Stock picks

[andyhilt27]

It seems that this place is as slow as the U.S. economy right now. Where is everyone????

I thought that I would liven things up and let you all in my quest to turn $100.00 into millions!!! Not possible you say??? It is not that difficult if you make one trade a week yielding a 10 percent return. The key is to reinvest your gains. Compounding an average of 10 percent weekly based on an intial investment of $10,000.00 would yield something to the effect of $1.42 million. I don't remember the exact figure....feel free to check my math.

Some of my picks will indeed lose. I have lost in the past. Let me look at my acct. quickly to give you exact prices. Ok here we go:

10/19/2005 12:22:50 Bought 115 F @ 8.3999
11/17/2005 10:36:57 Sold 115 F @ 7.67 8.6% loss

10/25/2005 12:59:18 Bought 20 SUNW @ 3.95
11/28/2005 15:46:18 Sold 20 SUNW @ 3.9 1.2% loss

11/17/2005 10:49:43 Bought 53 ADRX @ 16.46
05/17/2006 09:02:25 Sold 53 ADRX @ 23.2712 41.37% gain

05/17/2006 10:14:18 Bought 37 MLS @ 31.78
05/31/2006 09:37:47 Sold 37 MLS @ 31 2.5% loss

05/31/2006 09:54:50 Bought 50 NTGR @ 23.25
12/19/2006 15:12:19 Sold 50 NTGR @ 27 16.1% gain

10/06/2008 15:47:16 Bought 12 WVCM @ 8.7294
10/07/2008 14:15:04 Sold 12 WVCM @ 8.75 .24% gain
The WVCM trade should have been a 6% gain but I was tied up at work and could not sell it.

10/20/2008 09:58:29 Bought 13 SOLF @ 7.2794
11/04/2008 09:35:42 Sold 13 SOLF @ 9.45 29.8% gain

11/07/2008 11:51:35 Bought 24 ESLR @ 4.2994 waiting to sell on Tuesday



As you can see my gains dramatically increased once I knew what the hell I was doing. I will post my trades on here as a journal. The purpose here is not that of investment recommendations.

My next trade may be RTK if it moves closer to its breakout price.

[Elaine]

I love the idea of following this... I don't have the guts to risk anything in the stock market at the moment... so I can live vicariously through you. Btw, what is RTK?

[andyhilt27]

This is from their company profile on tdameritrade:

Rentech, Inc. develops technologies that transform under-utilized energy resources into an alternative fuel and chemicals. These energy resources include coal, petroleum coke, biomass, natural gas and municipal solid waste. Rentech has developed a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process for manufacturing diesel fuel and other fuel products. Its advanced derivative of the FT process, which the Company refers to as the Rentech Process, converts synthesis gas, referred to as syngas, derived from coal, petroleum coke, biomass, natural gas or municipal solid waste into liquid hydrocarbon products, including ultra clean diesel fuel, jet fuel, naphtha, specialty chemicals and other fuel products.

It will be a great play when alternative engery gets hyped this week by Obama. The charts are also moving towards a bearish reversal trend. It should take off at $.80.

[andyhilt27]

I love the idea of following this... I don't have the guts to risk anything in the stock market at the moment... so I can live vicariously through you. Btw, what is RTK?

Emotions have a lot to do with trading securities. Of course you shouldn't risk you entire networth in any one stock. If I had more capital to invest at the moment I would limit my gains to 10 percent or less and move on. But dealing with a hundred bucks the commisions already account for 10 percent.:D Lots of smaller gains, hopefully little losses, will add up to massive amounts of cash. Lots of homework to do too. It is money that is earned with very little physical input, but a lot of thinking.

[Elaine]

Sounds good to me. Go Andy!!! I'm with you in heart, mind and spirit... just not in $$$. And, when all is said and done, be sure to remember the little people you met along the way. :D

[andyhilt27]

Ok here is todays update.

I am still holding my postion in ESLR. I am down at the moment. It opened strong and I could have sold for a 14% gain from friday's purchase price. I am waiting for the NASDAQ to recover later in the week to sell for a larger gain.

RTK never met its breakout price of .80 and is now down. I will monitor this stock closer later in the week.

Andy's rule #1 of trading:

When the market is down do NOT watch your stocks. It only feeds your emotions to prematurely sell.

[andyhilt27]

Well after the last 3 days of crap on the street my current stock ESLR is down quite a bit. I have no doubt that the market will rebound at some point. Here is what I need to profit from this stock:

ESLR is a solar company. Alternative energy companies absolutely love it when oil goes up. Mid to upper sixties would be nice.

ESLR is also a tech stock on the NASDAQ. So I need a good day(s) for the tech stocks.

I most definitely would have sold monday had I owned $10,000.00 worth. That would have grossed me an easy $1400.00

So in short......with paying $9.99 a trade the gains have to be 25%. I may have to up my money to pull this off.

Anyone want to buy a Harley Davidson?:D

[Elaine]

That’s a “no” on the Harley… :)

I have a really stupid question… (i.e. Wallstreet for Dummies… along the lines of, “So, do I like have to stack my dog facing the same direction as all them other dogs in the ring? :rolleyes: ). Do stocks go down to $.00 in value… and, if they do, but you hold on to them, can they come back up again and be of value if the company rebounds? Or, does the company issue all new stocks if they come back? i.e., IF the stock goes down to nothing, does that mean the company can restart and issue all new stocks?

[andyhilt27]

If a stock goes to zero.....I would think that the company has gone completely under and is out of business. Meaning you as the stock holder just lost your ass.

All the research I have done (yes I have thumbed through Investing for Dumbies) does not answer this question. My boss a few months ago decided to invest a bit into penny stocks (stocks that trade for less than $2.00 per share) against my advice of course. He had shares in a company that has flatlined. He asked me, "Now what?" I said with a chuckle, "Stick a fork in it, it is done." He didn't enjoy my chuckle.

Now a more puzzling question that I don't have the exact answer to is: What happens when you are short on a stock and it goes to zero???

When you are short selling a stock you borrow the shares from a broker and immediately sell it in hopes that the price declines later. You are not borrowing money from the broker, you are borrowing shares. You then buy the stock at a hopefully significant lower price and pocket the difference in price. Obviously you can't buy something at absolute 0. Are you in debt to the broker at the last trading price or the price when borrowed?

[andyhilt27]

An update on my current position in ESLR.

ESLR gained 11% from its open price. I am still down. As oil climbs back Eslr should post a nice profit for me. A few good days on the market and I should realize my 25% gain.

Oil closed up today $3.00 per barrel putting it around $60.00. I need it around 65.00.