LaserCard (LCRD)

Company

"LaserCard Corporation manufactures and markets LaserCard® optical memory cards with IDLock™, chip-ready Optical/Smart™ cards and other advanced-technology secure identification cards. The Company has sold over 35 million secure ID cards to meet the demanding requirements for border security, immigration and national identification in countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, and Italy. In addition, the Company manufactures optical card read/write drives and develops optical card system software, card-related ID subsystems and peripherals. The Company operates a wholly owned German subsidiary, Challenge Card Design Plastikkarten GmbH, which manufactures advanced-technology cards and also markets cards, system solutions, and card personalization printers under the cards & more brand." (company website)

LCRD 3-month stock chart

Buy

27-Sep-06. LaserCard is obviously benefiting from the identity paranoia and border-security mania that have swept the nation. Although the company's stock took a tremendous hit after the latest earnings report, it has come back quickly to the same level and is poised for a second test of the $13 level (see sidebar).

  • Price momentum (PPO) — picked up quickly and now very strong
  • Trend (ADX) — well above the threshhold (20) and buying pressure (+DI) is increasing while selling pressure (-DI) is falling off
  • Money flow (CMF) — steady improvement of flow into the stock, now neutral
  • Relative strength (RSI) — rising steadily over past month
  • Volume — up slightly after two months of falling average daily volumes

Sell

loss Bottom line
-3%

24-Oct-06. The trailing stop-loss order was triggered this morning, resulting in a small loss. What makes this a little galling is that LCRD had been up almost $1 above my buy price at one time. Thus, a tidy profit turned into a loss. Although there is deterioration in the chart, I would definitely have ridden this one out. Oh well. With earnings due out this week, I will keep my powder dry to see what happens with those; in any case, LCRD may be shifting into a sidewise holding pattern (see sidebar).

LCRD 1-year chart
LCRD 1-year chart