Tickets Please

I don't know why she's riding so high
She ought to think twice
--The Beatles

Have been racking up buy/sell tickets over the past couple of days. As planned, peeled off relatively high cost shares in JNJ into the recent euphoric rise. The stock now sits at the upper band tag with daily stochastics twisting high. My sense is that chances are good for reacquiring shares lower.

Also trimmed positions in AMAT, CSCO for same reasons. Big lift higher, getting overbought. Meanwhile, cost basis of 'core' position has been lowered.

When things were looking dicey a couple weeks back I put a limit order in on Walgreens (WAG) that never filled. When the stock subsequently rallied with the rest of the market, it appeared that perhaps I had been left behind. However, yesterday the company announced that it had taken a $5 billion ownership stake in a European drug store chain Alliance Boots; the stock fell a coupla percent on the news. This morning a few wire houses downgraded WAG. The stock subsequently fell a few more percent. Bottom line, this morning I was able to initiate a small 'starter' position in WAG at a nice entry price.

This morning PG guided down and the stock was subsequently hammered for nearly 4%. I like this name under $60, and it fell there long enough this morning to add to my small initial position. Should the shares decline further, I'll likely get further involved. In many ways, this stock's characteristics resemble JNJ's. At the right price, I like the idea of building significant positions in these names as 'anchors' to an investment (not trading) portfolio.

This afternoon the FOMC speaks. Given the anticipatory run up ahead of this meeting, seems to me that chance favors a reaction grounded in disappointment. In any event, I plan to be opportunistic based on price.

positions in AMAT, CSCO, JNJ, PG, WAG