil, Gold … closing prices and daily direction.)

Market	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,186.69	Index	Down = -20.09 points
DOW-30	11,008.61	Index	Down = -158.71 points
NASDAQ	2,461.19	Index	Down = -50.73 points
NASDAQ 100	2,000.63	Index	Down = -42.26 points

 

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Down	Down	Down	Down
Intermediate	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral
Long Term	DOWN	DOWN	DOWN	DOWN

*Summary of terms from Trader Vic II-Principles of Professional Speculation (pg. 140-141)
*_________* Represents a change in trend rating.

We wrote yesterday, “It’s hard to imagine the markets not following through to the south after Tuesday’s sell-off.”  We may be right.  Today’s market action erased all of the gains the markets made yesterday and most of those from the day before.  The market is due for a significant pull-back, and many have been waiting for one for a long time.  The market may deliver a pull-back here soon.  At the SMC, we have no stock holdings at this time.

– Today’s Highlights –

Please see the Executive Summary above for the bullet points related to today’s market influencing events and catalysts.

– Stock Investing Specifics and Strategies –

For those of you who did not catch our analysis of Dendreon’s business parameters in terms of what they may mean for future share prices, please see the SMC 15MinuteStocks Market Update from April 29th in the Archived Updates section of the blue member menu on our website after you log-in.  Don’t miss it.

The company Arena Pharmaceuticals (Ticker: ARNA) has completed phase 3 testing of their weight loss drug “Lorcaserin”, and on October 22, 2010 the FDA will release its approval status.  The stock has been sitting firmly down in the $3 range for sometime, but “blipped” up a bit today.  Another weight loss drug company, Vivus (VVUS) has been on the move a bit.  We’re keeping an eye on them.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (SOMX) has received FDA approval for their sleeping pill and the stock is currently in the low $7’s/share.  We are keeping an eye on this one for a break above recent consolidation highs of $7.88/share.  Remember that Oppenheimer has given this one a $12/share target.

For a fright, click on the Goldman Sachs Partners Group Inc. daily chart below to open it into its own browser tab for viewing.

 Please remember – at the Stock Market Companion we do not and cannot give individual investment advice. According to the State of Washington RCW 21.20.005 the Stock Market Companion is not a Registered Financial Advisor and we do not render any advice on the basis of the specific investment situation of a particular individual. This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should our SMC Intraday Update, SMC 15MinuteStocks Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  Please seek the council of a broker or other licensed investment professional for accurate pricing and concerning the suitability of all investments that you may be considering. Disclosure : Please understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.         

 

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	SOLD Yesterday	2/26/2010	+35% = Final
2	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	SOLD Yesterday	4/9/2010	-4% = Final
3	Ford Motor Co.	F	SOLD on Tues. at $13.84	4/14/2010	+5.4%  = Final

– Stock Market Companion – Previous Holdings –

Nr	Co.	Ticker	Entry Date	Exit Date	Total Gain or (Loss)
1	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	4/7/2010	4/9/2010	(-1.8%)
2	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	4/5/2010	4/8/2010	(-8.2%)
3	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/23/2010	4/7/2010	+5.7%
4	Ford Motor Co.	F	3/31/2010	4/7/2010	(-2%)
5	Somaxon Pharmaceuticals	SOMX	3/23/2010	4/6/2010	(-15.9%)
6	Dendreon Inc.	DNDN	3/23/2010	3/31/2010	(-1.4%)
7	ProShares Ultra Short SP-500	SDS	3/19/2010 (1/2 Position)	3/23/2010	(-1.5%)
8	Dendreon, Inc.	DNDN	2/11/2010	3/19/2010	+14.5%
9	General Electric Co.	GE	3/16/2010	3/19/2010	+1.4%
10	Apple Inc.	AAPL	3/5/2010	3/19/2010	+1.3%
11	Ford Motor Co.	F	2/25/2010	3/18/2010	24%
12	RINO International	RINO	3/3/2010	3/17/2010	3.1%
13	Nutri-System Inc.	NTRI	10/16/2009	12/28/2009	+79.7%
14	Palm Inc.	PALM	11/11/2009	11/27/2009	-8.6%
15	Research In Motion	RIMM	12/8/2009	1/5/2010	+6.8%
16	Simple Tech, Inc.	STEC	12/15/2009	1/5/2010	+62.2%
17	US Natural Gas ETF	UNG	12/10/2009	1/8/2010	+6%
18	Human Genome Sci.	HGSI	12/22/2009	1/8/2010	(-0.2%)
19	Ford Motor Co.	F	11/9/2009	1/12/2010	+48.6%
20	Western Refining Inc.	WNR	1/5/2010 (1/2 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.5%)
21	RINO International Corp.	RINO	1/8/2010 (1/4 Share Count)	1/12/2010	(-5.1%)
22	Bank of America Inc.	BAC	1/4/2010	1/12/2010	+4.7%
23	YRC Worldwide	YRCW	1/12/2010 (1% only)	2/4/2010	(-17.1%)
24	Dendreon Inc.	DNDN	2/3/2010 (1/4 Share Count)	2/4/2010	(-2.7%)

* Gains (losses) do not include brokerage fees

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

US Dollar	1.3296 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Flat
Gold	$1,180.70	Ounce	Gold = UP
Oil	$86.15	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = UP
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	5.15	Percent	Flat
30 Yr. Bond Yield	4.527	Percent	Down a bit
1 Yr. CD	1.36	Percent	Flat

(Data Source : Finviz.com Financial Visualizations)

We wish you all a fine evening and a great weekend, not thinking too much about stocks.

Remember to invest on your own, but not alone.

Signing off for today, your –

Stock Market Companion

** Stock Market Companion Disclaimer **

The Stock Market Companion (SMC) Market Update and Watchlist are published documents to subscribers that show how we (SMC) are viewing the markets and what we are watching, investing in or selling today.  This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should this Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  You understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.

Furthermore, the Stock Market Companion, Inc. is a content provider and publisher and not a registered broker-dealer or licensed investment professional.  Our intent is to publish very accurate market information for an audience of subscribers (1000+ subscribers).  By accessing the Stock Market Companion website and/or using the Stock Market Companion products and services such as this Market Update and accompanying Watchlist, you understand and agree that the material provided in the Stock Market Companion products and services is for informational and educational purposes only, and that no mention of a particular security in a Stock Market Companion product or service constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold that or any other security, or that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.  To the extent any of the information contained in any Stock Market Companion product or service may be deemed to be investment advice, such information is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person.  Before selling or buying any stock or other investment you should consult with a qualified broker or other financial professional to verify pricing information and to solicit advice as to the appropriateness of a given transaction or investment.<

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