MC Shipping (MCX)

Company

"MC Shipping Inc. fully or partially owns and operates a fleet of 16 vessels, including 10 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers from 3,000 to 78,000 cbm, 4 container vessels of 2,300 TEU capacity and 2 small multipurpose/general cargo vessels. The company operates its vessels in a combination of time and voyage charters." (company website)

Sell short

11-May-05. For the past two months, MCX has been forming a bearish triangle with a flat base just above $7.50 and a series of lower peaks. I decided yesterday that I would sell MCX short if it traded below $7.50. That would bring it below the base of the triangle and penetrate the 50-day moving average. To me there are strong signs of further decline: price momentum (PPO), money flow (CMF), relative strength (RSI) and trend strength (ADX) are all in a long decline.

I still think this was the right idea, but I might have been wiser to look for deeper penetration before shorting. As the fates would have it, MCX moved up again after I sold. The next two days should tell the tale.

What's a little scary is that the chart pattern looks very like last October, which ended with a move upward.

Sell

12-May-05. Damn! Damn! and Double-damn! This morning MC Shipping released their earnings: triple those of a year ago. (I had been trying to find their earnings report date, but none of my usual sources had it listed. This seems to be a problem with AMEX-listed stocks.) The MCX price rocketed $1.50 to open.

Although the price has since retreated (after I covered, naturally), this is sure to kick off another uptrend, not the downtrend I was counting on. I can only say I am feeling so happy that I only bought half a lot!