Bookkeeping: Changing Mind on Sequenom (SQNM)

I made a mistake, thinking fundamentals mattered there for a moment. It's going to take a while to shake off a dozen years of thinking one way. I am looking at a chart of Sequenom (SQNM) and there is support at $18. If that breaks, its limitless down. And our friends the hedgies will jump on top and crush us once $18 is broken. Since the day is looking like it is going to end bad, we could see a gap down tomorrow morning in the market and we'd be down so quick there would be no place to put a sell order in, just below $18.

This is an abnormal market, so I don't want to take the risk and am cutting back from 6%+ to 2.4% of the portfolio - selling in the $19.30s much of what I bought yesterday at $21 and today in the $20s. I'd rather take the smaller loss here, and then pay $21+ when I see there is not panic rather than risk watch something @ $19 turn into $8 in a few hours. I am hoping $18 holds. I have no change in my fundamental stance but fundamentals are useless to talk about. We'll just wait for every stock to hit $5 and then buy there I suppose.

What is strange is usually when it becomes so "easy" to either be long or short the market changes on you - right now it is so easy to be short - and has been for so long - it's unusual. But the whole year has been unusual. Historic. Etc. I keep typing the same words. I keep thinking something magical is going to turn the tide since we are so oversold, the sentiment is so terrible and the action is relentless. When this does indeed turn, there is going to be a monster oversold bounce - as for the first time really in months the shorts will be forced to cover and ignite even more of a rally. But from what point is the question.

I continue to be amazed 4% moves in the market are now common. They keep telling me this is what happens at inflection points (bottoms or tops) but its been nearly a month straight of this - this is one long inflection point. We bottomed just under 1010 yesterday which is right where we are today. One of these days these bottom retests will hold but not for many weeks now. We continue this drawn out crash - 11 sessions ago the S&P closed at 1255, today 1015. That is 19.5% - the definition of a "bear market" is technically a 20% drop - meaning we've done an entire bear market move in 11 sessions. Amazing. This is essentially Black Monday 1987 (-23%) over 2 weeks - we're living through the Crash of 2008.

Long Sequenom in fund and personal account