Haven't seen any interest in scooping up more SSII before the earnings. I'm still on the fence and waiting to see if the newly rejuvenated small-cap investors have dug down far enough to find the SSII's in the market.
Saw your posts on the CNTR and DSYS threads. I almost jumped in CNTR until I saw the balance sheet was carrying negative equity. Too rocky for me, and supposedly having the greatest new Web server in the universe is not going to lift a small cap out of obscurity when MSFT and others are taking on the server market in a much BIGGER way.
"Stop orders" -- I neglected to put in stop orders for several small caps I bought in late February and I literally paid the price. Some have recovered, some not. Basically a stop order is a standing order to sell a stock at the current market price if a target price is reached.
An example: I bought GEMS yesterday at 13 3/8. After the sale was confirmed, I entered a stop sell order at 12, with a Good Til Cancelled qualification. If GEMS does a sudden reverse and the price reaches 12, my stop order will become an open market order and my shares will be sold at the current bid price (which may be under 12 by the time it is executed). So I hope my maximum loss will be 1 3/8 plus commissions.
If a stock really crashes due to bad news and opens below your stop price, your stop order won't guarantee that you get your target price. If GEMS opens at 6 tomorrow, my shares will be sold at 6. The only way around that is a "stop limit" order which specifies selling the shares ONLY at the target price. In that case I would still own my GEMS shares at 6.
Since last week's runup, I put firm stops below most of my small cap stocks (usually 15 - 20% below my purchase price). I've had a very nice ride on the NVLS express and I don't want to see my profits eroded by a sudden turnaround or a big instititution dumping its shares and driving the price down 5-6 points in one trading session.
Being in Mauritius, I don't usually follow the market beyond the first 2-3 hours; but I sleep better with the stop orders in place.
If any of the above is incorrect, I invite a more experienced investor to correct me. Good luck. |
