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Greetings to All:
I am new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself.
Like alot of traders, I am a disillusioned professional who wrestled his
money away from a traditional broker a few years back. I found out that
I pay more attention to my investments than he ever did. Result, I now
do better. I like to think that I have made every mistake in the world
when it comes to trading. Of course, that is not the case:
Here's an example: I bought NBR on a Thursday about two weeks ago based
upon my belief in the company and the fundamentals, regardless of the
analysts. I had trouble getting to sleep that night. In the morning,
my brother brought me out of a daze with a phone call at 8:20 central
time and said "NBR gapped up 3/4". So i thought man I need to trade.
(I'll take a .50 profit in less than 24 hours anytime). So, I stumbled
out to the office, turned on the PC, and tried to sip coffee while my
vision cleared. As soon as I was logged on, I went to the trade screen
(WebStreet). What I didn't understand my brother to say was that the
stock gapped up 1 1/2 to 14 3/4. Well, I got a little excited, (vision
still blurry, still medically asleep).
I placed my order. I received a notice that my order had been
received. (When a stock gaps up like this, I usually place my sale at
the current bid to move it). This long story shortened: I forgot to
change the trade to a SELL from BUY. I ended up buying another 1000
shares at 14 11/16. Thankfully, I did sell the first 1000 at 14 1/4,
and I was able to average the second 1000 down at breakeven. I lost a
$750 opportunity, a gift.
I track approximately 20 stocks religously spread between airlines, oil
services, retailers, and technology. I steer away from e-commerce
companies unless based upon solid brick and mortar operations. I will
not trade a stock unless the fundamentals and SEC filings are 100%
solid. I do not give alot of credence to analyst, because they are
driven by other factors and influences which IMHO tend to stray from
true basic analysis. Here are some of the things that I look for:
P/E preferably 10 to 15, up to 20
D/E under .8
SEC all filings on time, without nonsense
Mgt in line with business experience and business plan
Growth between 12 and 20%, less is insufficient, more is probably an
anomaly or at a minimum posing problems for continued expansion
Price between eight and $22
The most important factors for me are daily price action and volume.
Price action provides the opportunity to take advantage of daily highs
and lows, and volume provides the ability to sell a stock. My average
holding period is 1.3 days, and my average profit margin is 1.6%. I
like companies that do not have alot of news but show consistency. I
generally trade in blocks of 1000 to take advantage of small moves.
However, I have been known to take larger positions and wait. I am
currently tracking ALLC, BJS, NBR, PESC, CD, KM, HAST, RMDY (which I
should have trusted my instincts on), TWA, PAIR, and EVER.
My goal each day is to select four or five stocks to play. I attempt to
make 2% in each roundtrip. If you are about to make a mistake, I have
probably made it. I truly appreciate educated criticism and
suggestions. I call my approach "Grain of Sand".
Take Care
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