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Penny Stocks can be a very effective way to provide you with a secondary income. They can be used to create passive income because they do not require you to be constantly watching over them. The problem that most people have when it comes to stocks is – not knowing the right time to sell.
Penny Stocks can rise very quickly but they can also fall quickly too. The reason that most investors hold onto a stock is because the fail to separate their emotions from their actions.
All of your penny stocks buying and selling should, of course, be based on sound research both of the market and the companies recent history. How the company is doing in terms of profitability, whether they are just about to, or have just announced profits, losses or new patents, discoveries and products, can all affect your decision on whether, or not, to buy.
Knowing the right time to sell your penny stocks however can sometimes seem, as much an art as a science, although getting it wrong can be fatal. Many people seem to put all their research efforts into knowing what penny stocks to buy and when to buy them.
Investors seem to forget about researching to sell stocks. Instead, they let their emotions take control and sell at the wrong time. Investors selling at the wrong time fall into two categories. These categories are, The Runners and The Sitters.
The Runners like to take profit way too early. They see their Penny Stocks rise a little and sell because they dont want to risk too much. Ive seen it time and time again; these people set out to earn a 25% Return on Investment and end up taking profit at 1%. Someone who takes profit twice at 25% earns a lot more than someone who takes profit twice at 1%. Usually, as soon as they sell a penny stock, it will rise even further and theyll be wondering why they sold so early.
The Sitters are the heavily emotionally involved in their penny stocks. They are gamblers at heart and just do not want to let go of a losing position because it could bounce back any day now. When they do let go of their Penny Stocks – there is virtually nothing left. The sitters like to sit on a losing position. They like buying but dislike selling.
Do you want to be a Runner or a Sitter? Well, I hope you are neither. You want to be a winner. A winner will separate their emotions from their investment thinking and will also research when buying and also when selling. They will buy and they are not afraid of selling.
There is great deal of profit to be made from trading in Penny Stocks. But you have to know not only what to buy but also how long to keep it and when the best time to sell. The answer, as with most things in the world of finance, is good information and research. But that doesnt end when you buy. Find out why your penny stocks are rising and this will put you in a much better position to know when to sell.
Penny Stocks – Turn Your Pennies Into pounds
We’ve all heard about the investor how bragged about his 100% or 1000% return on a stock or about the guy who made it rich by investing in small caps, undiscovered stocks that made it big. In theory, it seems to be too easy. Invest in a couple of penny stocks, then sell them when they move up. Unfortunately, it is too easy. Too easy to lose money unless you know what to look for.
First, lets have a look at what types of companies trade on the OTC BB or Pink Sheets.
Stocks that no longer trade over 1 on the Nasdaq
These include companies that fell from grace (Enron). While it is possible that they may see better days in the future, the odds are stacked against them. Its usually best to avoid trading these stocks. If you feel that the temptation is too much, wait until the stock begins to rebound. If you try catching a falling knife, you will get hurt.
New Start Ups
Every year there are hundreds if not thousands of companies who decided to go public. Whether they need the money to expand their business, or are looking to cash out their equity, its a natural progression for a company with a compelling story, and a great track record to go public. While many of these companies will file for an IPO, many others will start off trading on the OTC BB as a penny stock
Second, lets look at some tips to help the penny stock trader avoid making costly mistakes.
Due Diligence
Stocks listed on the Pink Sheets don’t have to file annual or quarterly statements. This makes starting your due diligence difficult. Often, the information is sketchy at best, and typically, its biased. You should expect a shareholder to say good things about the company. If the company didn’t have potential, they wouldn’t be holding it. Or, they might be hoping to unload their shares and hope to talk you into buying.
Stocks listed on the OTC BB file annual and quarterly statements. This provides some measure of financial success. You’ll find most penny stocks lose money, whether through managerial incompetence, or research and development. The key is to identify the companies whose management has a record of consistently making money, or at the very least, delivering on their business plan, and decreasing expenses.
Penny Stock Newsletters
Being a writer for The Leading Source (http:www.1source4stocks.com) puts me in a biased position when speaking to penny stock newsletters. Here’s what I can tell you: be careful! Check the disclaimer for the amount the newsletter is being paid to carry the profile. Are they being paid in cash or in shares? You’ll likely find a corelation between the number of shares they are being paid, and the rating on the hype meter. Does that mean that you should avoid any stock where the company is paying IR professionals in shares? No. Just keep in mind that they are selling a story, and if they sell the story to other shareholders, they will gain. This is not a problem if you get in early, but could be a problem if you aren’t able to jump in right away.
Take a look at the track record of the newsletter. Have they profiled winners? Do they state the facts, or state the hype? Do they also offer unpaid stock profiles? If they do, you’ll likely find that they do their own research in all companies, and are looking to ensure that they aren’t passing a weak stock your way just to pay the bills.
If a company is paying an IR professional money to profile a stock to its subscribers, should you avoid it? Of course not. Think of the payment as advertising. They are promoting the company, and trying to get exposure. Like any company, the only way to get exposure is through some method of advertising. So dont dismiss a paid profile as hype. Keep it in the back of your mind while you are reading the profile, but pay attention to the profile. You may find a diamond in the rough that no one has discovered.
Volume
If you want to make money, you have to be able to buy and sell enough shares to lock in your profit, or protect your capital. If ABC company’s daily volume is only 500 shares a day, it may take you several days to accumulate a position worth taking. If there is bad news, who is going to buy your shares? If the volume is low, stay away. Its not worth it. If you feel that strongly about owning the company, consider contacting the company directly and working out a deal.
Buy Results, Not the Story
If you buy the hype, odds are, you will end up being the last one to own the shares, while everyone else has sold off their position. Look at a company, take a look at what their business plan was, and confirm if they have followed through on that plan. Were they successful? Did they bring a product to market on time? Did the company follow through on its acquisition strategy in the manner they set out? The hype might get you a quick pop, however, unless you are watching your trading screen every second of the trading day, you will miss out.
Size matters
There are thousands upon thousands of penny stocks. The size of your position should not be anymore than 2000 – 3000. While this may not seem like much, keep in mind that its not unusual for a 0.10 company to drop to 0.05. That’s a 50% loss. If your position is 10 000, a 50% haircut leaves you with only 5000. Keep your losses to a minimum. If the company has done well, and you are up, either take your profits off the table, or add to your position, and be sure to reset your stop loss so as to protect your previous profits. Capital preservation is the key to successful trading.
Have a plan before you buy. What are your reasons for buying. What is your exit strategy? Where is your stop loss? At what point will you take your profit? Write down these answers before you place that buy order.
Penny stock investing can be profitable. Remember, you are taking larger risks than you would if you were purchasing shares in a bank stock. That risk can be rewarded with returns that you cant get with a bank stock, or, it will be met with a large loss and a bad taste in your mouth for investing in penny stocks.
Do your homework, don’t believe the hype, and protect your capital.
Note: The Leading Source provides its subscribers with both paid and unpaid profiles. Follow those tips and you will watch your pennies grow into pounds.
Penny Stocks can be a great investment, but you have to know what to look for, or sometimes more accurately, what to look out for. Buying Penny Stocks based on a recent email you received, or what you heard from someone you barely know, is not usually a good idea. Penny Stocks have historically been a source of wealth for many investors, but conversely have been the source of countless lost small fortunes. Determining what is good advice, mixed with all the hype, can sometimes be a very difficult process. You don’t have to be a stock market guru or brilliant investor to make a killing with Penny Stocks, but you do have to be willing to do your homework, and use a great deal of common sense to stay alive when you are swimming with the sharks in what can be dangerous waters.
There are many great small companies in existence today, struggling to stay afloat, that are tomorrow’s rising stars. Without the capital to grow and expand very few of our current generation of conglomerates would be more than a forgotten flash in the pan. Selling shares of a company can inject the needed capital into a niche business that may take it into the next level. However not all, if not most, of these tiny corporations will be around for very long. This creates an interesting situation for us, the investor or speculator. While the company in question may not be worth much today, what might that company be worth tomorrow? Hence the term speculation, which is the lifeblood of any Penny Stock trader.
Unfortunately, within this world there are a few unseemly characters, who seek to part you from your hard earned pounds. And, they will go to nearly whatever means is necessary to achieve their goal. PR firms, or Investor Awareness firms, are sometime hired to promote a small corporation’s stock in hopes of raising the share price. This in itself is not necessarily a sign of ill intent. Many times a small company may be very good at what it does, but for whatever reason finds itself unable to generate enough press interest in their successes to generate buying activity of their stock shares. However, this is occasionally done with the sole purpose of raising prices rapidly in an attempt to make quick profits on a very hollow company, one that has no real market or solid foundation. Hence the phrase, pump and dump. Pump and dump in a nutshell means, exaggeratedly “pumping” up the company in question with the primary intent of “dumping” their shares once the share prices begin to rise.
What can you do to protect yourself from being caught up in a pump and dump scenario? Most importantly you must use your own due diligence to wade through the hype. Ask yourself a few basic questions about the company in question. Are they making money? Are they creating new products? Are these new products going to be valuable in the future? The rules for trading Penny Stocks aren’t much different from those of trading large cap stocks. However, the risks can be much larger, but the rewards can be as well.
If you aren’t willing to do at least a bit of homework, investing in any stock is not a good idea. Never rely entirely on anyone’s advice, especially when dealing with Penny Stocks. But, if you take the time to research your investments, investing in Penny Stocks can be a very financially rewarding experience.
If you are looking are thinking that Penny Stocks are a Get Rich Quick Scheme, Im sorry to disappoint you. Although great fortunes can be made from penny stocks, people can also lose everything they invest in Penny Stocks. The most important investment you can make at the start of your investment career is to invest in education.
Why Education and not stock?
Diving head first into the stock market is a great way of losing your money which is why we dont recommend it. The best thing to do is to read, read and read some more before investing. One of the best places to get free information on penny stocks and trading methods is from the internet.
Forums, websites, news sites and eBooks are a great way to improve your penny stock investment education. There are some great books that you can borrow from libraries or purchase cheaply from shops.
When reading on the internet, please be cautious of stock recommendations and strategies and methods. Stock recommendations and opinions from internet forums can be biased and cannot be fully trusted without doing your own research. Similarly, eBooks with strategies which promise great returns usually do not work as suggested. The reason for this is, even if the strategy worked well for the author, there is no guarantee that it will work for everyone else because everyone is different although you may learn something that you did not already know.
Google News has a business section which is group for free up-to-date information on stocks. Yahoo Finance also has good news section and also provides free charts and company information.
No matter who you get advice from, whether its from a financial consultant or friend, you should always carry out your own additional research. You should make decisions based on facts rather than opinions.
When you feel confident enough you can try some test trades. You can either keep a record of your trades on paper or you can use a stocks simulator website where you invest with fake money. There is a website called Champion Investor (ChampInvest.com) which is great for this purpose as it also calculates profits and losses automatically. Also, if you the top performer of the month, you will be rewarded with 1000.
Using a stock simulator means that you will not lose your hard-earned cash if you make a bad investment. Instead, you will learn not to do it again without losing your money.
If you are consistently able to make a profit with your test trades then you can move onto the real thing. Keep your investment strategy exactly as it was when you were making profitable test trades, but instead of using fake money, you will be using your own money through a stock broker.
So, to summarise – if you are looking to get started in penny stocks, please do not dive in head first without investing your education first.
Investing in Penny Stocks – How To Make Huge Profit From Small Beginnings
Investing in penny stocks is all about defining the rules and playing by them as all of the big time investors have before you.
Big time stock traders and investors have played by the rules and started out small, or even very small, swearing by a defined set of rules that basically state they will not continue any cycle of failing that loses them money, over and over.
Losing money instead of learning these rules is something that is unacceptable and potentially crippling to a new investor – even though your brain is trying to tell you that “Heck, it doesn’t matter, they’re only Penny Stocks after all!” (Damn you brain!!)
However, follow a few simple rules and you should be ahead of the penny stock investing game.
Number One and MOST important – Never, ever, under any circumstance borrow money to invest; this is possibly the biggest rule to stay out of investment trouble.
Yes, I know! You think you have the upper hand with some inside information that could help you build a huge portfolio in no time!
So have thousands of others before you – and they were all WRONG!
Please, dont jump on a story with the only answer being borrowing money. If you start to lose money on the stock market, then the debt repayment will come directly out of your pocket. If this happens, trust me – you are now in big trouble.
Even if you begin to make money then you will be spending it to repay the loan instead of saving or reinvesting the funds. This money will stand by and haunt you as you continue to try to make a living off of the stocks you are trading.
Always save up to be able to invest as a rule of thumb, debt will be chased until you finally catch up by being farther behind than you were to begin with.
DON’T DO IT!
Investing in profitable companies is a big rule to keep in mind when investing in penny stocks. I know that reads and sounds awfully silly and a waste of breath but believe me – sometimes people simply invest in a company without determining if the company is profitable or not.
Either they like the name itself – or the product service the company offers – or even they know a cousin of the manager of the typing pool and reckon it’s keeping it in the family!
Dont be the sucker that buys a stock and then tunes in to the television or logs on to the internet to see that its quarterly earnings are down and its revenue per share is dropping like a four-ton boulder of the Empire State building – very hard and very fast!).
Find information on how to find a profitable company, it is readily available on the internet, and then determine which company to invest in. Guides for how to evaluate companies, their accounts declarations and markets are readily available.
Also, do all of your homework, research and analysis before you buy a stock that is not garnering any type of attention.
One of the most important things for investors to look at is volume, anything less than one million shares per day is not worth touching. It is a pointless task to purchase a stock that is trading 9,000 shares a day because it will be nearly impossible to sell once you are ready to do so.
Stocks need attention to have liquidity, which basically means that for it to sell it must have value. Dont be stuck with a rising stock that you will be unable to sell later. Don’t just thinkof all the lovely profit you’ll generate – think about the mechanics of actually being able to realise that profit. After all – so what if you’ve made 1.20 per share in three months – if you can’t actually sell them!
Oh – and in case you forget! DON’T BORROW MONEY FOR INVESTING!!