Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard Flashcards
What does SEPA stand for?
Specific Entry Point Analysis
What are the five key elements of SEPA?
Trend, Fundamentals, Catalyst, Entry points, Exit points
What P/E did the biggest winning stocks in history trade at before experiencing their largest advance?
30 or 40 and more
When stock falls 25% from purchase price and P/E below industry average, should you feel good?
No, you should ask if sellers knows something I don’t
What does Mark use P/E for?
A sentiment gauge for investor expectations. High P/E = high expectations, low P/E = low expectations
Based on historical data, how much has P/E increased for superperformance stocks from beginning to end of major price moves?
between 100 and 200 percent on average
When should you start looking for sell signals based on P/E?
once P/E nears 2x and especially around 2.5x to 3x and greater from start of major move. It could top soon.
What are the four market cycles?
- Stage 1 - Neglect phase: consolidation 2. Stage 2 - Advancing phase: accumulation 3. Stage 3: Topping phase: distribution 4. Stage 4: Declining phase: capitulation
Why do we avoid buying in phase 1?
learn to spot where momentum is strong during phase 2. The goal is not to buy at the lowest or cheapest price, but at the “right” price just as the stock is ready to move significantly higher. We need to maximize the effect of compounding, meaning concentrating on stocks that move quickly after we buy them.
stage 1 characteristics?
- Price moves in sideways fashion with lack of any sustained movement in either direction 2. Stock oscillates around it’s 200-day MA and lacks any trend 3. Often this basing stage happens after the stock price has declined during phase 4 for several months or more
stage 2 criteria?
- Stock price above both the 150-day and 200-day moving average 2. The 150-day moving average is above the 200-day moving average 1. Short term moving averages above long term moving averages (eg. 50-day above 150-day) 3. The 200-day moving average has turned up 4. A series of higher highs and higher lows has occurred 5. Large up weeks on volume spikes are contrasted by low-volume pullbacks 6. There are more up weeks on volume than down weeks on volume
Trend template checklist
- The current stock price is above both the 150-day and the 200-day moving averages 2. The 150-day MA is above the 200-day MA 3. The 200-day MA line is trending up for at least 1 month (preferably 4-5 months minimum in most cases) 4. The 50-day MA is above both the 150-day and 200-day MAs 5. The current stock price is trading above the 50-day MA 6. The current stock price is at least 30% above it’s 52-week low. (Many of the best selections will be 100%, 300% or greater above their 52-week low before they emerge from a solid consolidation period and mount a large scale advance.) 7. The current stock price is within at least 25 percent of it’s 52-week high (the closer to a new high, the better. 8. The relative strength ranking (as reported in Investor’s Business Daily) is no less than 70, and preferably in the 80s or 90s, which will generally be the case with the better selections.
Stage 3 characteristics
- Volatility increases, more erratic vs stage 3 and moving back and forth in wider, looser swings 2. Usually a major price break in the stock on an increase in volume. Often it’s the largest one-day decline since start of stage 2 advance. On weekly chart might print largest weekly decline since beginning of the move. These price breaks almost always occur on overwhelming volume 3. Price may undercut 200-day MA. Volatility around the 200-day MA is common as many stocks in stage 3 bounce below and above the 200-day MA several times while topping out 4. 200-day MA will lose upside momentum, flatten out and roll over into downtrend
Stage 4 characteristics
- Most PA below 200-day MA 2. 200-day MA in downtrend 3. Stock price near or hitting 52-week new lows 4. Lower lows and lower highs 5. Short term MAs are below long term MAs 6. Volume spikes on big down days and big down weeks and rallies are low volume 7. More down days and weeks on above-average volume than up days and up weeks on above-average volume
Top usually comes after how many bases?
Top usually comes after 3 to 5 bases, by when the accumulation has become too obvious and smart money starts selling out.
Which base is best for getting in?
Best time to buy is base 1 and 2 off a market correction. Base 3 is still tradeable, although obvious. Base 4 and 5 fail more frequently.
Why are we willing to give up the first leg up?
The goal is not to buy at the cheapest price but to sell your stock for significantly more than the price you paid in the shortest period. We’re willing to give the first leg up in a stock to someone else in exchange for confirmation that the trend is definitely in stage 2 with some momentum building.
What does trust your eyes, not your ears mean?
Many times before a fundamental problem is evident, there will be a hint in the form of a material change in price behavior. That change should always be respected even if you don’t see any reason for the sudden change in sentiment.
Six categories companies fall into
- Market leaders 2. Top competitors 3. Institutional favorites 4. Turnaround situations 5. Cyclical stocks 6. Past leaders and laggards
Companies usually fall into one of six categories. Name them
- Market leaders 2. Top competitors 3. Institutional favorites 4. Turnaround situations 5. Cyclical stocks 6. Past leaders and laggards
Which type of companies stocks made Mark the most money?
market leaders
Why have most investors psychological difficulty buying market leaders?
Think they have run up to far. Concern is not how far the stock has already advanced, but where it’s going and prospects for future growth
What is scalable growth?
gaining market share in a growing industry
What are ultrafast growers?
these companies grow so fast that Wall Street can’t value them very accurately. This can leave a stock inefficiently priced, providing a big opportunity.












