i always believed a good rule to follow is if you are unsure what to do and you have a profit, just take it. uncertainty leads to luck. RT
You have a nice journal and a nice play here, and I agree that X's charts look good on short / intermediate term. But I see no reason not to set a trailing stop to lock in some of your profits. I noticed that in your first post you didn't really have a plan to take profits. Are you more of a trend follower or a swing trader?
4X, Do you look at the volatility of price movement oever some period of time to set your stops? For example, if the average daily range for X number of days is Y, do you use some multiple of this average range to set stops? Thanks for your journal contributions!
tradre56 -- no, no volatility. I base my stops on previous support (long) or resistance (short) on the hourly or daily charts... i like to give it some room. I feel very confortable moving my stops to break even and giving the stock some good room to grow... i find that if you watch it too closely you tend to make your stops too tight...
cnms2, you´re absolutely right about the fact that I didn´t have a specific rule for profit taking... the most important rule I follow is to move my stop to break even as soon as possible. I then try to close 1/2 of the position when I have 2x my risk... the remainder, I let it ride.... so, essentially I´m a trend follower at this point... I´ve done some swing trading in the past but it didn´t really suit my personality... I was always leaving too much money on the table and it was very stressfull... I seem to make the same or more money by letting my positions grow.... All my positions in this journal are still currently open... and I´m on vacation in Brazil right now
I´m very satisfied with my results so far. Here´s a summary: Position............Unrealized P/L EXC (300) -10.50 UPS (200) -137.00 X (200) +705.00 Total unrealized P/L : 557.50 Total equity: 20,557.50
I like X. I'm a trend follower myself... I missed my entry signal on 12/22. Had I entered, (and I'd still be in as of today) I would've made an unrealized profit of $2200... Sigh... Good luck. I like how you are taking the time to take this seriously... keep it up and may your fills be complete.
Here's a quick update as of today: Position..Unrealized P/L EXC (300) +690.00 (+4.2%) UPS (200) -306.00 (-2.0%) X (200) +1,310.00 (+14.2%) Total unrealized P/L : 1,694.00 Total equity: 21,694.00 Charts X is behaving quite nicely so far. EXC is starting to gear up (IMHO) Plan Compliance So far I'm very happy with my ability to follow my plan. I'll take partial profits on X when it hits 57.00 or 20% approximatelly.