Carrier Access Corp (CACS)

Company. Carrier Access is an equipment manufacturer that "focuses on broadband access from the central office to the customer premises, wireless infrastructure and enterprise service delivery." (company website)

Buy. I bought CACS a week late. When it first broke the $5 barrier on 6 October, I took a pass: CACS had been trading in a box between $4 and $5 for a long time; the telecom industry is notoriously risky; I was already leveraged to the max.

But darned if CACS didn't keep on climbing! When it passed $6 I decided it was for real and decided to buy. I knew it would pull back a bit, but the trend was very strong. Right on cue, CACS did pull back for five days running. And then CACS announced earnings: 3¢ profit compared to a loss of 60¢ a year ago, and handily beating consensus Expectations for a loss of 2¢

Sell. Yesterday and today were ugly days in the market. Despite a preponderance of companies reporting earnings that met or exceeded expectations, the market turned sour. But Carrier Access stock price soared! I realized that I was in a position to tuck away more than $3 per share profits.

I put in a sell order for 10¢ more than the day's high and went to get a fresh cup of coffee. When I came back, CACS had blown through that level and was trading over $10 per share. Of course, my shares sold before that.

There is every possibility — probability even — that CACS will go higher still, although there will certainly be a consolidation soon after a meteoric rise of 66% in two days. Given what a bad mood Wall Street seems to be in, I opted for a sure thing. If conditions merit, I can always buy back in after the pull-back.