Bookkeping: Closing James River Coal (JRCC)

We don't have much of this position left - about a 0.4% exposure - but I am closing James River Coal (JRCC) as the stock begins to break down post earnings. Yesterday the company reported, and the Street was not too pleased. I have no affinity to James River other than as a potential takeover play - it was just a "proxy" play for coal and so many of its peers are acting much better so when the stock market drops for more than 2 days.... or 2011 (whichever comes first).... I'll switch into any of a number of larger peers.

Technically there is a little gap to fill and it really is more of a short candidate than long after yesterday's reversal.

I am surprised there was such a reaction to earnings when all these stocks generally trade as one big monolith (dollar down, commodities up) - I guess guidance did them in. But unlike some peers they are actually profitable and had revenue growth despite coal prices being much lower than a year ago. Again, I simply do not understand some of these stock movements nowadays. All I can figure out is its a momentum traders market and if your stock is in an uptrend you can report anything you want since the computers buy buy buy; if not - then you have issue because you don't have the computers on your side. A quick look.

• Shares of James River Coal Corp. fell on Monday after the mine operator posted second-quarter earnings shy of Wall Street expectations and slashed expectations for the full year.
• Earlier in the day the company, which operates mines in Indiana and Kentucky, said it turned a profit earning $16.2 million, or 59 cents per share, compared with a loss of $24 million, or 97 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting, on average, earnings of 78 cents per share.
• Revenue increased 25 percent to $171.6 million, but missed Wall Street's target of $189 million.
• The company lowered its 2009 profit expectations to between $2.25 to $2.60 per share, from a previous view of $3.30 to $3.80 per share. Analysts are looking for a full-year profit of $3.15 per share. James River also cut its production plans.

And this is the type of statement that those of you who use logic simply have to close your eyes to - stocks are going up on the future rebound in coal prices (and all commodities) as deemed by the stock market, even if the CEOs are not seeing it.

• Coal shipments from the company's mines in Central Appalachia, which accounts for about two-thirds of total shipments, fell 26 percent to about 1.6 million tons.
• The company lowered its full-year coal shipment target saying that, beyond its existing contract portfolio, at current market prices it would lose money on every additional ton sold.

Some peers we have owned in the past for comparison of their action of late - obviously I picked the wrong "sector proxy".

No position