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leaderoftheback (72.69)

Why play again?

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October 08, 2007 – Comments (3)

I came to CAPS because it's part of Motley Fool,  a serious endeavor if ever there was one.  I look for enlightenment, yet sometimes encounter the most basic foolishness.  This came home again via abat.ob.  I've seen this movie before, and played a part in it too...too many times with my own money.   What I see as truly regrettable is that there is at least one player who has at least one follower who I hope is not playing with real money.  If he is, he's gonna get burned.  It's all fine and in good fun to play with this sort of stock in a game, but if people are looking for guidance through that game, it's a little disappointing. 

 

I guess I won't win any prizes by getting a 100 score in 100 days, or any other of the lucky charms that would make me look a whole lot smarter than I actually am, but I do plan to retire from my day job one day.  Stocks the like of abat.ob will play no part.  

3 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On October 08, 2007 at 11:37 PM, MakeItSeven (33.15) wrote:

Why ask why :).  ABAT looks like a blow off today so I will red thumb it. 

Anyway, thumb positions are not like marriage propositions.  I got to the 300 score club thanks to CHNR and yesterday I turned around and red-thumbed it.

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#2) On October 08, 2007 at 11:39 PM, hall9999 (99.54) wrote:

  I appreciate your comments but feel that some explanation would be helpful.  Which "most basic foolishness" are you referring to?  What is the movie you've seen before?  What sort of stock is ABAT.OB?  What stocks is it like?  Are people being misled into losing hard-earned money on this stock?  Are you simply advocating slow and reliable stock over speculative stocks?

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#3) On October 09, 2007 at 8:44 AM, leaderoftheback (72.69) wrote:

Hi 99-

Your game is fun to watch, but I wouldn't put real money on it.  There is a comment from someone who should proceed with extreme caution, if at all (with real money).  That's what I was specifically responding to.  So from my earlier blog:

1. "read old discussion boards" "sharpen the BS detector".  Most recently I was looking at HOKU and noting where some newbies felt encouraged to make HOKU their very first stock purchase.  Overlay that date with historical prices and they may no longer be in the Market.  This is not to suggest that you are BSing, but others certainly are.

2. The movie (for instance...because I have owned at least 3 bankrupt companies now and this is just one): BRVO.OB- a company that I know from my business.   It was an obvious slam dunk after they made a deal with Coke.  Still, I couldn't make money on the stock. I bought more as the price declined, ultimately holding 20k shares.  It wasn't until I took a hard look at the 10-k that I could discern why.  This was about the time that the Mauboussin book came into my hands.  It told me why I should never average down.  I got out of the stock at .28, only to see it go back to .33, but now it's gone.  All in the space of about 18 months.  That's what I see for ABAT.

3. Are people being misled into buying it?  I couldn't say.  The only ones who might be able to say are the insiders.  They have provided little info to date.  That's no place for real money, but sure as the day is long, there's real money going in.

4. I have a number of volatile stocks...in fact all of them.   It is what I've learned to expect.  For stability, I have mutual funds. I have ADSX which went from 3 to 7 and now to 1, I have STKL which has been up and down, I have DRIV which I bought at 28, sold at 58, bought back at 50 and watched it tumble, I have TIVO which is in the money today, but who knows about tomorrow, I have CHK which I first got at 10 and have paid as much as 33...then there is VPHM...oy.  I started watching at 3, kicked myself when it flew to 20, bought in at 10, and if I'm in the black it ain't by much.   Gotta hang on for the ride...like I had OVTI which I bought at 12, watched it fly, "was in doubt so got out" back at 12, and 6 months later I'm out real money that I'd have if I'd hung on and had my BS detector sharp enough.

<>Thanks for reading and especially commenting on my blog.  I hope that by going through these exercises I become a better investor. 

Yours truly

Randy 

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