CNQ, Canadian Natural Resources, update

CNQdec 2011 sCNQ may 5 2012

On the left the blog from December 1, last year and on the right the present. The a-b-c rebound  fell a fraction of a dollar short of the ideal target ($42, level of 4th wave & 62%) but the c part was a textbook diagonal that confirmed the turn to the downside. So far we have reached about $31, but the ultimate low target is in the low teens ($12 or so, see that blog) so there is still a ways to go. Wave 1 down was about $22, if wave 3 equals wave 1 that would take the stock to about $19, then there is still 4 and 5 to go. The outrageous prediction then, repeated below for ease of reading, is possible no longer that far-fetched.

cnq big

This is not today’s chart, it is 5 months old!

IMG, IAM Gold update

IMG may 5 2012IMG may 5 l 2012

The earlier suggested target (see previous blog) may be too low. The stock is still dropping but equality between the C and A legs of this structure  looks to be more imminent . The two charts are identical except that the one on the left is on a semi-log scale. When stocks move a lot sometimes equality  means equality in proportional and not absolute terms. When this might be so is very much a matter of taste and subjective judgement more than anything else but in this case it may apply. Vector wise the C is almost equal to the A, with perhaps only a few cents to go.  This, by the way, has nothing to do with gold stocks in general. The idiosyncratic properties of many of these stocks are such that one does not necessarily represent the whole. As always click on the charts to enlarge or move them around.

To add to the confusion I have added a “big picture” Bigchart below;img large may4 2012

A good prediction should be like a horoscope. It should contain elements of all possible scenarios so the reader can recognize those parts that conform with his/her own thinking. All three are here. The super bull case, in blue, would have the above described structure as a wave 4, which should not overlap (cross the thin blue line). We are close. Alternatively a very large scale wedge is forming that would allow some overlap. The bear case is that a sequence of 5 waves was complete and the present correction should correct the bull move of the past 11 years or so. This may be enough (does not show well on log chart) and then again it may not be enough. The last possibility is that the last 11 years was not a bull move at all and instead was a corrective A-B-C counter trend move (shown in purple). For a while minor moves may run in the same direction, but the ultimate outcome is very different.

VNP, 5NPlus update

vnp may 5 2012

On the 24th of April we recommended buying this stock. It hit a low that day of $2.85. The next day it went even lower to $2.83 but now it is up by 40+ cents so perhaps it has turned. Wave 4 of previous degree is always the first target, either of a corrective rebound or a new bull market. In this case a triangle of minor degree with its highest point at about $5.50.

CL, Colgate Palmolive, update

CL  may 2 2012

Colgate went to $100.80 in a “throw-over”, that is exceeding the upper trend line. We never expected this stock to trade much above $92 and certainly did not expect it to take so long. However we do not see any reason to change the outlook. This structure is, with very little doubt , a “diagonal” , the only structure that allows for overlap. Another characteristic is that the third wave is never the shortest! In rough numbers wave 1 was $40, wave 3 $30 and so far wave 5 is about $26 at the $101 level, ergo it can only go an additional $4 if this analysis is correct.

cl may 2 l 2012

The only plausible but very unlikely alternative would be a count with a series of 1-2s at the beginning and 4-5s now. Even then the stock would be topping but the above rigid math would not necessarily hold. Jan 2013 options are now as follows;

cl options

Suppose you bought the 100 strike Jan 2013 put. It would cost $5.60. Should the stock drop down just to the lower trend-line (it should go much further) your option would be worth about $35.85 (where the $130 strike now is). Lower strikes give higher returns but with a lower chance. Same thing for shorter terms.