strange as it may seem, it is often harder to hold a winning stock than it is a loser. things are pretty cut and dry with a loser. if its gone bad and you didn't dump early enough, its more than possible that the return will be negligent. and if its hanging near break even, the temptation to await either a breakout or target is clearly palpable. of course, no one buys to lose, and sometimes waiting is simply the best recourse.
on the flip side of that is the winner. if the return is nearly exponential, how can you not sell it? after all, big gains can slip away all too easily, and living with a missed gain after selling too early has none of the hurt in it when compared to a sell that came too late. in that case, the hurtin' is more like a curtain closing on the last act than it is anything else.
the other thing to think about when considering the sell of a winner has to do with playing the percentages. my current holding in SOLI is up more than 60-fold. a run from here to a dollar is just another 4 bagger, and while that is nothing to sneeze at, nearly every penny stock has no less than a double in it, and that's just in terms of trading inside its (current) bollies. with a breakout.... well, i find it hard to believe i don't have another 4 bagger among my holdings. fact is, i think i have several. but i won't know that for sure until it happens (or doesn't) and its because of that uncertainty that i have to take my profit from where i can.
its impossible to last very long in this game when you're only selling losers.
