Hello Friends! I wanted to pass on a trade today that I just did in my "Trading Portfolio". I just sold my last 225 shares of RAD at $3.71. One thousand shares were acquired at $2.62 12/19/02, so I have held them almost two years. In fact, they really DON'T fit into my investment strategy on this blog but I have held them and managed them the same way. Thus, I made $1.09/share or 41.6%.
If I was ahead so much why did I sell? RAD is currently trading at $3.72, down $.83 or 18.24% today. They dropped because of a management announcement that sales for the year ending Feb. 26, 2005, would be between $16.9 billion and $17 billion with same store sales up 2.75% to 3.25%. Previous guidance was for sales between $17.1 and $17.3 billion with same store sales up 3.75% to 4.75%. With the cutting of estimates, the stock tumbled.
This was not my first sale. I sold 400 shares at $3.77 5/6/03 for a gain of $1.15/share or 43.9%. I then sold 150 shares 6/16/03 at $4.33 for a gain of $1.71/share or 65.3%, 150 shares on 9/3/03 for $4.93 for a gain of $2.31/share or 88.2%, and 75 shares at $5.93 for a gain of $3.31 or 126%. Today, with the decline dropping me below my 50% retracement of the last gain, I pulled the plug and let RAD go.
Currently I am down to 17 positions in my Trading Account. I plan on a maximum of 25 positions, but will wait until I have sold a portion of one of my holdings at a gain before adding another position.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Please remember that I am an amateur investor so please consult with your professional investment advisor before acting on any information on this website. If you have any questions, comments, or words of encouragement, please feel free to email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com .
Bob