This past Wednesday, I alerted WS Traders that Altria Group (MO:NYSE) was acting impervious to the broader market. In other words, the stock had been experiencing strong upside tendencies despite the intra-day volatility that we witnessed across the major market averages.

“In situations like this,” I wrote, “where no underlying trend is available, I'd like to look toward quality stock names in the blue chip sector that are exhibiting strong up-trend characteristics. And one of the best stock names that has been impervious to intra-day directional volatility is none other than Altria Group (MO:NYSE). On a three-month basis, the stock has moved from the mid $70's up to the mid-$80's without exposure to a downside sell-off. All signs point to this trend continuing -- as MO looks poised to move up to $95 or possibly even $100 in the first quarter of 2007.”

Based on this analysis, I recommended the MO February 90 Calls (MO BR), which we entered for $2.25. The very next day, MO received a price target upgrade, which pushed the stock higher by more than $1. Capitalizing on this move, I issued a sell recommendation the very next day, getting executed at $2.85, good for an overnight gainer of 26.6%.

The reason I bring this up is because in today's trading, MO is back down. And this weakness has pushed the February 90 calls back down to my original buy price of $2.20.

After a quick chart discussion with Adam, we outlined some near-term support points that could warrant us going back to the well and playing the MO February 90 calls once again.

Next week, if the conditions warrant, we'll look to re-enter this same play again and make another quick-hit winner. Until then, have a good weekend. And remember, the market is closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day, so I'll speak with you again mid-week.