It’s been a quiet week and I have been having some issues with my blog. The home page loads quickly but the all other pages are taking extra time to load (much slower than normal). My host is looking into the issue as it is not the theme since it happens with every theme I try (not the plug-ins either). Let me know if anyone has a suggestion as to what it may be (mySQL, database, etc…?).
It’s the summer and volume is typically quiet and profits have been very handsome in 2007 so I started to sell shares yesterday in JASO. After doing my research last night, I have decided to take down at least half my position in four other holdings:
BIDU, EDU, LOOP and MA
See the attached charts to understand why I am looking to capture gains. I see many leading stocks showing some exhaustion signals and far too many of them are extended from their 200-d moving averages. I am not taking down my entire position as I would like to allow profits to run further if this up-trend has another leg. Some may think that is greedy but I am not concerned because my sell stops are in place so I won’t get hurt if they continue to reverse.
My plan is simple: realize a portion of gains while allowing for further gains but protecting what is left on the table. I am also taking profits because my objective in each trade above has been exceeded.
Leave a comment and let me know what you are doing with your positions (buying, selling or holding).
What you are thinking and what is your plan at this point in time?
The market is up 25-30% in the past year and I’m not so sure that is justified, making a lot more of what is out there premium priced.
I’ve taken money completely out of the market and applied it to debt instead and I’m holding cash that I’m not sure where to invest. Last year I’d get excited about stocks I was finding. I’m not finding much that I like and I am in no rush to buy anything just for the sake of being invested.
I bought BIDU around 108 and watched it shoot up to 212. With the pullback that occurred the past 3 days, I decided to take profits on half my position at 188 and then let the rest ride. I figure 70% in 3 months is pretty good.
The profit retracement is currently ~25% of the movement, and I figure that’s a good place to put a stop.
I am only holding AAPL right now and look to buy more if and when it pulls near its 50 DMA (on light volume). Heavy volume and I will take profits. Remember, the crowd is usually wrong and a lot of people are currently bearish.
Matt,
This is correct but I am happy I took profits last week (even though only partial in several holdings).
Terry, I closed my BIDU position completely.
> Terry, I closed my BIDU position completely.
That’s not a bad decision. I have opted to hold on because I think that the fundamentals for Baidu remain strong. When I first started trading, I used to think that I should sell when technicals break down, but some other books I have read lately (like Ken Fisher’s) say to hold on until the fundamentals start breaking down. My current method is a hybrid of the two.