Steelcase (SCS)

Company

"Steelcase Inc. helps create great experiences - wherever work happens. Our brands offer a comprehensive portfolio of workplace furnishings, products and services, inspired by nearly 100 years of insight gained serving the world's leading organizations. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including over 650 dealers. We design for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Steelcase is a global, publicly traded company leading our industry with fiscal 2009 revenue of approximately $3.2 billion." (company website)

scs(1-1)
SCS 4-month chart
scs(1-1)_1yr
SCS 1-year chart

Buy

26 January 2010. Bought 500 at $6.95.

Steelcase climbed steadily from March to October of 2009, then pulled back sharply. It started another upswing in December, and both 50- and 200-day moving averages are rising in parallel.

  • Percentage price oscillator (PPO) — closely tracking a rising signal line
  • Volume — increasing in last three weeks

Based on technical analysis, MarketEdge calls SCS a "strong buy" in a "weak upward trend."

Sell

gain Bottom line
-1%

22 February 2010. Sold 500 at $6.86.

I had high hopes for SCS. The Bollinger bands kept narrowing, and MarketEdge kept calling it a "strong buy" in a "strong upward trend" but it just wasn't going anywhere. The PPO line continued hanging below the signal line, despite closing tantalizingly. Although it's a long way from my stop price, I decided to bail out today. The writing seems to be on the wall, and why pay for the confirmation?