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.

If any of you think that I am NOT an amateur investor, then after THIS story, I am sure I shall have you convinced!  The other thing about this story is that it is so EMBARASSING.  I mean, when you BLOG, you do it all publicly.  All of your OOPS and SHUCKS and 'didn't mean to do THAT...' if you know what I mean :).  I am entirely human.  And I can really err :).

Yesterday, I got all excited about the Cytyc acquisition and decided to sell my remaining shares of Cytyc which being acquired, were sort of unlikely to appreciate much from their elevated point anyhow.  So I went looking at the top % gainers list, as I am prone to do.  And boy was I excited.  I had written up Baldor (BEZ) a couple of times and really liked their numbers and it was on the top % gainers list!  Cleverly thinking about my 1/7th sale figures (being rather quick with the '7's tables' in multiplication in school), I decided to buy 140 shares of Baldor.   And I wrote it up on the blog and shared it with all of you with a big :).  Sort of like that kid that stuck his thumb in the pie and pulled out a plum and said what a good boy am I....or however that nursery rhyme goes :).

O.K. so this morning I check my Fidelity account and see not 140 shares but 280 shares of Baldor.  Boy did THEY mess up I figure and emailed them right away.  HOW could they mess up like THAT???  To follow up on this, I got a representative on the line and shared with him my apparent observation of a Fidelity screw-up.  What did they do? I wanted to know, Enter that purchase twice?  Fortunately the cooler-headed representative walked me through my own account and low and behold, I ALREADY HAD PURCHASED BALDOR SHARES TWO WEEKS AGO when sold my portion of UEIC.  YIKES. 

O.K., to make a short story long, I sold 140 shares of Baldor, and checking the lists of top % gainers, came across another favorite, Mesa Laboratories (MLAB) which I had previously written up on Stock Picks Bob's Advice on January 12, 2007, making a nice move higher today.  Mesa reported 4th quarter 2007 results this morning that were very strong.  The stock moved very strongly higher and I picked up 210 shares of Mesa at $24.00/share.  As I write this up, Mesa is trading at $24.00, up $5.50 or 29.73% on the day.  I hope the stock can hold this sharp gain and not shake me out on the profit-taking :).  Wish me luck.

MESA LABORATORIES (MLAB) IS RATED A BUY

While I am at it, let me update you on another sale.  My Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) hit a 180% appreciation level and a little earlier today I sold 45 shares of my 315 share position (1/7th) at $20.84. Meridian (VIVO) was purchased 4/21/05, and has a cost basis of $7.42/share.  Thus, this partial sale represented a gain of $13.03 or 175.6% after expenses (this was at a bit over 180% appreciation before commissions, etc. 

Normally with a partial sale at a gain, I would be 'eligible' to add a new position.  However, with LOTS of margin, I have capped my portfolio at 20 positions and this small sale will be used to help reduce the significant margin level.  When I get a chance, I shall need to update you on my current Trading Account holdings and all of the margin, etc., held in the account.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  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, please be sure and visit my Stock Picks Podcast Website, where I discuss many of the same stocks I write about here on this website.

Bob