BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb $56.56 +1.06 (-0.94) A solid day on the AMEX Pharmaceutical Index (DRG) helped BMY to recapture some of its lost luster. Investor's attraction to drug stocks is quite understandable. These companies enjoy stable earnings due to an unfailing demand for their products. Drug companies have also enjoyed an unprecedented period of new drug development. On the earnings front, BMY will report on October 20th. Current consensus estimates are calling for profits of $0.61 a share. If these profits come in as expected, then BMY will have increased their profits by $0.14 over the same year-ago period. When fear grips the market, investors like to park their cash in stocks that do not have negative earnings surprises. BMY was knocked through a loop yesterday when a federal court cleared the way for IVAX Corp (IVX) to begin marketing its generic form of the cancer drug Taxol, which had previously been exclusively produced by BMY. The share price of BMY has been slipping and we are becoming a little concerned about this play, though today it made a nice comeback by adding $1.06 to its value. We do feel justified in staying with this play because of the positive trend for Pharmaceutical stocks and the hope that an earnings anticipation run could be just around the corner. BMY may just be consolidating its recent advance. If BMY does get going again, you can find a trailing stop suggestion in our In Play section. If we are not stopped out, we will exit this position just prior to the earnings release.

Picked on September 21st @ $56.69 Change since picked -0.13

COF - Capital One Financial $71.75 +0.50 (+1.69)

For the third consecutive day, shares of COF climbed higher on increased volume. Today the advance was a 20% gain with 1.2 million shares changing hands. As noted in our initial report on Tuesday, COF is due to report its third quarter earnings next Tuesday, October 10th. The company has been upgraded by two investment firms ahead of their earnings release and has also recently launched a niche marketing campaign for a new Visa card with BMG Entertainment. COF will offer a new Visa card aimed at attracting loyal music enthusiasts with an incentive and reward plan based on purchases made with the card. The news helped bolster investor enthusiasm ahead of earnings. Currently, the stock has support at the 5-dma at $70.91, followed by the 10-dma at $69.56. Resistance is Tuesday's new 52-week high at $73.25. Continue to watch for big volume leading into earnings. A decrease in the volume should send up a warning flare that selling may about to ensue. Look for leadership in the INDU and the NYSE Financial Index (NF) to help hoist the stock to new levels. Be quick to take profits and consider holding through earnings as a high-risk play. We will keep our stop at $66.38 for now.

Picked on October 3rd @ $71.00 Change since picked +0.75

MBI - MBIA Incorporated $69.00 -0.50 (-2.13)

On Wednesday, financial guarantee insurance company MBIA announced its plans to offer secondary market insurance for municipal bonds online to all electronic bond trading facilities. Individual investors prefer bonds that are insured because they come wrapped with the insurer's triple-A credit rating and a guarantee to make payments in case the issuer defaults. In reaction to the news, MBIA's stock posted modest gains early in the day both Wednesday and Thursday only to retreat by the close of trading both days. The trading volume has been about average both days at 290 thousand shares exchanged. Looking ahead, we'd like to see the stock hold support, which is now noted at the 20-dma at $68.87 and then at $67.00. Resistance will now become a challenge at the 10-dma of $69.80, followed by the 5-dma of $70.38. If both these resistance levels can be conquered, a test of the recent high at $73.43 will come next. Bullish advancements should come with better than average volume coupled with good momentum in the INDU and the S&P Insurance Index (IUX). Look for a bounce off support or a shot through the resistance when considering a new play on this stock. We will guard our play with a stop at $67.50. Please review our IN PLAY section for adjustments to this stop.

Picked on September 29th @ $71.06 Change since picked -2.06

MXT - Metris Companies, Inc. $42.25 +0.38 (+2.75)

The decimation of technology stocks has given rise to some new market leaders. Bank and Financial stocks are at the forefront of this charge and are making a strong case that they will become the new market leaders. Metris runs a very profitable credit card business that focuses upon hard credit clients who are willing to pay some of the highest fees and interest rates in the industry. Metris will report earnings on October 18th. If the analysts covering this company are correct, then Metris should report profits of $0.49. These earnings would compare favorably to the $0.36 the company earned in the same period a year ago. The last time Metris split was back in May. The company announced a split when the stock was trading at $38.38, a price that is just below where the stock is trading today. This fact increases the likelihood of another split announcement. Shareholders just recently approved an increase of the number of authorized shares, which is another clue that a split may be imminent. MXT fell just short of making a new high today. The old high stands at $42.94 and the stock is definitely knocking on the door and could take this resistance out if we see another solid day for financial stocks tomorrow. The slope of the 50-DMA is becoming more vertical, which indicates an acceleration of the up trend. The 50-DMA is currently at $35.16. Although the MACD is oddly negative, it will probably issue a buy signal if a new high is established. A new round of buying from momentum investors may also occur if the stock can make a new high. OBV and Money Flow are quite solid and the RSI has some room before indicating an overbought condition. We are maintaining our stop at $37.00 and you can check our In Play section for a trailing stop idea. If we are not stopped out we will plan to exit this position just before the earnings are released.

Picked on September 26th @ $41.06 Change since picked +1.19