Cousins Properties (CUZ)

Company

"Cousins Properties Incorporated is one of the country's top diversified development companies. The company's development expertise covers a broad array of product types - office, retail, urban residential and single-family communities - and over the past 50 years, Cousins has earned a reputation for creative, industry leading developments. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008, the company has been publicly traded since 1962." (company website)

cuz(2-1)
CUZ 4-month chart
cuz(2-1)_1yr
CUZ 1-year chart
cuz(2-1)_pf
Bear trap on March 24 (see Bear trap)

Buy

15 April 2010. Bought 500 CUZ at $8.55.

I've been watching Cousins for several weeks now, and missed some good buying opportunities along the way. But this week CUZ equaled the peak reached in March with nice volume. The approaching cross of the 50-day moving average over the 200-day also whetted my appetite.

  • Percentage price oscillator (PPO) — just below the signal line but I think (hope) it's about to cross above
  • Volume — strong volume on recent up-days

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

However, considering what has happened since I made the buy earlier this morning, I obviously paid too much.

Sell

gain Bottom line
-4%

16 Apriil 2010. Sold 500 CUZ at $8.20.

Prophetically, I realized shortly after taking this position in CUZ yesterday that I had paid too much. Already by the end of the session the PPO line had started to diverge below the signal line, and the omen was borne out this morning when CUZ continued downward. It was enough to trigger my stop-loss order, and the position was closed out.