Quote from Ash1972:
Sure, but this only works temporarily. 8 years of a bull market has convinced everyone it will work forever. What criterion would you use to stop doing this? The first lower high?
8 years is quite a long "temporarily", but every move is only for as long as it lasts, of course.
I don't have a chart for it, but AAPL didn't do well during the 2008-2009 Bear Market either, when it fell from 200 down to 78 in 12 months.
I did well with AAPL in 2007, was out of the Market for a while (too busy losing my house and 1/2 of my possessions!), and have done OK during AAPL's latest move since last year.
Now we have a 4 week pullback, not on particularly high volume mind you, and "everyone" is calling for AAPL's demise once again.
We'll probably find out this week, with the 2 announcements on the 23rd and 25th, if AAPL can pull another rabbit out of its hat.
As I stated earlier in this thread, Trend Trading for me is based on 2 assumptions:
1. The Uptrend is still in place until a Higher Low is taken out during a retracement.
2. All the % moves (i.e. Rallies to Higher Highs and Pullbacks to Higher Lows) in a stock's Uptrend (over the last 3 years on its weekly chart) will continue in a similar fashion.
So far #2 is still in place.
As to #1: I'll believe AAPL's Uptrend (since March 2009) is over if it doesn't make a new high this year after these announcements, and then falls below 550.
This might happen very soon in fact, if:
1. "Everyone" is right about this pullback and AAPL's move is finally exhausted.
2. The S&P has reached another top (near 1500) in its latest Cyclical Bull Market, within its 17 year Secular Bear Market, and is ready to begin another Cyclical Bear Market back down to 750 (if that theory is correct, which is has been so far - a whole 'nother topic!).
Orrrrr, AAPL might make 800, if this latest pullback is just part of the established pattern since March 2009.
Mr. Market will give us his decision soon enough.
P.S.
Of course the other way to trade AAPL is via "Breakouts to New Highs", rather than "Buying Dips".
But Options prices are much better after pullbacks (i.e. Puts are more expensive for better Credits on Bull Put Spreads), which is why I've been doing it this way as of late.
