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 advisors prior to making any decisions based on information on this website.

A few moments ago, I sold 23 shares (1/7th of my 162 shares) of my Ventana Medical Systems (VMSI) at $76.83.  This represented a gain of 227.4% or $53.36 from my initial cost of $23.47 for these shares which were purchased on 4/16/04.  I had already sold shares four times previously at 30, 60, 90, and 120% points and the stock hid the 180% appreciation level and went right through it with the bid from Roche.  (They are making a hostile offer for Ventana at $75/share). 

I have given thought to selling the entire position, but meanwhile, I shall continue to follow my own trading strategy and see how this plays out.  If I were under my 20 position maximum, this would be a signal to buy a new position.  However, I am at 20, and this offers me the chance to sell some shares and pay down my margin a small amount.

I am considering selling all shares, but since this is not a done deal yet, I do not know if there will be other bidders.  However, with this huge gain, the risk is that the entire bid falls apart.  But I believe that is unlikely.

Thanks again for visiting.  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them on the blog or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com.

Bob