Fertilizer Play

Fertilizer stocks took a major hit and then all the shorts seemed to pile on to drive down prices. The hit came as rumors were spread hinting that Farmer's do not have adequate access to capital to purchase their fertilizer. In turn, the fertilizer companies lose sales dollars. This is pure conjecture and will be a non-event, which is why I picked up some Agrium (AGU) on Friday @ $63.93.

I found myself getting interested again into the Chemical and Fertilizer realm. To this end, I picked up some shares of Agrium (AGU) a player out of Calgary, Canada. In this volatile market, I like the fact that this stock has remained steadfast and has even risen in value this past week. In addition, on 10 April the corporation entered into an exclusive agreement to purchase a 70% equity stake in a European fertilizer-distribution company "Common Market Fertilizers S.A, which has annual sales of $500 to $600 million.

My other current active plays in the market are as follows:

* April 50 puts on Capital One Financial
* May 15 puts on Schering-Plough

* July 15 puts on Yamana Gold

* September 25 puts on Petrohawk Energy Corp