A common phenomenon: The Stock Cult Board...
Stock boards should be a place to share due dilligence. But too often they become a support group, a replacement for other interactions which may be missing in our life. We look forward to seeing our friends there, people who are also excited about our favorite stock.
Others, who disagree with our choice in stocks are sometimes seen as the enemy. Criticism of our stock is often taken personally, as if a family member had been insulted. Name calling and flame wars prevail. If we are "all-in", our stock becomes our identity, our team, almost a religion. This is common, and no doubt reflects human nature, but it is also something investors should be wary of.
One thing that often happens is that because of this bonding, investors don't sell when it would otherwise be in their best financial interest. They start to forget why they invested in the stock to begin with. Instead, they begin to feel selling would almost be a betrayal to their fellow group members, or to the CEO, who they've come to identify with as a trusted friend.
It is at this point that outsiders sometimes refer to the group as a cult. Group members, however, see each other as fellow players on the same team, all sticking together 'long and strong' in support of their stock and it's story which they can usually recite by heart like some kind of penny stock catechism.
But the sad truth is we're all alone in this game. When the dust settles, the story is exposed, the audited financials fail to appear and the SEC halts the stock, our bank accounts are decimated, but none of our online friends can come to our salvation. Most of them have been ruined as well...
It is at this point that the fundamental truth of the market becomes clear in hindsite:
Selling your shares for a profit is not a betrayal. Selling for a profit is THE fundamental purpose of investing.
Message boards are enjoyable and sometimes informative, but no one on those boards should ever distract you from, or embarass you for taking a profit.
Anyone who condemns you for taking a profit is not a friend. No one here has signed an agreement to not sell their shares. A stock discussion forum should not become a joint financial suicide pact!
I cannot tell you how much I disagree with people who try to shame others into not selling their shares, calling them flippers, weak hands and other emotionally charged names.
Personally, I fault no one for selling when they feel uncomfortable, or when they see a profit. Each must do what they feel is best for themselves and the people who depend on them.
Bottom line is we are all here to make a profit and to protect our capital. Any attempts to distract us from these two main objectives, should be viewed with deep suspicion, imho.
Good luck to all!
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