National Vision

NVI

Company. "National Vision, Inc. is ... the nation's fourth largest optical company in terms of locations [with] five separate retail divisions offering a variety of products and services for your eye care and eyewear needs." (company website)

Buy. NVI has been climbing steadily since August (see sidebar). It recently broke above the $7 level and seems to have the strength to go higher. There are a lot more buyers than sellers (green +DI line over red -DI line). Volumes have been decent.

NVI will bear close watching. It is now eight times higher than it was a year ago and four times higher than in August.

Sell. Truer words were never spoken: "NVI will bear close watching." On Thursday, NVI took a dive, but it ended at about my purchase price. I should have put in a stop-loss order, but I didn't. When I looked in on the market on Friday, NVI had taken another plunge. I bailed for what I could get.

Objectively, NVI pulled back from the 50-day moving average, and it has been a long time since it touched up. A pullback is normal. It should "bounce back" off the average. What I don't want to risk is a complete breakdown through the average and even greater losses.