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.
A few moments ago I sold my remaining 215 shares of Jones Soda (JSDA) at $23.55/share. I had purchased these shares just last month on 3/12/07 at a price of $18.22/share so this represented a gain of $5.33/share or 29.3% on the purchase.
Why did I sell? This sale was simply a result of the price movement of Jones more than any fundamental issue. It may well be a mistake to have sold this stock as I do not particularly see anything fundamentally wrong with the company. It is just an extremely volatile stock that hit my own sale target on the downside.
You may recall, if you follow this blog, that I have a very disciplined selling strategy for the stocks I own. I sell stocks slowly and partially on the upside at appreciation targets of 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, etc. % targets. On the downside, after an initial purchase I sell a stock if it declines 8%. If I have sold once at a gain, I allow the stock to go to break-even before unloading it. If I have sold the stock more than once, I allow the stock to go to 50% of the highest appreciation sale and then sell the remaining shares.
After purchasing Jones on 3/12/07, the stock quickly appreciated, and I sold 50 shares of my 300 on 4/4/07 at a 30% appreciation point, another 35 shares on 4/16/07 at a 60% appreciation point. With the stock now declining back to the 30% appreciation level, a sale was triggered (even if I do it manually!) to unload all of my shares. And I did.
I hope this was the right move. My strategy depends on disciplined trading and management of my portfolio. Time will tell if it is a good approach. I am not certain. But I intend to stick to my rules even if it does occasionally mean parting with a stock that later goes to higher price levels.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com.
Bob