My greatest problem is determing what % drop I should accept before selling.
My overall opinion is (yeah I dish it out but never follow it) - determine beforehand the % drop I should accept - then buy the stock - if it drops to that % just SELL. (forget the fact it is harder than that when it is.. because if the rest of the market is going down - or related commodities, then yes everything will be down and one must question if the % drop should be increased).
AQI - I bot around 1.28 (whatever). The sell should have happened I suppose around no less than $1.15.
I am not into that - it drops to $1.15 sell, it rises back to $1.20 buy.. whipsaw. I would prefer to say "if it drops, sell and move onto something else". To me to buy that same one back, I would have to be thinking a good entry is OVER $1.28 (what I first paid) and the believe (based on the patterns) that it will continue significantly higher - otherwise I just avoid it.
I tend to sell "part" of my securities on the way up. I haven't managed that too well lately.
% off the top is another failure. PMZ - perfect example. The overall trend changed and I should have just dumped.
If the theory is that all stocks are sh*t (thanks Kastelco), and that we need only about 30% success with a few home runs, then I should be pulling the trigger sooner. You have in the past given out some good picks that did nothing but move up mostly... my thought here is .. as long as it moves up continue to hold - if it changes course and drops a bit - dump it - perhaps 1/2 at first then further down - all. Conversely, if it continues up - lock in some profits and dump some (50% or less -- utopia - sell what I can to cover costs).
Commission costs are the cost of doing business. I will not be buying and selling the same thing being whip sawed - so excluding that I have to avoid worrying about them and just DUMP and RUN. If I have a list of candidates and they are moving UP (not down against the trend) then I just move into those.
I really believe - every stock is its own - and yes there is overall outside pressure but nothing is truely guaranteed (e.g. I hold PYR as long as Oil holds up; no I hold PYR while PYR holds up and then dump if it drops). AGI the same - sure a rise in POG would help - but that does not automatically convert to AGI rising.
In theory..
(OT Frank - one negative with Stockcharts is overlay - can it be done - overlay TWO securities and show as a SINGLE graph - non-java?)
"When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."
Tuco (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
"An umbrella with holes is better than no umbrella at all."
Dr. Alexander Elder on using stops.
