| First: Let's forget: Ron Perry, PR (or lack thereof), daily price swings, volume (or lack thereof), incubators, incubatees, IPO's. Let's focus on: revenue (from whatever source), profitability, number of shares, P/E ratio. The future (2001 or 2002): revenue, $27,000,000; shares, 27 million; profitability, 50% (before taxes), and a P/E of 50 or more. Then: Sweet Dreams. Even if one must wait two or three years. Now to your post. First, I bought a CD for 6.45% for six months; if rolled over two more times, then the same as my hypothetical. I am now very comfortably retired at age 55 and it is solely due to my investments (stock selection) since 1996. EMC, Qualcomm, Nokia, and CMGI did it. I had to hold them, 3 years for Nokia and CMGI, and 4 years for Qualcomm and EMC. A dozen of my friends invested in the same stocks, in the same (or greater amount), and at the same time as I did. None, not one of the twelve can even think about retiring. Why? Well, they all sold early and -- never got back in. They were over-joyed to make 50% or 100% return -- all that was annually. Then, with cash burning in the hot little (or big) hands, came: other stocks (down 65%), the summer home, the waterfront property (now near the Russian submarine Kursk), the Mercedes (daugher totalled), the SUV (still at the bottom of the ravine in Colorado, but lawsuit against insurance carrier to going well). So KISS worked for me and non-KISS did not work for them. Answer truly: If you bought INTA at 3 and got out at 6, would you go back in at 20? Have a nice weekend. |
