Selling Stock - When To Sell

It has generally been observed that most investorsIt is important that you continuously update yourself
find it easy to make an investment decision butwith the performance of the company whose shares
when it comes to selling they find themselves in theyou have bought. In the financial world, too much of
dark. You may have purchased the shares after aa good thing may spell trouble. When you find that
careful analysis. Yet if the situation changes,the price of a share has gone beyond its true value,
warranting a review of your decision, you should notimmediately sense there is trouble. The best option is
hesitate to reconsider your policy. As an intelligentalways to sell when you find that the share is
investor, you should know when to sell your stock toovervalued, and buy it back when the market forces
book profits or to avoid loss. Selling stock is anbring about a correction. Remember selling an
integral part of the investment process. Go throughovervalued one makes more business sense than
the following arguments and then decide whetherbuying an overvalued share.
you wish to retain or sell it.Major changes in the company's management or
The fear of making a losspolicy
The primary reason why people hold on to theirIf there is a major overhaul in the policy or the
stock is that they are afraid to make losses. In amanagement of the company whose stocks you are
market, you make loss only when you sell it. Evenholding, take it as a signal to sell your stock This is
though the prices may have fallen, you do notbecause you bought it based on its fundamentals and
actually make a loss till you actually sell it. Beforeits sound business model. If there is a change on the
selling, research the market reports to ensurevery basis on which you make your decision, you
whether the fall is temporary, for example, it may beshould sell it. For example, if the company has a new
because of the cyclical nature of the company, orCEO, the person may take it off the direction it is
due to a one time factor. In such scenario, chancespresently pursuing.
are that the stock will pick up. On the contrary, if theAll said, if the share deserves to be sold, you should
performance has gone down due to more permanentnot worry about recovering losses, if any. Sell the
reasons, you should sell it. This way even though youshare, recover the money and invest in another
will make a small loss you will be spared from makingcompany with a better track record and a promising
a bigger one when the prices actually hit rockfuture - for this is what the game of investment is all
bottom.about.
Is the stock overvalued?