FSI International (FSII)

Company. FSI International is "a global supplier of semiconductor processing equipment, technology and support services for microelectronics manufacturers." (company website) That is, optical subsystems and components.

Buy. This is the fourth lot of FSII that I have sold this quarter (12-Jan-04, 29-Jan-04, 10-Mar-04) After turning a modest profit on the earlier lots, I had thought to make some more money off FSII.

I bought this lot near the end of February after FSII had made a low at $7.22 and then risen smartly on three consecutive days, regaining the 50-day moving average. This should have been a good sign, bouncing back like that. FSII did, in fact, stay above the 50-day moving average for over a week, and the average was continuing to rise.

Disaster struck, however, on 9-March, the first of three down-days that brought FSII below $7 again. A smart recovery gave me false hope; another big down-day followed. I clung to a straw of hope when the price apparently stabilized yesterday.

Sell. The downward trend continued today, while the markets in general were making a nice bounce upward. The price is still above the 200-day moving average, but that is cold comfort. I decided to sell FSII and redeploy the remaining capital elsewhere.