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 consult with your professional investment advisors prior to using any information on this website to make any investment decisions.
As you probably know if you are a regular reader of this blog, I have an actual "Trading Account" that I make actual investments and real trades based on strategy discussed on this blog and using investments also discussed here. I have my own set of trading rules that on first glance appear rather rigid, and actually on reinspection confirm that first impression! In a nutshell, I try to sell my losing stocks completely quickly, and sell my gaining stocks partially and slowly. My current goals for 1/4 position sales are at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240...% gains.
A few moments ago, I sold 50 shares of my 200 shares of Mentor Corporation (MNT), representing 1/4 of my position, at the first targeted price gain of 30%. The transaction price was a sale at $45.20 this morning. I purchased my 200 shares of Mentor at $34.37 on 2/3/05, and thus, I had a gain of $10.83 or 31.5% on these shares.
Since I am up to 25 positions, I shall be applying the proceeds to my considerable margin balance. If I were not in margin, I would be adding to my "cash" levels. If I were under 25 positions, my targeted size of my portfolio, I would be using the proceeds to add a new position, something I have done in the past, trying to "listen" to my portfolio telling me when to be moving into additional positions or moving out of equities into cash on sales of stocks on bad news. (or poor price performance).
Anyhow, I hope this discussion continues to be useful. I look forward to continuing to pay down margin while the stocks continue to appreciate in preparation for any eventual correction.
Bob