Should I kick myself when I see that EFUT - E-Future Information was trading in the 40’s today, and I was just looking at it in the 9’s last week! Nah, I’ve had a lot on my mind, including a post-painful surgery last Friday. If you’re not feeling your physical or emotional best, my advice would be to forget the day trading for a while and relax.

I traded light today, and EFUT was one of my stock picks to watch. The 15-minute chart provided a classic entry on the pull back.

A stop was placed under the prior bar of my entry as shown. I was sure it was going to get stopped as the stock drifted back down. Fortunately, I had a little rally in EFUT allowing me to sell my shares in the afternoon.

So what’s some criteria that make an IPO such as MBLX - Metabolix Inc., a better first day trade than THRM - Thermage, Inc? The demand for shares pre-ipo is a good indicator.

Take a look at MBLX. First you check out the expected price range. Is the range then raised? That’s good. Is the stock priced at the high end of the range? Are more shares offered? Is the Underwriter a Goldman Sachs, or some investment boutique you’ve never heard of. I looked at the headlines for Metabolix Inc. and could see they looked positive. The shares priced at $14. So when the stock opens with a small premium in the 14-14.50 area, I buy. Place a stop below the offer price.

Now look at THRM - Thermage Inc. The price range was cut. The stock priced at $7 for it’s IPO. Weak demand means stay away. Sure enough, this stinker broke it’s offering of 7.

IPOs can trade fast, but can also give good reward/risk areas to trade off of too.