DISCLAIMER: I am long shares of SBOTF and may add to the position at any time.
”Even blind squirrels find an acorn every now and then”
OK, I know .. there is already plenty of discussion re Stellar Biotechnologies (SBOTF) on the site. Since Travis posted the tease from Nick Hodge in early July, the stock is up a hair over 100% (my Special Situation account sends many thanks for that one!). The reason I’m opening this thread is because the majority of comments from those of us interested or already invested in SBOTF are being posted under another wonderful – yet mostly unrelated – thread by Doc Gumshoe that talks about Alzheimers and possible causes/treatments/cures. Great stuff, but not fully germane to the topic of SBOTF. So, tho seperate the two discussions, I thought I’d try this so we can focus on each of the topics independantly.
That said, here’s some commentary about SBOTF that I have gleaned from the original tease, tracking the price action since July, reading member comments on this site, and studying anything and everything I can find about the Company and it’s product, Giant Keyhole Limpet Hemogobulin, a/k/a KLH.
First, a little peeve I’ve developed; the actual name of this animal that is the central focus of the business. I’ve noticed a trend of sorts by readers to refer to the Limpet as a ”snail”, ”escargot”, or something along those lines. While some may be using this as a light-hearted way of referring to the animal, it is not any of those. Please, use the proper name – as silly as it might sound. New readers could easily dismiss the entire idea and be misled otherwise. No disrespect meant to any who have done this, but I think it’s important we stay on track.
Now, some factoids for you.
If you haven’t done your due dilligence yet, the place to start is right here on this page. In the upper right you’ll see a box that says ”Teaser Tracking.” Click on that. The page that comes up is a list of the teases which Travis has posted over the past many months. Second from the top is the one re SBOTF. Some good tidbits of info right there. But what you want to do is look all the way over to the right and click on the link to the original tease posting. Open that and you’ll get the full story that Travis wrote when he first uncovered this tease (produced by Nick Hodge) and is a solid foundation of info about the company. Read it – two or three times to get an understanding of what SBOTF is all about.
Next, if you can find it, try and get a post that has the original video that Hodge did to tease the company with. In it, he (Hodge) interviews a couple of the company’s top executives and takes the cameras outside the room totalk with another employee about the ”farming” process that SBOTF has spent years and millions developing and patenting. You’ll get a pretty good visual inspection of the plant itself, the ”grow tanks”, and the Limpet. Good stuff. By the end you’ll have a fair overview of the company and what it does. FYI, the video tease runs about 40 minutes. It’s the first 25 minutes or so that will interest you. The remainder is what all teases consist of, overblown and repetitive pleas to get you to subscribe to the newsletter service that the promoter has to offer. Save yourself time and money by skipping that stuff.
A few takeaways from the video and additional research:
SBOTF has been around since the late 1990’s, working on how to extract the blood from the Limpet without killing them (they have done that and gotten patents on the process) and how to raise them in captivity in order to ensure a continuious supply of the animals to work with. This ”farming” process has, for the most part, been perfected and SBOTF can now raise them from fertilization of sperm and egg to maturity. They have a lifespan of some 30 years, and coupled with the patent-protected process they developed for extracting the blood without killing the Limpet, the company can now say with assurance that they can provide the Big Pharma with all the KLH they need to conduct clinical trials and produce the drugs they develop once FDA approval is granted. And – this is a big ”and” – they are the ONLY company in existence that can do this at the present time. The many patents they hold may ensure that to be the case for years to come.
Did I mention that KLH cannot be synthesized? So far nobody has been able to do that, so the supply of KLH from SBOTF seems to remain the only game in town.
Stellar Bio has yet to turn a profit. Sales and not much to write home about. That is mainly due to the small supply available and that SBOTF has focused on R&D in the past moreso than actual KLH production. That’s my best guess – I can’t verify that but seems to be the case. It is changing, however. The R&D is still in full swing, but the ability to produce and sell KLH is starting to ramp up as witnessed by increasing sales volume. It’ll take time but those increasing sales are coming.
In the wild (ocean floor), the Giant Keyhole Limpet has never been found ANYWHERE in the world other than in the small colony (estimated to be about 100,000 animals) which is just offshore from the Stellar Bio plant in Ventura County, CA. The enviromental community has been getting more and more concerned about the harvesting of the Limpets from this colony since there apparently aren’t any more around. Whisper talk about possible extinction have begun to surface, although no official governmental action regarding a ”protected specise” has yet been issued. This is why the farming of the animals has been crucial and why Stellar has such a leg up on any possible competition. If the Tree Huggers get hold of that idea, the ability to harvest the colony could – and probably would – be severely impacted.
Recent price and volume action has been fast and furious. As more and more people are becoming aware of the company by means of Hodges’ tease and thing such as this discussion, volume has had days that were near three times the average six months ago (175K shares average vs. some days now running around 500K). And most of this is upside volume indicating increasing demand for shares of a small float. This of course leads to highr prices as we are witnessing as I write.
For now, the gravy train is tearing down the track. The question is, when will demand for shares be curtailed as investor thirst for a bite of Limpet pie become satisfied? When will Nick Hodge back off this promotion, letting the press subside and therefore lessening investor awareness (the stock is not covered by any analyst, anywhere, that I can find, nor is it held by any mutual fund or investment management company). If and when this interest backs off, what effect will that have on the stock price? Trees don’t grow to the sky … or do they?
I can’t answer those questions. Just like you, I can only hold ’um and not fold ’um – yet. That day may come, and that is why I suggest anyone long the stock keep a DAILY eye on it. I’m making no prediction whatsoever about where the price will go over the next several weeks or months. In the interest of full disclosure, I have already taken some money off the table just to partially protect the quick profits I made since purchase. I sold about 30% of my initial position when that part became valued around 50% of my original investment. What remains is valued today right at the same $ amount I first put in. The amouunt I pulled out gives me full protection of some 50% of my original investment. Would I be better off today if I hadn’t done that? Yes. I would, because the price continues to rise. Will I be better of for having made thaat sale if the price stumbles and falls in the near future? Again, yes, I will – if the price falls. Some wise man once said ”you can’t go broke if you take profits” and I believe in that. Me, I don’t care for the idea of going broke, so I’m perfectly happy with this concept. No regrets about putting actual money in the bank, so to speak.
Comments? Concerns? Insights? Let the fun began!
Sincerely,
Your Resident Blind Squirrel
Jim Skelton
This is a discussion topic or guest posting submitted by a Stock Gumshoe reader. The content has not been edited or reviewed by Stock Gumshoe, and any opinions expressed are those of the author alone.
Watching the trend for the past two weeks–it looks good to stay all in at this point, but if the nerves are getting the best of you then sell your gain and keep your principal invested. No one can predict the future with certainty so locking in some gains at some point certainly helps avoid ulcers. The trend tells me that it will be another very good week, but there certainly will be some profit taking at some point and I loaned out my crystal ball a few years back and it was never returned to me : ).
May the Giant Keyhole Limpets continue to provide health and wealth to many.
Thanks guys, for the input. I personally think we are onto something big, but I do worry a little. Not losing sleep yet. Don’t Want to sell; like I said I’m more of a buy and hold type, through thick and thin unless something drastic happens.
In my heart of hearts I hope they make some blockbuster vaccines and other great things for society’s good – I really do. Cancer rates are out of control; and if they nailed a vaccine against Clostridium difficile I might just pass out. That superbug is so horrible and affects so many patients, many of them geriatric, and makes their lives miserable and screws up treating the condition that they came in for in the first place. So yes, I want everyone to live happily ever after, AND I’d like to see an awesome return. Is that really too much to ask from one microcap? 🙂 I’ll continue to hope and wait.
The journey continues Jana. Another good day. + volume/+price. I’ve taken some profit here and there but still maintain my core shares. I believe in Stellar and buy/ hold should payoff. Just be sure it is money you can lose. You never know with these types of endeavors.
Stellar currently up 500 per cent year to date and still zooming. I wish I had know about the company a year ago, but I will just count my blessings that I got in when I did.
Absolutely…lucky to be here.
I am glad I am a buy and hold investor on Stellar in @ .63 , today I am up 175.79 %. I purchased 6000 shares and wished I had sold some of my other positions and bought additional, however it is had to sell positions posting good returns as well. I think we may see the 5.00 mark, much sooner than later.
Congrats Deborah…you will continue to be rewarded. The shorts tried to jump on today and got bounced off the ship. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Sean, where do you get your short selling info? I’ve never really needed to know before, but I’ve never held a microcap before. Up 12% ; what do you think of that? Up 50% in 12 days… I’m thrilled and still a little nervous. What you said about not investing money you can’t afford to lose is good advice. I heard that many times growing up, along with “it takes money to make money” from my dad, who was a broker. He may be rolling over in his grave, but IMHO, the average investor has access to so much more information today than 30 years ago. This site if full of well-informed people who have spent time doing their own research, digging up facts from many sources. Amazing really.
I would LOVE to visit Stellar and look over their Limpet breeding grounds for myself, talk to employees, maybe the CEO … C’mon it would be fun -who’s with me??!!
Great question, Jana. I follow Level II intraday and make sure to identify the short positions or the trend, at least. ARCA was heavy with shorts a couple of weeks ago. I waitied for them to stop pressing and finally started buying again. I stopped purchasing at $1.57, ….for now. As for today’s shorts, there were a few in 2000 lots around the high $1.60s and they got squeezed. The chart Bopped + right after they shorted. it was hilarious to watch. It was at $1.80 in no time. You win some, you lose some. The shorts will have their day again but for now might be a little more cautious.
Sean I looked into the Level IIs and I must have slept through class that day. I am feeling uninformed and am now in the remedial group , and
will try to catch up. I get some info from my IB acct. , that I look at before a trade, that’s in real time…ask/bid…which side is pushing the price direction but not nearly as detailed. Anyway I am “sticking” with what I have – invested every available resource at $1.18 and have no regrets. Heck I only found Stellar first of this month!! And I’m also just glad to be here. Thanks for your helpful comments
Roger,
Thank you, Remember the story of the tortes and the hare. I am the believing tortes from the beginning.
Jana, I’m with you. I’m in LA (Burbank) about 35 clicks from their local. If we get a few that want to visit I, you, or ? can contact them and set up an investors visit.
Roger, tell you what. If I am able to make “x$” (to be determined) I’d really love to do it. Being so close you really have an advantage! I’m in Arkansas so would take some planning… How many people would it take to make a respectable showing? Or maybe it’s how many shares have to be represented to make a respectable showing :). Considering your wife’s expertise I think she would be all over this one. I’m no PhD and the science behind what Stellar is doing got my attention ASAP! So we will see what happens. J
The five dollar mark and then NASDAQ.
You have lofty ideals, Roger ..sure hope you’re right!
I have always said (when I pronounce a word incorrectly) “Someone has to come up with the new words”. Kind of the same with companies listing on NDQ, they have to come from somewhere and the pink sheets is a good a place as any.
OMG people what is going on??? Over $2-if you have info please post–JB
I’m thinking Vin Diesel has gotten involved here. It’s nothing if not “Fast and Furious!”
Seriously – I’ve not personally seen anything like this since WAAAY back in the day – 1986 – when I found Telephonos de Mexico at $0.125, then watched it shoot to ~$0.85 in a little under 6 months. That was my best position ever. Until possibly now. And the volume – over 500,000 shares crossed by 10:30 AM, and that TWICE the 90 day average volume.
We’ve backed off the daily high af about $2.11 a bit now, back to $2.20 as I type. God only knows where this day will wind up.
All I can say – and I’m sure all would agree – is that I’m thankful I took the plunge on July 18th and went way too deep into this idea. Big risk – now big reward. I actually found myself laughing out loud a few minutes ago when I pulled up my real-time account values. I’m done guessing about this blessing .. sometimes you just need to sit back and enjoy the ride!
The Blind Squirrel
Jim Skelton
Well put Jim…uncharted waters right now.
Sorry – typo in last post. I meant to say we’d backed off to $2.02, not $2.20. But by the time this hits up it may be $2.20!
Jim
Hi Jim and fellow Gumshoe-ians,
first of all, Jim it is a pleasure to read your postings and thanks so much for the ‘by-the-Way-education’, great days to be one of the Gumshoe-ians and be able to be part of this.
I have been a Gumshoe-ian for about two years and it was one of my better decisions to have joined the profitus-maximus-irregularies.
When I first heard about SBOTF I put it on my watch list and than when I was ready to make a move I missed the boat when it was traded around a dollar. I put it on the side and before I knew it we were at 1,50. This time around I got on board and and bought some shares. The next day it was around one dollar again and I felt like shit. I could not believe it, the exact day I bought the shares they went down that bad.
I did some research and found out about the 12. 000 000 plan and decided that it was not such a bad plan after all. So the same day I doubled up at 1.14.
Stellar kept climbing and climbing as you know and I sold yesterday 3/4 of my shares for 1.68.
Today I discovered this blog from one of my favorite fellow Gumshoe-ians, aka. the blind squirrel and believe it not, I went back in again this afternoon. Yes, my average now is a poor 1,77 per share, but I am in for the longer journey this time and if the chance offers itself I’ll buy some more in the future. Great stock, great time to be part of this and hope the story unfolds in a way we can only dream of…good luck to all of us.
Herbert
Well, you are here Herbert and will be rewarded.
Keyhole Limpet blood appears to be rocket fuel for it’s stock price–up over 25% in two days, WOW. I’m out of English adjectives so will use my French–incroyable, fantastique, formidable.
Herbert:
Jim Skelton here, a/k/a “The Blind Squirrel.” Thanks for the kind words about what you see from me from time to time. We all like to be appreciated.
A couple asides re your comments:
First, don’t beat yourself up too much about your entry point with Stellar Biotech stock. Every single one of us here wishes we’d have done more, sooner than we did. It’s human nature to keep looking backwards and imagining what could have been “if only.” That’s a huge waste of time and psychic energy. Someday, if things go as we think they will, you’ll hardly remember what you paid for the stock today. And you’ll be wishing you had done more at $1.70 or whatever. I’ve saw that a thousand times with clients during my career as an Investment Advisor. Note I said “if” things go as we anticipate – therein lies the question.
Second, my asides, the things you mention as “By the Ways”, come from the litany of stories I have about things clients did – or didn’t – do over the years. These war stories always have a point, a lesson inside them that are well learned by all. Learned, hopefully, before they apply directly to them in the case of bad outcomes. I don’t share those as a means of beating my own drum or to stroke my own ego. Just to offer some insight into how things sometimes work and what you can do to benefit from that knowledge before it might bite you in the keester.
So welcome to Gumshoeland, home of the hoping-to-be-rich and not-yet-famous. Are you an Irregular member yet. Just do it. Best $49 you’ll spend this year. You seem to have few reservations about sharing your thoughts in the open, and that’s a good thing. While not everything you see on these blogs is what you might call brilliant – mine included – it’s that interchange of ideas and thoughts that keeps us informed and up to speed on the topic at hand. I encourage EVERYONE to get involved and express themselves and let the chips fall where they may. Without fresh thinking we grow stale.
Regards,
Jim Skelton
The Blind Squirrel
“Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then”
Sometime around 3am there was a price spike to $2.30 and then back down to previous level. Theories, anyone?
Jana: no theories here, but from the chart i got the price spike was at 3:30 pm at 9/18 according to TD Ameritrade.
Anyway, at this time this price spike seems irrelevant. We are back at around $1.70as i am writing this lines and i decided to buy some more.
It is quite a ride. I just was reading Jim’s words again :’ So, if you have the wherewithall and nerves for it, climb aboard, pay the fare, and hang on for dear life. It just may be a wild ride!’
I just had read those words and kind of smiled to myself, then I checked on SBOTF and it had dropped from about $2 to about $ 1.8. Today i was hoping for a calm day, after all the excitement yesterday. Good luck to all of us.
Jim: I do not know if you missed it, but I joined Gummi a while ago. Really one of the best decisions in the last two years of my life. I am learning so much and so much more to learn. Keep up your great work with and for the Gummians. You are a great addition to the show. Thanks
Herbert, Welcome to the site. Hopefully I have the stomach for the ride – 2 weeks ago I filled my wheelbarrow to the top, so I’m very much “in it to win it”. Jim does keep us up to date and well-informed ; thanks Jim. I too think this site/people/ blog are great, and I also joined the irregular gummies. Not to belabor this, but is it possible the large spike had something to do with short-sellers? Sean, I’d be interested in your take. Still hanging on, JB
Hey Jana, it was expected. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised by another $.20-.25 pullback at this point. The oversold signs were screaming. When the buying finally dried up this afternoon, they pounced and shorted it all the way down. The MM’s are going to play with this as long as there is no news. The weak hands panicked and they laughed all the way to the bank. I plan on loading up again in the $1.50 range for some more trading shares. My core shares are untouchable and I’ll be riding those into the sunset. Keep the faith. This is a unique company and unique opportunity.
P.S. according to Interactive brokers, 1.2 MILLION shares of Stellar changed hands today (current average 300K). Very interesting?
It’s now Friday AM, 4:45 AM to be exact. The sun will be up in a couple hours so it’s time to get up and running myself. After the selloff yesterday I’m in great anticipation of what today may bring. Glad I held back the final 1/3 cash position for additional acquisition if Stellar pulled back from that runup of the first three days of the week. Well, the “pullback” has arrived on our shores. Hurricane flags are up everywhere. I’ve got my shutters up and the emergency supplies prepared. Here we go ..
Actually, this post isn’t about Stellar in particular. I got a message – a very nice one – from a gentleman name of Robert Vinciguerra yesterday. I can’t find it anywhere on these posts but felt I ought to respond. Hope you are seeing this, Robert. I need to correct one thing you said befor people might get the wrong idea.
You said you appreciated my comments as “an analyst”. That’s flattering to be sure, but know this – I am not nor have I ever been an “analyst” in the conventional sense. I was a Financial Adviser or Financial Consultant or Account Executive or whatever label the investment firm I might have been working with at the time wanted to label me as. Marketing, you know? What I was is best described in the old school manner: a stockbroker. It became quite unfashionable in the 80’s and 90’s to call myself that No panache, no hint of professionalism. So firms listened to their marketing folks and gave us all new identities. But the work we did was all the same exact thing. And if there was one thing we were told NOT to try and do was be an analyst.
Firms had/have droves of professional analysts that they pay some big bucks to so they can crunch and twist and squeeze the available financial data and come up with recommendations for the brokers to pass on to clients. it’s well meaning .. but quite often wrong. For me to do some creative thinking on my own and start recommending a client buy an issue that our analyst had a hold or sell recommendation on was frowned upon by compliance nerds, a/k/a the “Bureau of Business Prevention.” So no, I never really learned any true skills in that department. A smattering, yes. But nothing in depth.
What I do use is something that can’t really be quantified. It’s called common sense. I’m a story guy, not a numbers guy. Numbers can and do change at any given moment. A news release, a company report, a drop in sales, you name it – any number of things can come in right out of the blue to destroy even the best thinking when that thinking is based on numbers and projections. So while I do look at some of those critters to see if I may be on track with an idea, it’s not what drives my selections.
What gets my attention is the back story of a company. Take Stellar Bio as an example. Wanna crunch the numbers? What numbers? They don’t have any! Wanna project sales figures? What sales? As of today they have almost none of consequence. And as for earnings, P/E ratios, dividends, etc. – there are none to be found. So what can I look at? I can look at the story.
I’m not going to go into that. You obviously have a deep understanding of it yourself as do others on this blog. You don’t find compelling stories like this often. I can think of my past and recall similar things about Telephonos de Mexico, Harley-Davidson, Intel, Blockbuster, Citibank, and now Stellar. A few others less compelling but still good plays. So maybe a bakers dozen or so like this over the past 30 years. And being in them EARLY is what can make or break a portfolio over time.
So, sorry if I disappoint you about my credentials. I’m just an old dog with some experiences most don’t have that came to me as part of my being an F/C for some 20 years. There are several other contributors here that have a much deeper understanding than I about things like short-selling and technical analysis. I’m more of a Peter Lynch type who used what I think he called the “grocery store shelf” approach to investing as part of his stock picking process. He said if you saw a product on the grocery shelf and then kept seeing that it was never in stock, BUY THE COMPANY! Don’t need to read a balance sheet or P&L to follow that advice. Just common sense .. and a good back story!
And finally, your request for me to offer opinion on a company you have been researching and are somewhat taken with. Robert, I don’t think I’m qualified to do that. Yes, I certainly will have a look in due course. It sounds as if it may have a “story” to be told of its own. To be honest, I am neck deep in research and selection of a new personal portfolio for myself that is very comprehensive and will wind up holding some 60 or so positions in different classifications and sectors. Just yesterday I began buying for this portfolio and have maybe another months work to do before it is fully fleshed out. So I really don’t have time to investigate anything new at this point.
Besides – and you will note I don’t offer the name of your company here – I don’t want to risk opening another avenue of discussion in this blog. This is all about Stellar, and introducing something else into the mix can get confusing real fast. I would urge you to do this: Start a new micro blog of your own about this idea just as I did here with SBOTF. Tell us all you know. Ask for comments. There are a lot of very smart people in Gumshoeland that would love an opportunity to look at your idea. Put it out there in a thread that is specific to that company and see where it can go. I’ve been drop-dead amazed at what has developed here. Still am, every day. Same may happen for you.
Good luck with all, and may you find your acorns plentiful, fat and crunchy!
Regards,
Jim Skelton
The Blind Squirrel
Hi Jim, I got it! I’m alot closer to your type of investing than the number crunchers. I just might start that blog before long. I got into that one because of its compelling story, sort of like Stellars. Thanks for getting back to me with such a thoughtful response. Regarding Stellar, I got in on the IPO and at that time the ‘plan’ was to get the company chugging, then listen to takeover offers. At this point I have no idea if they’ve changed their thinking on that, but with their product in so many phase trials, and the tiny float, I’m thinking this one has a lot more to run. Good luck to all and its a pleasure to be a gumshoer…. just have to get over the stigma of being an irregular, which in most cases, isn’t a good thing…. just finished the coffee, gonna try and be regular now.
Certainly room to run. It’s seems as if they have started the process to becoming a viable, independent company rather than an acquisition target. They have a very strong board, cash in the bank and multiple trials and agreements in place. They should be able to stand on their own. Once the revenue arrives, this should go very far. If they are going to be acquired, now might be the time because they aren’t going to get much cheaper.
If the net gain per day was 1 penny I would be very happy ($3.60 in a year – nice!)
Here is a ‘forward looking’ exercise I do with stocks like Stellar – it’s kind of my crystal ball. I, like everyone else, am always trying to predict the future.
– download from NASDAQ the 1 year (or more) quote spread sheet for the stock. (.cvs format)
– double click the .cvs file. It will open in Excel.
– select a layout 1 graph. (line graph)
– create the graph using the dates as the ‘Y’ axis data and the daily close as the ‘X’ axis data. When this is completed the graph will look like the normal stock close history graph we are all used to seeing.
– Up at the top of Excel click on ‘Layout’ and select ‘Trendline’.
– click on ‘Exponential Trendline’. this will add a curved line to your graph.
– now the trick for future prediction is to select the ET line, right click, and select ‘Format Trendline’. Keep the ‘Order’ at two. Down in the ‘Forecast’ section in the ‘Forward’ box put in how many days you want to ‘trend’ forward. You can keep this box open and watch the line change as you change the numbers (type the number, then click on the Backward box to see the change).
I also like to drop in a ‘Linear’ line for a more conservative trending indicator.
This is my crystal ball process.
Have fun 🙂
Good perspective Roger re. the penny per day average gain.
I’ve tended to be much more of a buy and hold investor in the past, but then again I had alway avoided microcaps in the past as well. Something struck me Thursday morning when I saw that Stellar opened up only about 2% after it had been rocketing for three days. I expected that profit taking would be happening since the stock had zoomed about 50% in two weeks and basically 30% in two days. I had an urge to sell at that point and it became stronger as the stock began a slow decline in early trading, then I would let the profit taking and/or panicking happen and get back in after the sell off. The buy and hold and the “loyal” investor thoughts in me won out and I didn’t do it. It would have been a very smart move. I am assuming that there are many “traders” who attempt to make a lot of money off of the volatility of popular microcap stocks. I will never be a trader but the next time there is a huge run up and I see what I saw early Thursday morning I may just sell before the slow decline becomes a bit of a panic and then buy back at the end of the day. Can anyone give me any insights on this type of strategy? I will be in Stellar for the long run, and I don’t expect that I’ll ever be able to be a perfect market timer, but obvious and expected pull backs like Thursday in a stock that makes big moves could be an opportunity. Then again, maybe the non market timer in me will continue to win out! Most people who think they can time things perfectly tend to lose a lot of money in the market and/or the casino! : )
The big reason why I don’t try to time the market with stocks, and why I didn’t sell a chunk to buy cheaper in the near future, is the tax consequences. Come the day that this issue goes thru the roof (and that day will come imho), those who have been buying and selling, will find themselves with a short term gain, taxable at a much higher rate than a long term gain. Those holding their positions will be able to sell at a moments notice without sever tax implications. Personally, I think it sucks for the government to take a huge chunk of speculative profits. I mean they only let you put in for $3000 in losses per year as a writeoff, and how many speculative companies have gone bust? When I truly believe in a company, i’ll average down, may sell some to cover my initial investment, but I never try to day trade or short trade. I bought it because I believe in it, and I’ll sell it when things change to the extent that I no longer do. In the meantime, i’m racking up long term gains at the lowest possible tax rate.
Robert, one other item that many traders in microcaps (penny stocks) forget to factor in is the cost per trade. Usually not free if penny stocks.
I am also in it for the long haul. I will buy more when the shorts drop the price for me, like they did yesterday. The old saying “buy low, sell high” hasn’t worked for me, my crystal ball has a tendency to stop working at the same time I look at my clock. 🙂 So I average on the low and sell (some) when the value is high enough to cover (some/all) of my original stake.
Like Mr. Squirrel, I read what I can find on the company I’m interested in, I read what folks like all of you are saying, I read the SEC filings, either do know or educate myself about the industry the company works in, and then buy or not buy based on my gut feeling.
I hope everyone realizes what is happening here. The softness is due to weak hands in the $1.70 range. The $2.00 clients have already sold thinking this would still continue to rise. There is no news right now and the hype has worn off. If you can weather the next $.20 downward, you’ll be OK. This will come back with a vengeance. Many of us are waiting for the next big dip…which was not $2.10 to $1.70 btw, that was all hype and testosterone poisoning. I think it is around $1.50 unless there is some sort of good news. When we hit $1.50 you are going to see very heavy support from the MMs and many of us who know this is the last time the shares will be that cheap. Best of luck to you longs. Keep the faith. This stock is going to make many of you lots of money.
Thanks for the update Sean. I expect the price to bounce around but it’s nice to hear some wisdom to make sense of it. Still have a lot to learn about MMs. Good luck with your trading. I know better than to get into that myself. Happy to see it all unfold (as long as it does so in a Northern direction). JB
My pleasure, Jana. We should head north at some point:) Understand that this is no surprise. Stellar has a great long term plan but no real revenue at this point. They are in the midst of several trials and waiting for one of these to stick. When that happens….we’ll be laughing at the $1.50s. They’ve been hyped by a couple of newsletters and that tends to skew the numbers higher as well. Relax, enjoy, and we’ll all take that tour of the facilities at some point.