Anything wrong with selling a stock for a $200 gain?

[The motor guy]

I mean $200 is $200 imo. Say you have $12,000 in a stock and it goes up $200-$250 shortly after you buy it. Anything wrong with selling it? I don't other than just making sure the accountant doesn't charge too much to process the taxes on it. Usually I'll hang onto a stock longer than a 2 or 3 days and see what it does and i'll wait until it has a $500 or $600 dollar gain before selling it.

 

[Imp4]

Gibberish....

What are your goals?
Asset allocation?
Tolerance for risk?
Time horizon?
Tax bracket?
Etc...
Etc...
Etc...

Do you post at Bogleheads and ask what they think about you oil change interval and moly content???

 

[Mr Nice]

Yes, sell it and enjoy the gain.

 

[KrisZ]

Sell it, spend $1000 and reinvest.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Sometimes a bird in the hand is better than 12 in the bush that fly away. Capital gains are nice though.

 

[ecotourist]

You sound like a trader, and not an investor.

The real money is made with long term holds. For an investor, the ideal time to hold onto a stock that you bought (for the right reasons) is forever.

Of course a good stock goes up, how can it double or triple if it doesn't. If you sell a quality stock every time it goes up, you'll miss all the future gains.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted by ecotourist
You sound like a trader, and not an investor.

The real money is made with long term holds. For an investor, the ideal time to hold onto a stock that you bought (for the right reasons) is forever.

Of course a good stock goes up, how can it double or triple if it doesn't. If you sell a quality stock every time it goes up, you'll miss all the future gains.




I disagree. I've seen stocks go up 80 dollars over a 20 year period, then year 21 ends and the stock is back to $15 where it started.

 

[The motor guy]

My theory is don't be greedy. Sell when the feeling is right.

 

[Alfred_B]

The tax treatment is different based on length of time owned... it can be taxed as regular income if held for a short time, or at a much lower rate as a capital gain if held longer.

 

[ediamiam]

Day trader mentality?

 

[zzyzzx]

It's better than losing money.

 

[mk378]

Securing a 2% gain in 2 days is an excellent annual rate of return.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted by mk378
Securing a 2% gain in 2 days is an excellent annual rate of return.


Yep. A lot of times I've said, lets give it a couple more days and see what happens and find it drops down by half.

 

[danez_yoda]

Simple rule:

You never go broke booking profit.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted by motor_oil_madman
I mean $200 is $200 imo. Say you have $12,000 in a stock and it goes up $200-$250 shortly after you buy it. Anything wrong with selling it? I don't other than just making sure the accountant doesn't charge too much to process the taxes on it. Usually I'll hang onto a stock longer than a 2 or 3 days and see what it does and i'll wait until it has a $500 or $600 dollar gain before selling it.


Your question is meaningless without context.

I mean, $200 is $200.

But it might be a 0.01% gain in a true portfolio, in which case, it's noise...

Nothing at all to celebrate, worry over, or sell.

 

[SZR48207]

Go for it

 

[bubbatime]

Whats the transaction fee for the trade? That would wipe out some gains. Short term gains are taxed differently than long term gains.

 

[Astro14]

Look, if you're looking to harvest $200 gains, then you're in control of either a very, very modest portfolio, or you're working with play money. Buying and selling for fun.

If your intent is to move beyond the above, then this must be reinvested.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

No do not sell. (unless you are in financial trouble)

That is only a 2% gain, then taxes and fees.

That is like a CD rate... The market is HIGH right now, so no buying unless you find a undervalued stock, maybe Boeing.?

I am a private investor and put money into companies that support good ethic values and culture. I would like to buy more Gold and Silver, but not at these prices!
I use Charles Schwab, but that was because my 401k did not have a brokerage account option at that time, it does now, but why use it now?

 

[Mr Nice]

If recession hits.... won't gold and silver jump in prices ?