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.
As part of my effort at transparency, I try to report on any trades that I have personally done in my own trading account. You can see more about my own holdings and activity on my Covestor Page where Covestor review my trading activity. To make a long story short, a few moments ago I sold 33 shares of my Meridian Bioscience (VIVO) stock at $29.94, representing 1/7th of my 232 shares, when VIVO hit a sale point on the upside.
I purchased Meridian (VIVO) on 4/21/05, at a cost basis of $7.42/share. Thus, these shares were sold with a gain of $22.52 or 303.5% appreciation since purchase. The 300% level is a targeted appreciation point for me. Currently, after a purchase, I sell shares if a stock hits 30, 60, 90, and 120% appreciation, then 180, 240, 300, and 360% appreciation levels. This was indeed the 7th partial sale of VIVO since my original purchase, having sold shares all along the way as the stock has been rising in price.
When shall I sell shares next? On the upside, I plan on selling 1/7th of my remaining shares if the stock should rise to a 360% appreciation level or 4.6 x $7.42 = $34.14/share. On the downside, my strategy is to sell if the stock should decline to 1/2 of the highest point at which a partial sale has been made. Having now sold a portion at a 300% gain, this would mean that if the stock should decline to a 150% appreciation level (working out to $7.42 x 2.50 = $18.55), then I would plan on selling ALL remaining shares. I also reserve the right to sell all shares if any fundamentally bad news is announced about the company.
In addition, sales on appreciation, like the current VIVO sale is a 'signal' for me. I use 'good news' like sales on appreciation as a signal that the market is o.k. to put another toe into equities, that is, to buy a new position, since I am at 15 positions, well under my maximum of 20. (Sales on 'bad news' like declines are indications to 'get out of the water' and I don't reinvest those proceeds.)
Like I so often say, "that nickel is burning a hole in my pocket already!" With that permission slip, so to speak, I shall now be on the prowl for a new stock, perhaps one of my old favorites, on the top % gainers list to add to my own holdings. Wish me luck!
Bob