Investors....come in please!

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Hey guys,
I sold my shares of Sun Microsystems (SUNW) today.....they've been getting their arse handed to them by IBM and HP and their quarterly report was not impressive at all. I sold out and made a $40 profit
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, so I'm not losing any money here.
Share prices have risen rapidly in the last few weeks, but some "experts" think that it is going to take a while before Sun can once again compete with its rivals.

I also own Lucent Tech (LU) and my shares are up 108.90%
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....so obviously I'm doing very good with them.

My question is:
Should I put my eggs in one basket (Lucent) and watch it grow (hopefully) since they have gotten many positive reviews and new contracts or should I hold on to my money and buy SUNW again when and if share prices go down or should I re-buy the stock now?

These news just came out as I was typing this.
What do you think?

THANKS A LOT!!!

Rick
 
I'm a big believer in diversity diversity diversity.

That makes me a mutual fund guy. Especially index funds since they have very low expense ratios.

Having to watch stocks drives me crazy.
 
Well.....I took a BIG hit right after I bought the stock for the first time. Also, we are not talking about a lot of money here.....~$1500 and finally....stocks don't drive me crazy....I don't lose sleep at night.
I don't trust someone else with my money, especially after all the scandals.
 
I have been investing a looooot of years. Over the long haul I have broke even at best by investing in individual stocks. I would only ever buy individual stocks again for strictly fun and games. Perhaps others can pick better than me.

And it seems like those stocks that I could have made (if held) money I sold when they dropped by say 15%. Others- I rode down into penny stocks
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)-guess how well I did with those
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As an aside- I feel you really need to be very leary right now. The dollar is fall ing and Bush is like a deer staring into head lightds as far as the budget and spending is occurring (clueless). We are going to hit critical mass on Federal Spending) within a few years-maybe sooner.

Anyone with any rudimentary understanding of finance/markets. or even common sense knows what the rest of the world knows. we can't pay our bills and maintain our present life style without borrowing money. Will that affect the U.S. economy (and the markets)??? duuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I wonder if Greenspan has figured that out yet. He may be too busy chasing Andrea around the bed (in his walker) to care
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Al,
Good info.....BUT if I can make a buck before all hell breaks lose....why not?

What do you suggest? Get out altogether?

[ January 15, 2004, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Last_Z ]
 
If you are in for the long hual you might consider Ford. Fords stock while not a supressed as it was with the initial Firestone fiasco is still cheap. They have to improve in the course of the next 7-10 years! Might as well get in now.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Last_Z:
Al,
Good info.....BUT if I can make a buck before all hell breaks lose....why not?

What do you suggest? Get out altogether?


Unfortunately-timing is everything (when to get out). I have no timing. I just know that all is not well.

I agree totally-making a buck is good-just keep bumping up the stop loss.
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Sorry I don't have the answers.
 
You might look at Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (SIRI) I have 5,000 shares. This is going to be big I think.
I bought Sun @ 96.00 in 2000 and lost my azz.
 
You're going to laugh at me but hear me out: Get yourself an Advisor you trust and invest in the American Funds. They don't shoot the lights out in any one year like some funds, but like the old adage says "slow and steady wins the race" Over 10 year periods their performance is unsurpassed.

[ January 15, 2004, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: Brett Miller ]
 
The long haul IS the thing.

Personal Finance is the newsletter I recommend.
IBD is the daily I recommend.

Funds are great, but they sure make you feel crappy during good years, when the market is up 20-30% and your funds are up 12%. Then on negative years they are about the same as the market as a whole. Go figure.

For mutual funds, one thing I have learned since 1980 or so, don't fall in love with one family. Like all families there are winners and losers. Last years winners are exactly that.

The strange thing is: If you don't have savvy then maybe one long term stock fund is best...but which one? Screw it. Pick 5 and watch the ride....I can't do this.

As shaky as things seem now Al, the stock market is the place...

Don't buy bond funds thinking they are safe...when interest rates go up, what happens to the price/value of the lower rate bonds/funds? Yes, down, down, down.....

Stay alert but not twitchy. Don't be an Amsoil dealer unless you can sell stuff, but if interested see me. Use the cheapest broker. Sometimes the broker I use for my self directed IRA charges me zero for on-line stock trading of major stocks.

The energy sector has been very good to me. Natural gas still seems good. I have made money in gold funds, but there were long periods of dark stillness.

Penny stocks are cheap for reason. I dunno. I mean Vasomedical (VASO) was under a buck when I bought it, and I still think it's a bargain under $2.00 share.
 
People always like to tell you about their winners, but most poeple aren't as vocal with their losers.

I invested a good deal of cash over the last 8 years, and each stock was a total roller coaster ride. In the end, I made money, but not enough to warrant the risks I took.

I have one last stock in my portfolio (everything else is mutual funds), which was the safe stock. I have quite a few shares purchased a few years ago at an average cost of $24. The projections were that it would be at $35 by this time. I was going to sell late last year at $30. The stock hit $29.50, then bad news was announced, and the stock is now at $19.

So I am sitting here wondering should I fold em, hold em, or buy more. Buying more during the dips is what saved me in the past. Hard to do though.
 
I agree with Neil, diversity.

Also, like John, I picked up 500 shares of Ford at $8.50. I almost sold half at $17, but decided to hold it long term.

If you own Lucent, pick another stock.
 
I almost forgot:

The stocks that I lost the most on are the ones that I bought on the fly (so to speak), I mean on a whim....anyone remember Webvan? (used to be home grocer?) Went to zero. Enough said. Starfire?....

The stocks that have brought in the most are the stocks that I know something about, our know the region. You guys know I go to China a lot. First when I went, there was NO way I would have invested in China....but the first time I went I felt something vibrant in such a "young" economy...no shoot. Not for the faint of heart but...such a huge potential.

There are some 23 Chinese stocks now traded on the NYSE. Last year they provided a boost for my portfolio. ACH, PTR, SHI, CHA....I'm not naming the companies (too lazy to type, but look the symbols up
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) China stocks in 2003 = +159%, S&P500 = +26%......I've sold some, but I could have done better. Maybe too late.

SPIDers are a good way to go. Mentioned here: Should I sell my Exxon/Mobil?
 
I have to disagree with some of the posts here! There is no better place to put your money than in the markets! We are coming off one of the worst bear market in many years! Notice I said "coming off" which means a bottom is in place in this latest "dip cycle". Case in point the Nasdaq is up from its lows in March from about 1100 to 2100! The Dow is up from around 7400 to 10500 in the same period! Those numbers should speak for themselves!

On to individual stock issues. The big thing with picking stocks is research and as Pablo mentioned buy the companies you know and use. You need to research, research and watch the movement of price. You will set aside a certain amount to invest in specific stock, such as for ease of learning, $5000. You will divide that number into quarters. Each quarter will be used to establish a position. You will buy on the DIPS on a stock that is trending UP! Charts will clarify this. Learn Charts! If you don't know about charts you need to start! You will hold the stock as long as the trend is in your favor. It could be 1 years, 3 years, whatever. If it breaks down you get out! Case in point, don't hold long positions in a bear market like we just went through! You will get destroyed unless the stock is countering the trend! Thats what a bear market fund is for or a short position. We are in a growth phase now!

If you do your research and stick by the RULES you should have no problem with a triple digit return in your money! A 10% return per month is not unreasonable and easily achieved once you have a grasp of it. Start small!

Another word of CAUTION! Only invest money that you do not need! The money used should be what is alloted out for your investment account. As mentioned above you should be diversified in REAL ESTATE, STOCKS, CASH, etc...

Last Z a link so you can start your journey!
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The link has a bunch of information on how to read charts. Don't expect to learn overnight!
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Good info on the left under TACTICS.

http://www.hardrightedge.com/


Just so you know my wife and I are traders. We follow technical analysis exclusively and are in the market 98% of the time whether we are long (up) or short (down). We trade on average 3 times per day. We dropped it down to 3 since 12 was getting stressfull and time consuming.
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We are momentum, swingtraders and scalpers. It all depends on what the markets are telling us which effects our decisions on the length of holding.

The average joe only needs to trade 1-12 times a year.


Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, Impulse Red, Peppy 2.7 Liter 4 Banger, Running Mobil1 Synthetics SS 5W-30.
ODO 6600 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner, Evergreen, 3.0 V6, Running Mobil1 Synthetic SS 10W-30.
ODO 82600 Miles. (Switching to GC next)Nope sticking with M1.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

[ January 16, 2004, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: Amkeer ]
 
I wrote and want to clarify:

quote:

For mutual funds, one thing I have learned since 1980 or so, don't fall in love with one family. Like all families there are winners and losers. Last years winners are exactly that.

What I mean is: don't just pick one fund company and choose your funds from that company only. Every family and company has it's perky perfect members and it's almost dead funds. Most people just go to AcmeXYZ Funds and chose 4 or 5 funds from their list....OR hear that REIT, or Dividend Growth or International funds are BEST so they drop their wad there and check back next year....

Plus: as they say, past performance doesn't make for future happiness....

so DITTO - knowledge is the KEY!
 
Hey guys....quick update!

Well, I bought another 200 shares of Lucent about 1 hr ago for a total of 376. I instantly made a couple of bucks. I know Lucent is very risky so I "tried"
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to set a "limit sell" at $4.50 just in case the stock suddenly sinks for whatever reason. Anyway, I don't know what the hell I did, but I eneded up selling everthing by accident
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I was pissed like a mo-fo....*&&%^%
Anyway, I bought 190 back, but will now have to wait until my unsettled cash settles.
I probably lost a good $100-300 in the f-up and by the time I buy more.
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[ January 16, 2004, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: Last_Z ]
 
Yeah...Ameritrade.
I'm still pissed and I think I'm gonna unload on JB
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