BTJ (Bolt Technology Corp)
BTJ is a very niche type firm. It's primary product assists E&P firms in seismic exploration. The process uses ships to tow barges of sorts that are able to evaluate oil prospects on underwater potential drilling sites. The company does not have direct vulnerability to fluctuations in prices of oil, but benefits from trends in exploration - a trend that should continue to be healthy even after a peak in production.
The company is very small with a market cap of $124M and it's average daily volume of 155k makes it a bit difficult to put much size into the position. However with our small firm relative to other institutional investors, this gives us an advantage in that we can take a meaningful position without having too much of an effect on the stock.
My initial purchase was on Dec 4, 2006 at $21.02(see chart). The previous day, the stock had broken to a new high after a fairly well shaped pullback to test the 200 day average. Dec 4th gave me a pullback to get the position near the previous high on a day when there was adequate liquidity for buyers. I took 5,000 shares which was less than a typical initial position but given the liquidity, I wanted to take a conservative position to start with.
The stock subsequently ran higher for 2 weeks before pulling back to test the breakout level. Once this level had been tested and the stock began moving back up in healthy fashion, I purchased another smller lot of 3,000 shares a bit higher than my original purchase. (I like to average into winning positions but it is against my religion to add good money to a position that is not performing well). So far I have not seen any company specific news so it appears the stock is trading on technical merits and in line with industry trends until it reports earnings (presumably Jan 25th although that date is not confirmed).
The company is very small with a market cap of $124M and it's average daily volume of 155k makes it a bit difficult to put much size into the position. However with our small firm relative to other institutional investors, this gives us an advantage in that we can take a meaningful position without having too much of an effect on the stock.
My initial purchase was on Dec 4, 2006 at $21.02(see chart). The previous day, the stock had broken to a new high after a fairly well shaped pullback to test the 200 day average. Dec 4th gave me a pullback to get the position near the previous high on a day when there was adequate liquidity for buyers. I took 5,000 shares which was less than a typical initial position but given the liquidity, I wanted to take a conservative position to start with.The stock subsequently ran higher for 2 weeks before pulling back to test the breakout level. Once this level had been tested and the stock began moving back up in healthy fashion, I purchased another smller lot of 3,000 shares a bit higher than my original purchase. (I like to average into winning positions but it is against my religion to add good money to a position that is not performing well). So far I have not seen any company specific news so it appears the stock is trading on technical merits and in line with industry trends until it reports earnings (presumably Jan 25th although that date is not confirmed).
JAN 3, 2007
Energy names took a beating today and BTJ was no exception. 
The stock now rests just above the 50 day average and I cannot find any company specific news so it appears to be trading in line with the group. The stock closed at 19.38 and if it breaks 19 I will have to close out the position for discipline sake as i will show a 10% loss. However, for the time being I want to stay involved if possible because the fundamental story still seems intact and the pattern is not broken, I just may have picked the wrong time to get involved.
The stock now rests just above the 50 day average and I cannot find any company specific news so it appears to be trading in line with the group. The stock closed at 19.38 and if it breaks 19 I will have to close out the position for discipline sake as i will show a 10% loss. However, for the time being I want to stay involved if possible because the fundamental story still seems intact and the pattern is not broken, I just may have picked the wrong time to get involved.Jan 5, 2007
The stock fell further as a result of the energy sector getting pummelled the first 2 days of trading this year. Out of discipline I had to cover my position as I lost the maximum 10% on the trade. The stock is very thin which made it difficult to 
get out of 8,000 shares in a declining market. I made the decision on the 4th to pull the plug but was only able to get 4,000 shares sold without pushing the price further down. I then used a bit of strength early on the 5th to unload the rest of my position. The sector has fallen out of favor and my timing in purchasing the stock didn't allow me much room to weather a storm. I am thankful that I had a smaller position in the name as the hit could have been much worse if I had been able to build a full 5% position.
get out of 8,000 shares in a declining market. I made the decision on the 4th to pull the plug but was only able to get 4,000 shares sold without pushing the price further down. I then used a bit of strength early on the 5th to unload the rest of my position. The sector has fallen out of favor and my timing in purchasing the stock didn't allow me much room to weather a storm. I am thankful that I had a smaller position in the name as the hit could have been much worse if I had been able to build a full 5% position. One learning point I could take away is that when i added the additional 3,000 shares on strength, I could have declined to do so because of the lower volume on the rebound. Now this was during a holiday season so low volume would not necessarily be indicative of investor apathy but it may be a red flag that I overlooked.
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