Few weeks. Here's why I'm so pissed.
I own AMAT -- bought well before earnings. They ramped up to earnings, had an EXCELLENT report & forecast that blew away all expectations, stock spiked up ~8% after hours...then every day since then it's gone down. I am now in the red on this guy.
I own(ed) NVIDIA -- bought before earnings, earnings sucked, so I averaged down...it then ramped up to crazy amounts of profitability for me...and then it comes down to close for a loss. It has done this 3 days in a row: open low, ramp high, then close lower then the open. WTF? Rage sold it today after I ended up in the red.
I own EA -- bought after it hit a 52 week low. Then it ramped for a few days, gaining several percent. Then it's been downhill every day for the last week.
Finally, I own Amazon -- the only stock NOT f*cking me. I'm up modestly because my investment in it was...modest.
I'm not sure I really have the nerve for long term holding. Every time I'd do an earnings hit 'n run play, I'd make money (or just be forced to hold for a little to minimize losses). That's what I'm going back to doing -- I don't like hanging onto stock long term and dealing with the ups and down for what? 5%? 10%? Tops?
Screw that.
So basically you like gambling, not investing.
Remember, *MOST* securities prices are already baked in based on earning projections from analysts; yes there are cases when earnings shatter estimates, but those are far and few in between.
You might want to look into writing call options on the securities you bought, one of the safest play there is with regards to locking in profits. If the stock goes south of the strike price, at least you would have enough time to buy to close your calls, and dump the stocks. Win, win.
Yes, there are opportunity cost, but as mentioned, those are far and few. No one ever go broke making profits, however little there are.
Remember, *MOST* securities prices are already baked in based on earning projections from analysts; yes there are cases when earnings shatter estimates, but those are far and few in between.
You might want to look into writing call options on the securities you bought, one of the safest play there is with regards to locking in profits. If the stock goes south of the strike price, at least you would have enough time to buy to close your calls, and dump the stocks. Win, win.
Yes, there are opportunity cost, but as mentioned, those are far and few. No one ever go broke making profits, however little there are.
I now hound for those kind of stocks, prime example is XCO that I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's a prime candidate for buyout, and there are good reasons.Mispricings can be found when a security is bashed, bashed and bashed some more in the media. A real herd mentality can follow. Even if you look at it with open eyes and it is obvious, no one else cares to read beyond the media hype. Imagine finding a misunderstood company and being an analyst for a mutual fund. Would you run to your boss and scream BUY BUY BUY? Probably not. It's easier just to tell them to buy Berkshire or JNJ. No risk in loosing your job there. It's a self feeding cycle and due to it, on occasion you can find severe mispricings. Sometimes when a stock slips, the fall is hard. And on occasion, it is not a justifiable fall.
And here just a week ago, you were trying to lecture me about trading on emotion.Few weeks. Here's why I'm so pissed.
I own AMAT -- bought well before earnings. They ramped up to earnings, had an EXCELLENT report & forecast that blew away all expectations, stock spiked up ~8% after hours...then every day since then it's gone down. I am now in the red on this guy.
I own(ed) NVIDIA -- bought before earnings, earnings sucked, so I averaged down...it then ramped up to crazy amounts of profitability for me...and then it comes down to close for a loss. It has done this 3 days in a row: open low, ramp high, then close lower then the open. WTF? Rage sold it today after I ended up in the red.
I own EA -- bought after it hit a 52 week low. Then it ramped for a few days, gaining several percent. Then it's been downhill every day for the last week.
Finally, I own Amazon -- the only stock NOT f*cking me. I'm up modestly because my investment in it was...modest.
I'm not sure I really have the nerve for long term holding. Every time I'd do an earnings hit 'n run play, I'd make money (or just be forced to hold for a little to minimize losses). That's what I'm going back to doing -- I don't like hanging onto stock long term and dealing with the ups and down for what? 5%? 10%? Tops?
Screw that.
This *could* be one of my best years in a while.
My biggest value pick I mentioned here from just a little over a year ago has been shooting up, but no one else noticed.
What we're witnessing is valuation in action.
I played a round of golf over the summer with a guy (he practiced family law) who said he was financing his retirement swing trading AAPL. He seemed to be only 1/2 facetious in saying this, clearly he was making a lot of money. I've had insights like this in the past, followed a particular stock closely and developed a sense of when it was bouncing and when it was extended. If you are reasonably accurate, you can make good money trading those ranges.http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL
LOL, keep waiting for a pullback in Apple, is just has days where it's only up a half a % versus days where it's up a couple of percent.
I'm still in, bought at $499 last week. One of the docs I work with & I were trying to decide if we're going to hold through earnings next quarter, I'm still in new territory, dunno how the hell to play it...
A very experienced day trader I've encountered commented that every single day trader he'd met had gone broke at least twice. I guess it's addictive.95% of retail daytraders lose money. You can go and look at the Tuco Trading LLC numbers if you wish.
And here just a week ago, you were trying to lecture me about trading on emotion.
I certainly got a chuckle out of that.
That's not anywhere near my intrinsic value estimate.I would have bailed at 100% return and been happy about it no matter what happened to the stock.
Why is Sears up 23% on reports of a huge loss in Q4 '11?
I would have bailed at 100% return and been happy about it no matter what happened to the stock.
Probably someone said something about reorganizing or getting the company back on track - near future outlook seems to have more sway than actual results.
Okay, so I did the "investment" portion of my taxes over the past two days, and found out I made about 10% last year in my Canadian trades and lost 5% on the US side. I have more money on the US side...
It also turns out that I made more in dividends on boths sides than I made (net) in capital gains. Going to have to rethink this...
And does anyone know how "superficial losses" work for tax purposes? Apparently, I can't claim capital losses if I buy the stock back within 30 days. So, what if I bought it back, then sold it again? I still lost more money than I gained back, so I can't claim the huge chunk I lost, just because I bought it back?
I keep insanely detailed records, and my trades are meticulous (I sell "units" of stock in the exact same quantities I buy them per transaction - I buy 150, I sell 150, I buy 150x2=300, I sell 300, etc.).
I think that's called the wash rule and I dont think you can write off losses of a stock if you buy back the same or "similar" stock before 30 days had past after selling it for a loss.
That's what it sounds like, but from my research, your adjusted cost base changes because you bought shares cheaper. What eventually ends up happening is that you still have the same net amount since a "loss + big gain" = "no loss + minor gain" - assuming the price increases to above your initial buy price.
But this rule sounds like it was designed for longterm investments. Specifically, it sounds like it's for if you sell, then buy again and hold through to the next tax year. The longest I've held something is 3 or 4 months, and I more or less dump everything (not deliberately with purpose) at the end of each year.
I think I'll just use my net gain and call it a day. If the Canada Revenue Agency wants to audit my ass, they can go ahead. I make so little, I'll owe them an extra $200 at worst.
Also, apparently, "day trading" or "not longterm investment" can also be taxed as income, rather than capital gains, but the rules in our tax code are so iffy, there's no clear distinction, and it's up to the CRA to decide.