Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR), a retail company that sells decorative accessories, furniture, candles, housewares, gifts, and seasonal products yesterday announced that they hired a new CEO. The new CEO is Alasdair James who is a former Kmart executive. He will be starting the position on May 1st, 2017.

Pier 1 Imports, Inc. CEO’s Comments

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. James, incoming President and CEO, stated, “I am thrilled and honored to lead this great organization and be the steward of a brand as storied as Pier 1 Imports. I look forward to working with such an accomplished executive team who have, over the past five years, successfully transformed the Company to a fully functional omni-channel business. The Company’s exceptional brand recognition, loyal customer base and special and deeply-rooted company culture provide a strong platform for future success. I believe there is a significant opportunity in front of us to continue to transform the business and drive growth and shareholder value in today’s quickly evolving retail landscape.”   Business Wire

PIR Technical Analysis

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PIR opened trading yesterday at $7.15 which was down from the previous day’s trading close of $7.16. Shares closed trading yesterday at $7.10 and spiked down after-market to $6.81, equivalent to a 4% decrease from the closing price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that the last time PIR traded below these levels we have to go back to March 22nd when it traded at $6.80.

Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that before the spike down PIR had already been in an overall downward trend dating back to December 20th, 2016 when it traded at $9.49. PIR has a float of 76.7 million shares and traded below the normal daily trading volume on Monday.

For day trading purposes, I would like to see PIR open trading on Friday below $6.90 and if it does I would be looking to take a short position at the bell especially if it pushes past the lower Bollinger bands. My stop order would be $0.10 from my entry position fearing anything more than that and the stock would start to fill in the gap down.