Playing & Trading Strategy

Just like the Back Street Boys, this past week we were "Hangin' Tough" with a 0.2% increase.  Basically flat, and a new low for us.  There just weren't many news items, no wide releases, and our main potential income source, the IPO for Bride of Frankenstein, ended up losing money after IPO despite having a majority in it long.  The news items that did hit, like the second trailer for Kubo, ended up in losses from the transaction fees.  The cost of moving the money arounds simply washed out with the profits made.

We should see a bump this weekend with the cashouts from The Forest (which is BRA) and The Danish Girl (ARB).  Also, we're still short on The Veil, which I'd recommend any readers to short as well.  It hit Netflix this week, and should see a cashout soon.  It's currently trading at about 94 cents a share, so there's not a fortune to be made there, but it is free money.  And of course this coming weekend sees the release of Hail, Caesar!  Hopefully that 0.2% will end up being our 52-week low, and this is us taking our one step back before our two leaps forward.  Moving on...

Bride of Frankenstein

Because I'm doing these non-release date items in alphabetical order, next up is our most recent IPO.  It's still sliding downward, so I wouldn't recommend investing long in it, and I think it's probably too uncertain to short it at this point.  Yesterday it jumped up $3 and today it's back down another $2, so it's simply slingshotting back and forth too much to make it a sane trade.  In general it will probably continue declining until it flattens out, which is, I think, in the process of happening as traders accept its current price and it stabilizes.  Considering the success of say Maleficent, I think Bride should do well if and when it does release.  I'd keep it on the radar; there should be a good price increase as soon as the stock sees more news, like the confirmation of Jolie's involvement.  Maleficent, by the way, did $186 here on HSX.

Bastille Day

This one's a wrap, and sees Idris Elba starring in an action thriller written by first-timer Andrew Baldwin and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Woman in Black).  Certainly Elba winning the SAG award won't hurt this one's release plan, but he isn't nominated for an Oscar in the same supporting category (Stallone has his spot).  And it's unclear how big the budget is on this.  It's possible it could be smaller-budgeted and get a limited release.  Currently Bastille is trading at $6, so we really need more information before knowing which way to play this one.

Cowboy Ninja Viking

This is the project Chris Pratt signed up for right after Guardians hit.  It's obviously intended to be a big blockbuster, but not having read the graphic novel I don't know how thin the project is and if there's much going on beyond the concept of cowboys, ninjas, and vikings.  It is being directed by the directors of John Wick, who did a lot with that script and have created a lot of opportunities in Hollywood for themselves as a result, including a Wick sequel.  CNV is trading at $23 a share and still in development without a release date.  Too expensive for most to want to park money in it, but again, probably a buy once more news hits assuming the project firms up and everything comes together.

That wraps up another week.  Our next release is Hail, Caesar! this coming Friday.