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10 Questions for Tim Sykes

Posted by Timothy Sykes on Wed 21st of Nov, 2007 01:48:22 PM

How were the ladies and the scene out in LA? You still there or back home for turkey day?

No time for LA ladies this time around—too many meetings and projects going on…took the red eye back this morning in order to make my debut on the FOX Business Network at 6:30AM (I’ll have the video up shortly)

soNormal”>

Tim, the market has been so brutal lately, I’m even afraid to look at my account! I’m down 25% since the bull run reversed back in mid October. Should have shorted huh?

It’s easy to look back and say shoulda woulda coulda, but in my experience, you need to simply focus on what works for you, be comfortable with your market exposure and take your losses along with your gains. Analyze your investment decisions to death and learn to filter out what doesn’t work in order to up your chances for success over time.

What is this mumbo jumbo I’m hearing that there is a possibility fed won’t cut rates come December? Will the market go under?

It’s definitely a possibility—who knows how many people are now expecting it and pricing it in, but these are guessing games best left to the POS talking heads who earn a living by never going out on a limb in order to keep their heads talking in the media.

 

I know you play pennies: did you catch DLAV.PK? I don’t play pennies anymore (bad experience) but I still watch from the sidelines. How do you catch such a runner? Do you just use a screener like microcapfeed?

Outside of my CYGT.PK disaster, I don’t touch anything below $1. My DVD, PennyStocking , focuses on trading strategies for stocks between $1 and $10.

 

When are you going write about the CYGT exhibit and IAAPA?

I’ll be working on this over the weekend—sorry, just been a ridiculously busy week.

 

Tim, good call on SMRT. Took your advice and shorted Nov. 15 at about $7.35, just finished covering on Nov.21 at an average of $5.88.

Awesome, that is part of the goal for this website—as I’ve stated time and time again, I’m not that great a trader, but I do do many things right. I saw SMRT and should’ve shorted it, but I underestimated how quickly it’d fall back to its lows. This is why I’m just gonna write about everything I see and you guys hopefully will do as good as or maybe even better than me.

 

Tim, why do you enjoy making a fool out of yourself every time I see another video clip of yours? Do you realize you’ve ruined your future in the finance industry?

Because I could care less about credibility and being serious/businesslike. You gotta understand how many emails I’ve gotten from people who praise me for being real and getting them interested in the stock market. Like Cramer, I’m gonna do everything in my power to help show everyone that finance can be fun, interesting and not as serious as most people expect.

I also don’t care for a future in the finance industry (as it is right now). Being prohibited from discussing my life’s work/job, advertising, admitting my mistakes, saying how I really feel—these are much more important to me and I’m loving finally being able to express myself freely (my outlandish behavior is probably a result of being muzzled for nearly 5 years—maybe I should sue the SEC for emotional and mental anguish?!?!?).

I think some of the industry’s rules are utterly ridiculous (such as when my friends in the business can’t publicly comment about my book!) and these tight regulations are the direct cause for why industry outsiders know so little about how the industry works. They are also the direct cause for why the general public shows so little interest in finance/business—I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and counted the number of magazines sections for each topic—7 for Women’s Issues, 5 for Health & Beauty, 5 for Sports, 3 for Transportation and 1 for Business/Finance. Transportation has 3 times as many categories as us?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

Why can I never find your book in any bookstore?

Because bookstores are horrible places to sell books—30-40% of all books are returned and the margins suck. My book is available exclusively online at all the diff. international Amazons and Barnesandnoble.com because online selling is the future as it’s much more efficient and profitable for publishers.

 

Where are TIM’s trades listed?

Right now, it’s just this blog, but my site will be totally revamped by January 2008 to make it much more intuitive and organized.

 

Tim, your book, DVD and goals in life are all incredible, you should run for president!

No, I’m apolitical. The presidential candidates remind me of the S&P 500, The Dow and The NASDAQ—too many variables at work, too many people playing diff. angles, no way to really understand what’s going on/predict who to bet on. I’ll just stick to trading and teaching people about trading….for now.

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  • t0nydean
    good call on the credit ratings dannyO...that IS good news...
  • dannyo1987
    whoops. I mean "but that's it" instead of "but not by much."
  • dannyo1987
    I think that RDN may drop back down by 5 or 10%, but not by much. The stock has a book value of around $30 and would be highly undervalued if we were in a better market. RDN shot up so much on Friday because of the news of the bond insurers receiving their AA rating again. I think this is because analysts expect that RDN will soon receive their credit rating back. I think investors are starting to feel that the PMI's are starting to recover, so I wouldn't count on RDN completely tanking again unless some really bad news comes out.

    I'm really new to trading though, so definitely take my advice with a big grain of salt :)
  • Mark
    Anyone profit going long on the APII short covering spike Friday?
  • TonyEllis
    RDN won't even try to guess. I'm liking IDSA chart. Check out the 5 year wkly. Ran from $2 to $24 in a month in 04. 1 million share float and strong fundies if anyone cares. Tim don't be afraid to give your honest opinion.
  • t0nydean
    Hi everyone...new member here...anyone else looking at RDN as a short for Monday? its up 84% in the past 5 days on some pretty BS news...
    "Mortgage insurers MGIC Investment Corp. , Radian Group and PMI Group all closed higher Friday, extending gains from the previous day. The group received a boost Thursday after PMI Group said it had reached a deal to sell its Australian assets. Radian was a big winner, pegging on 22% of gains. " WTF? some other company sells some assets and RDN jumps...smells like a pumped up turd -- besides this there was mention that one of RDN's subsidiary companies was buying back some shares...hardly cause for an 84% jump in my opinion...anyone else see this returning to July lows in the $1 range? Am I way off?
  • yaktipper
    I agree a trading diary is a great idea just to talk yourself into following your own rules and slowing yourself down. There's something about writing things down that is more thoughtful than just thinking it.
  • Getshorty
    My positions are usually between $2 - $3 k, bt getting in and out too much, too scared of missing any boat.

    From now on I'll be writing a trading diary, that way I'll have to explain, at least to myself, why I am entering or exiting a position. That way my dumb plays will stand out more easily and will find which ones are working for me.
  • YoungGunz
    OUch talk about getting fee'd to death...What are you doing shorty buying your positions 10 shares at a time?
  • benchrn
    What is on your watch list for the upcoming week:

    Symbol:
    Long / Short:
    Entry Price:
    Target Price:
    Stop Loss:
    Trade Period:
  • TonyEllis
    I really haven't been trading much lately I've been ill and haven't had many ideal plays or missed the ones that have been good. I've taken a few small positions and made a few daytrades. I'm about 90% cash waiting for better opportunities. ZYXI was a good one unfortunately missed it. I wouldn't get greedy with it but I'd say the odds of it going higher Monday are good. Don't have a link for the interview.
  • Getshorty
    Basically I think I am underperforming because I am overtrading, just checked today, $2100 in profits and $ 2300 in commissions during the last 3 months. Got to be more picky.
  • Getshorty
    Haven't used it much yet. Still rereading the first half. The second half gets more complex (combining candlesticks with western indicators) and don't want to get into it until I nailed the first part.


    I think this weekend I'll go over the Tim DVDs slides printouts.

    What's your take on ZYXI? that close at hte high on good volume looks like the ultimate bullish indicator to me. Riding 300 shares up and will reverse position on the first down day.

    You have been doing good lately, what approach you use, just playing supernovas? do you have the link to your inteview handy? couldn't found it.
  • TonyEllis
    I read about half of it and just couldn't make myself finish. I've been noticing a bunch of references to Candle patterns is why I asked. I believe it's a good thing to know about but I don't get very deep into it. I learned the dumbed down version on stockcharts.com. Have you had success using?
  • Getshorty
    Reaper, you are damn right, sounds like plain wishful thinking. What's your take?

    Tony I am reading it, that is why I say APII looks like a piercing pattern, but Not sure if 2 down days qualify as a downtrend (you need a downtrend to reerse with a piercing pattern)

    I am not sure if the pattern applies here cause of the weird situation here. Haven't heard of a pump and dump that could come back right after being cut in half. I you know of some I'd like to know.

    I am looking to hold my short apii until it turns in to dust or it makes a new high (which given past behaviour of pump and dumps I have seen appears as very unlikely)

    Here to learn, and given your track record (both of you) I'd like to hear your opinion.
  • Reaper
    Getshorty: you have no basis for believing this: "but my take is that pumperes have been like crazy all day on the phone and insiders should use this to sell their remaining positions. don
  • TonyEllis
    Any of you guys read Japanese Candlestick Charting? lol
  • bigjimstradingpost
    My GOD Reaper...FOUR under $2...

    Great job boys....

    Enjoy your weekend...recommend you treat yourself to a steak dinner and nice bottle of wine...it doesn't get any better than that in my book..

    BIG JIM
  • dannyo1987
    I've been a TIMAlerts member for a couple weeks and have been lurking on these forums for awhile. I've done a bit of trading over the last couple weeks. I bought SOLR based on what bigjim said at $11.90 and proceeded to sell it at pretty much the absolute low of $10.25.

    I also bought XRM at $6.96 and then sold it at $6.70. Naturally, i got in at the HOD of that time and then sold lower. In both situations, I would have made money or at least not lost money if i had just held on to the stock a little longer. oh well.

    I didn't short APII either cause I didn't like the mixed news about the earnings and the merger :(.

    On the bright side, i'm learning how to trade some of these stocks and read the trends. i've been holding 1400 RDN since $2.63. Today, I got into ABK at $5.21 and sold at $5.85, not far off of the days low and high. I'm getting better at seeing the trends!

    TIMAlerts has been awesome...not just because of the alerts, but because of all the tips that the TIMAlert members post. I never would have found RDN without TIMAlerts and now i'm up over $2000 in 2 weeks with a bunch of crappy trades!

    This is such an awesome and easy way to make boatloads of money.
  • Getshorty
    I signed for Covestor some time ago, but only linked my IB account, can I link my TOS account as well so they consider the sum as my total capital.

    Can you make deposits, withdwrawals from your account without affecting your performance?
  • yaktipper
    Congrats on APII!

    I've noticed that Covestor top 20 is almost (or will be soon) half Tim followers now. Yng said they are holding recent starters out of the top 20 so if you disappear for a while, you will reappear within a few weeks or months I believe. I saw Adam, Pcola, Yng, me, now reaper and others should all be in top 20.


    Anyone looking for a long play for Monday -- APWR is about to cross the 13 day EMA, plus the MACD is converging/crossing up at many different time frames, Raymond James just intiated coverage at a Strong Buy rating with price target of over $30 (current price 22.48) and the analyst is supposed to appear on Bloomberg TV tonight, plus I got a look at the analyst's report and it should be a big boost. Also, a little birdy told me the earnings conference call date should be announced imminently, providing another boost. For anyone that never looked at my Covestor chart -- I'm in the top 20 because of APWR not shorting TIMAlerts (yet).
  • KetchupThief
    I'm liking RDN...
  • Getshorty
    Ouch, didn't cover apii today, $1200 in profits just turned into $400, ouch ouch ouch

    WOn't cover monday neither, it is a piercing pattern, but my take is that pumperes have been like crazy all day on the phone and insiders should use this to sell their remaining positions. don't see how this thing may come over 3.50.

    On other news, Stayed long 300 shares of ZYXI, it released good earnings today and it finished like a perfect shaven head white candle today, promoters will be hipping this all weekend long, don't see how this won't gap up on monday, reminds me of story on Tim's book on which he stayed long over the weekend and made a killing cause he was sure it will be pumped like hell over the weekend (I am almost certain Tim is gonna slap me in the face and say this is different and will make a little rant, BRING IT ON !!))

    200 shares short on TSYS, no pumped company, just shorted when it looked like it was gonna be a bearish engulfing pattern, instead ended up being a dark cloud cover, not as an important reversal sign as a bearish engulfing pattern, but feels like momentum is fading.
  • mjdiaz89
    I'm don't know how to interpret ABK's volume. Anyone care to throw in 2cents?

    Depending on Monday opening, I might buy 250 more shares or so of RDN.

    Deception, how did you finish with APII?
  • kusumo
    @KetchupThief: To change your icon go here: http://www.gravatar.com/


    Ending up selling RDN at $4.41.
  • TheParadox
    good call johnny i wish i joined ya but i was busy
  • i got in RDN at 4.03 up 12.48% as we speak, i am being greedy and holding, i think it still as room to grow
  • mjdiaz89
    There's ABK's fade...
    and RDN's too
  • bobbymapp
    Am i right? Im seeing tons of sellers on TSYS. (I don't have very good level 2 quotes)
  • KetchupThief
    kusomo...how'd you get that cool picture as your icon? I can't figure it out...
  • TheParadox
    Still on FOUR, down to 1.90 from 7.16 a 73% gain over 2 days, that's a record. I want my 90% gain, and I think gonna get it if not today, monday.
  • bestdeception
    looks like an afternoon squeeze on APII, no fade. Anyone holding through the weekend?? I think I might, even though I said I should get out today. I just think today is a short squeeze and there aren't any underlying real buyers.
  • mjdiaz89
    I got in at 3.97. As for covering/holding, I'm not sure

    I believe ABK might be a good short Mon morning
  • kusumo
    Yeah, RDN is looking good. Got in at $4.01 this morning. Thinking I will cover by the close of market.
  • mjdiaz89
    Look at RDN and ABK go, wow!

    Good thing I'm riding RDN :D

    What impresses me the most is ABK's volume
  • Getshorty
    whats your blog reaper.

    John Gott, rest in peace
  • Reaper
    Don't get greedy, Paradox. Hold longer if you like, but don't be beholden to an arbitrary number.

    Getshorty - it would've been funny if you knew who Gotti was:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gotti
  • TheParadox
    i thought you didn't like citron reap... john gotti is dead.

    It really wouldn't surprise me if you used Andrew Left as a pseudonym... But I'm pretty sure your Michael Goode as it re appears on covestor, your blog, seeking alpha and fool.com Im a pretty good stalker...

    so sad to see FOUR find its place around 3 dollars, i was hoping to see it hit 2, looks like a lot people trying to cover or sell... I'm sticking to my goal of the 90% gain.
  • Getshorty
    No pop culture here, no clue who is JOHN GOTT!!!!.

    So no, I didn't think it might be a clue.
  • ddopps
    Thought XRM was cracking a little yesterday. shorted 800 @ 6.98 - should have covered this AM @ 6.30, but missed it, but covered @ 6.74 - nice little profit for my first short :)
  • Reaper
    Getshorty - making sure I was joking. I SAID I WAS JOHN GOTTI!!!!!!!!!! You think that might be a clue that I am joking?
  • Ross
    Your probably right. It looks like it wants to keep going up. I was thinking of riding it for the day.
  • Getshorty
    Shares are not reserved at a particular price, maybe you are talking about limit orders. Like a graphic version of level 2 quotes.
  • Ross
    I have a Scottrade account and the Streaming Chart shows a yellow line for what I believe is to indicate reserved shares. Red is sell and Green is buy. Someone else might be able to confirm this.
  • Getshorty
    I read it, just making sure you are not joking
  • Reaper
    read my statement again.
  • Getshorty
    Reaper, ios that truth? you are Citron research? how u sleep at night? u have a machine gun under the pillow?
  • Getshorty
    entered at 6, looking for a gap up on monday, small position, will hold or not depending on close.

    How u know that shares are getting reserved?
  • Getshorty
    Come on afternoon fade... take apii with you.... and once you are at that take tsys and cyd to hell as well.
  • Ross
    Hey Shorty what is your thinking on ZYXI? What did you get in @? Are you going for the upswing on this for the day? Looks like shares are being reserved.
  • Reaper
    I knew about FOUR because I am Citron Research. Andrew Left is a pseudonym. Actually, so is Michael Goode. You may know my real name ... John Gotti.
  • thebabyfacedtrader
    Thanks Getshorty.
  • Getshorty
    ZYXI 5.95, +0.83, +16.2%) , a provider of pain management systems and electrotherapy products for medical patients with functional disability, reports its financial results for the second quarter of 2008. Revenue increased 235% to $5,047,635 and net income increased to $1,852,212 for the quarter.
  • TheParadox
    Still 1k short @ 7.16 on FOUR, PL is 4.3K... maybe I'll hit my 90% gain after all...
  • thebabyfacedtrader
    Whats the hype behind the ZYXI run up?
  • Getshorty
    went lon 300 zyxi, couldn't help it, just keeps on breaking highs.
  • oh yeah i was responding to what getshorty said about GWDC
  • yeah, i didn't short it, i don't think there is enough sell volume, maybe it is just checking up

    i have a zecco account, i can short pennies
  • notesguy88
    Anybody think that UPFC is a good short right now?
  • Getshorty
    Looks like ZYXI will be a great short next week
  • Getshorty
    Looks like the first down day, but if held overnight (not to say over weekend) it may cost you your investment several times over.

    DOes any broker allows to short stocks at 13 cents?
  • anyone think of shorting GWDC, it is the first down day
  • Getshorty
    I meant, citron report on Four.
  • Getshorty
    I read Citron's report on Citron Yesterday and Didn't short just cause didn't want to be too exposed (still on APII). That's life. I only wish I could short some more APII here but TOS is not letting me short under $ 3 and my IB account is blocked cause PDT until Monday.
  • bestdeception
    Man, I really wish I would've tried again this AM to find shares of FOUR to short. Slept in since yesterday was so great. Just imagine if you had shorted around $9, where it was yesterday AM. Missed that one. Reaper, how'd you know that Citron came out w/ that report. I looked yesterday AM, but it was still the old report about AMED when I looked.
  • taxwise1
    FOUR is going higher. TOS has no shares to short.
  • TheParadox
    that's so funny... its should be illegal... What a buncha Communist, go back to Russia if you can't make money. People are clueless, who would have thought the fundamentals and profitability of business trading on stock exchanges affected their price... i thought you could just buy something and in 3 years it would double... that's what the news letter said.

    Man, FOUR just cracked 3.58, that's a 50% gain on the turd. good god, now at 3.25
  • YoungGunz
    I guess "legendarytradergroup" is going to be watching us closely. Blaming us for APII's price fall.
  • TheParadox
    I wanna cover at .76 so i can say i made 90% off it... Never done that before. I didn't have a good week so this is covering some losses, around $400, but that 3k profit sure looks yummy.
  • Reaper
    gj Paradox
  • TheParadox
    Still on FOUR, 1k shares at an average of 7.16...
  • Gertsomething
    Not me lol. Anyone going short on it again?
  • bestdeception
    Where are all these APII buyers coming from??? Man, this puppy still is running higher on nothing.....
  • thebabyfacedtrader
    So there will there be a livestock show today?
  • bestdeception
    I tried to get some FOUR to short yesterday and couldn't find any. Wanted to short it at $7. Nice call Reaper via Citron.
  • YoungGunz
    Qoute from APII message boards "Little birdy said APII is gonna SUE some Fraudulents"

    Basically if you read through messages on their from yesterday and today this poster is refering to Tim.

    I laughed, for some reason the longs forget that their precious company just reported horrific earnings.
  • Reaper
    GWDC .04 bid/ask spread, unplayable. Otherwise I would've hit it.
  • Reaper
    Well I feel dumb for missing the last $1.40 of downside on FOUR. Good motivation for me to clear up my schedule in the future.
  • Goose
    FOUR - man thats very nice tank. Anyone caught it?
  • YoungGunz
    holy shit! i almost tried shorting four this morning but I had a lot of work to do since my productivity yesterday was lacking with apii. Man that would have been awesome if I would have been paying attention.
  • bestdeception
    Anyone looking for APII to fade this afternoon? Or get squeezed?? Trying to decide when I should cover.
  • Ross
    I am layin low today too and finishing up watching Tim's DVD and reading his book. I learned some lessons this week the hard way but at least the amount I put at risk was nominal. I am pretty much liquid now and ready for the next viable opportunity to get back in the game.

    Have a good weekend all!!
  • bestdeception
    I think I'm gonna lay low today. Close out my APII position later on today sometime, and go on my merry way for the weekend. I'm not going to fool with starting a new short or long position.
  • notesguy88
    Anybody looking at UPFC today?
  • Reaper
    Out of FOUR. Great trading week for me. Time to finish getting my tax information ready for my CPA and then pack for my vacation to Portland next week. See y'all later.
  • Reaper
    Wow, I've been in 15% of the trades in FOUR today. Just a few more shares left to cover ...
  • bestdeception
    well, I'm now at 803% annual return. Yeee--Hawww!!! Still holding 50% (2K) of APII but looking to dump today.

    www.covestor.com/mbr/bestdeception
  • Reaper
    FOUR cracking! I'll be in the top 10 on Covestor now! Yeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
  • YoungGunz
    Covester says I am at a 47% return since my inception in TimAlerts and a 45,000% annual return. That would just be insane if that was real annual return.

    http://www.covestor.com/mbr/younggunz
  • AdamN
    I've got the #10 spot on Covestor, looks like TimAlert subscribers are climbing their way on up. Let's keep it going.
  • my lead on covestor just went from great to ridiculous:

    http://www.covestor.com/rankings/portfolio?show...

    gotta love their weird formula!
  • Reaper
    I'm number 15 on Covestor! Woohoo! If FOUR.ob falls a bit more today then I might be able to get in the top 10 by Monday.

    http://www.covestor.com/rankings/portfolio?show...

    http://www.covestor.com/mbr/goodevalue2
  • arcus
    I guess I should have held NOBL after all. I'd be even this point rather than the 10% loss I took on buying the alert late a couple of days ago. That sucks. :) Have a safe flight Tim, it's a long one. It should be interesting with you in my time zone the next couple of weeks.
  • lamecoder
    Nice job with APII. I was busy so I missed out.
  • Gertsomething
    And you are early today :-)
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