Wolverine Tube Inc. (WLV)

Company. Wolverine produces "copper and copper alloy tube, fabricated products, brazing alloys, fluxes and lead-free solder, as well as copper and copper alloy rod, bar and other products." (company website)

Buy. Before I bought Wolverine Tube in mid-December, it had been climbing steadily since bottoming out in September, 2003. When WLV advanced from $5.50 to $6 in three days of heavy volume, I snatched some shares.

The ADX line (trend strength) had been rising steadily since November and finally broke the 20 threshhold. The 50-day moving average had also been rising steadily. Should have been a good buy. Actually, it would have been a really good buy a couple of weeks earlier when the ADX line started to turn up after the low of $5.28.

Over the course of many transactions, I've come to think that using the standard StockCharts.com scan that picks out stocks when the ADX line crosses 20 alerts me a bit too late. By then much of the "move" has already taken place. What I would like to do is create my own scan that picks out a sharp rise in the +DI line (buying pressure) combined with a rising ADX value, regardless of the actual ADX value. I suspect that my AdvancedAnalyzer tool from Ameritrade provides me that capability, but I just haven't taken the time to learn how to define my own scans.

Sell. I decided to give up on Wolverine for the time being: the trend is weakening (falling ADX line), buying pressure (+DI line) is falling off, and selling pressure (-DI line) has recently jumped.

It may still be upward bound; after all, the 50-day moving average is still rising, as is the 200-day moving average, and current prices are well above those two averages. But WLV does not look promising for a quick return on the investment. I'm looking for quicker turns on my stock inventory to maximize bankable returns.

Principle: churn and earn.