Selling stocks that go nowhere

[skinner36]

Hi,

I have a general question for the forum.

How much time would you give stocks that show very little activity before you decide to sell them?

Regards

John

 

[prawn_86]

How long were you intending to hold them when you bought them?

Really, it depends on your strategy and what you percieve to be opportunity cost.

 

[nioka]

Hi,

I have a general question for the forum.

How much time would you give stocks that show very little activity before you decide to sell them?

Regards

John

If the fundamentals tell you that they are value then you hold and maybe buy more. If not, sell. Patience often pays off.

 

[Trembling Hand]

How much time would you give stocks that show very little activity before you decide to sell them?

About 5 minutes.

 

[tech/a]

TH no patience!!

For me a couple of days.
If its out of the money.
If its in the Money then for me it will depend on Range and Volume.

 

[MRC & Co]

Depends if you are investing or trading and on what timeframe. I.e. monthly chart, daily chart, intraday (such as TH).

I will give it a couple days if it does not move in my direction.

 

[CamKawa]

Nicked this from a book.

IF YOUR TRADE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE IN A GIVEN TIMEFRAME, IT’S TIME TO EXIT.

This rule relates to the theory of capital flow. It is trading capital that pushes a market one way or another. An oversupply or imbalance of buy orders will push the market up. An oversupply of sell orders will push the market lower.

When price stagnation is present (as typically happens many times throughout the trading session), the market and its participants are telling us that, at the present time, they are happy or satisfied with the prevailing bid and offer.

You don't want to be in the market at these times. The market is not going anywhere. It is a waste of time, capital and emotional energy. It.s much better to wait for the market to heat up a little and then place your trade.

 

[tech/a]

CamKawa

Can I borrow your glasses.

 

[CamKawa]

CamKawa

Can I borrow your glasses.

yer, that's just how the copy and paste came out.

 

[CamKawa]

Here’s some other words of wisdom that may help.

Time Stops

Many traders and investors say that if a position does not go in

your favor fairly quickly, then it probably will not. As a result,
another common stop-loss method is the time stop. The time stop
simply takes you out of a position after a fixed amount of time if
you haven’t made a profit (or made a profit above some arbitrary
level).​

One great trader said that he treated each day in a trade as an

entirely new day. If he could not justify getting into that trade on that
day, then he would simply close it out. This is effectively a time stop.
The choice to use a time stop is very personal. Don’t use one if
you are a long-term trader and have no way to get back in the market
should your big expected move suddenlv occur. Don’t use one
if you have trouble getting back into a position you have exited.
However, if you like short-term trading, then time stops are probably
an excellent addition to your arsenal.​

Before using time stops, however, check out their effectiveness

within the framework of your methodology. If you decide to use a
3-daytime stop, for example, determine the effectiveness of such a
stop. How often will a position do nothing for 3 days and then take
off? If you find enough examples to suggest that you could miss a
major move, then avoid such stops. However, if you find that they
only cut your losses faster, then by all means include them.​