Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice ! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.
I am continuing to work on a strategy to trade stocks on very short-term basis and also manage my underlying trading account in response to market action. I have allowed myself a single position for a "trade" with the strategy of buying a large position, which for me might be $25,000 or so, compared to my average holding of about $6,000, and then selling most of that position should the stock appreciate or selling the entire position should the stock actually drop in price. I haven't set any firm sale points on either the upside of the downside--but that is my strategy.
Furthermore, after a single sale of a holding, including my 'trades', I move up my 'stop' to close to break-even, so that a position in which I have sold shares profitably doesn't turn into a losing venture.
This afternoon, after some rumors about Goldman Sachs , and perhpas just from 'trader fatigue ', the market turned lower and brought all of my recent purchases along with it.
With my recent purchases of Dolby (DLB), Under Armor (UA), and Varian Medical (VAR), all moving into the 'red', I chose to sell all three of these positions even if the fundamentals remained intact. It has been my strategy all along to sell these shares should they break down and start losing me money, and sell I did.
1.) Dolby (DLB): I purchased 800 shares of Dolby this morning at $44.62. 400 of these shares were sold shortly thereafter at $45.5275 and then the remaining 400 shares were sold for a small loss at $44.4225. As I write, Dolby is holding this level and is trading at $44.48, up $3.18 or 7.70% on the day. With my own sale,
DOLBY (DLB) IS RATED A HOLD
2.) Under Armor was purchased 1/23/08 at a cost basis of $35.00/share. This was also part of a larger 'trade'. Earlier today, with the market under pressure, UA dipped into the 'red' and I sold my 150 shares at $34.14. UA is currently selling at $34.45, down $(1.21) or (3.39)% on the day.
UNDER ARMOR (UA) IS RATED A HOLD
3.) Shares of Varian Medical (VAR) were also purchased 1/24/08 and were part of a more complex 'trade'. They were purchased with a cost basis of $53 on 1/24/08. Today Varian sold off with the rest of the market. I sold my 100 shares at $52.1666. VAR is currently trading lower at $51.78, down $(1.79) or (3.34)% on the day. With my own sale of Varian Medical Systems,
VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS (VAR) IS RATED A HOLD.
As you can see there is much I need to learn about making 'trades'.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks @lycos.com.
Bob
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$53.74 (01/28/08)
