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 remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website.

I am a bit old-fashioned about my sales of stock at targeted appreciation levels.  That is, I don't do this automatically.  I just check my portfolio and when I see a stock hitting a sale point, I execute the trade.  Apparently, Bolt (BTJ), had a big trading day and moved higher, especially later in the day yesterday, hitting my first sale point without me realizing it!

This morning, Bolt was still above my first sale target (which is a 30% appreciation level) and I sold 1/6th of my holding, or 50 shares out of 300 shares, at a price of $23.18.   These shares were actually acquired just last month on 1/12/07, at a cost basis of $17.44.  So this represented a gain of $5.74/share or 32.9% since my purchase.

When will my next sale be?  On the upside, if Bolt hits a 60% appreciation target, or 1.6 x $17.44 = $27.91, then I plan on selling another 1/6th of my remaining shares or 250/6 = 41 shares, at that level.  On the downside, after a single sale at the first appreciation target, I plan on allowing Bolt to drift back down to its purchase price, or $17.44/share, prior to unloading all of my remaining shares. 

How does this affect my overall portfolio strategy?  Since I am at 16 positions, under my maximum of 25 holdings, this sale at a gain gives me a "permission slip" to add a new position.  As I like to say, that nickel is already burning a hole in my pocket!  So I shall have to examine the list of top % gainers today, and see if anything fits the bill!

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting!  I hope that my commentary is helpful to you!  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com.  If you get a chance, be sure and visit my Stock Picks Podcast Website, where you can hear me talk about many of the same stocks and issues I write about on this website!

Bob