ActivCard

ACTI

Company. "ActivCard is a leading global provider of strong multi-factor authentication, password management, and trusted digital identities with market-designed solutions for Governments, Enterprises, and Financial Institutions delivered through Global System Integrators, Value Added Resellers and OEMs." (company website)

Buy. I bought ActivCard after a two-day pullback earlier this month. It was very close to the peak reached in April, and the indicators looked good: the trend was strong (ADX line); buying pressure (green +DI line) was well above selling pressure (red -DI line); 50-day moving average was rising; money had begun to flow back into the stock (CMF). Although average daily volume had been declining, the price had risen on greater volume than usual.

Sell. I got nervous about ACTI when Thursday and Friday's sessions had such big ranges above and below the open and close (long tails on the candlestick). I took this to mean people weren't sure which way the stock was going to go.

I put in a sell order this morning when the price fell about 15¢. This could signal just another day of volatile prices. On the other hand, it could mean the beginning of a pullback to consolidate the price advance over the past several weeks.

Amazingly my sell-order sat at the head of the queue for almost an hour as offers to sell at $7.45 built up while offers to buy at $7.44 would not budge. I found this quite nerve-wracking, since in the past I've seen this kind of deadlock be the prelude to a sudden collapse. Happily, the shares eventually sold, yielding me a modest profit.