Can someone tell me where I went wrong?

[dukhunter99]

I know I am new at this but I thought I picked up enough from you guys to make some sound picks. I purchased ODYC at .70 a share. I know this should be in the penny stocks forum but I wanted to get some good advice. Where did I go wrong here. I thought it would make a bounce to a nice profit around $1.70 a share. Obviously it hasn't happened. I looked closely at the charts and thought things added up for the positive. I will guess that the volume is killing it but I thought it would pick up.

I really respect everyone's opinion in this forum and your help would be greatly appreciated!:embarassed:

http://www.saltforkoutdoors.com/pictures/odyc.png

[aiki14]

First it's a penny stock, and it trades on low volume, so it is subject to manipulation, or just unpredictable price moves because one holder dumps a ton of shares. Right now the B/A is .60 X .80 a 30% spread off the bid, there is no way to tell what's gonna happen.
The fact that you chose to post it here to get better answers than the penny stock forum should tell you something.

[wallstreetsedge]

harsh but true...

at least if you play something like TMA, you can get some sort of sense because people trade it and the stock doesnt have a huge spread.. even the dreads SGN and BRLC have smaller spreads

[englishman26]

It's an unfortunate common mistake that we all make when we start out. We think that the penny stocks offer bigger potential gains and are just as easy to trade and understand as the bigger stocks. Neither things are true. The smaller the company, the less transparent they are and the more likely they are to go to zero. Zero = 100% loss for you (not saying that that is going to happen to this but who knows).

Something to learn though - you had a 10% profit 2 days ago. Take your profits in this market - don't try to be a hero!

Please WSJ - don't send him/her to TMA though!! That's not better at all!! In fact - they're actually more likely to go to zero. Geez! Maybe that's not what you meant.

Okay dukhunter - here's what you're going to do. Start again. You don't have a loss in this stock yet but I'm betting you will have by the end of tomorrow. Get into cash and spend a week or two researching something hard. You'll enjoy watchingt the market get cheaper while you're doing it. Maybe something in biotech or healthcare which looks like relatively safe sectors at the moment. Then come back, post some results of your research, and see what people think. :top:

(NB: a single biotech stock is never very safe, but maybe buying the IBB is a good option for you at the moment).

[Riddicks]

Thanks Englishman, that was a great advice for all of us. Especially about taking profits, I am still learning that part.

It seems like though last couple of days you feel like you should even take 1-2% gain that you can get. This causes a little earlier exit than you had hoped but in this market I'd rather be safe than be sorry.

A friend of mine who is new to investing actually went on a buying spree putting down 30K between DRYS and CSIQ at the open. Somehow after doing this for 3 months I don't feel sorry for him because he didn't bother doing his research and he needs to realize the market isn't very forgiving or nice.

I appreciate all the hard advice given by aki14 and others because if you can't learn to take your lumps here and now, then you won't be very happy with yourself taking a big loss.

Thanks for all the advice guys please keep it coming.

[smartinvestor30]

I think every trader goes through the penny stock phase but these stocks are "pumped and dumped" a lot of times so it's hard to figure out where it's going to go.

If you want to make a lot of money off of penny stocks I suggest you start a e-mail newsletter recommending penny stocks. Talk to small companies, they will pay you some money to pump their stock, when you have enough subscribers you can really affect the price movement, of course you will already want to hold a position in that stock before you pump it.

Also there is a lot of money in being a broker, you get commission from investors no matter what side they are on of the trade. It's the only sure way to make money through stocks.

Another good way is to teach people, there is millions of $$ in education for teaching people basic technical analysis that they can learn for free online or at their local library. You will want to start holding seminars at local hotels, when you make enough money off of that you can make a "proprietary" software program that automatically does what you just taught them for analyzing stocks. Make sure to charge insane amounts of money (like $4K) then ensure the people that the price is high so only serious investors get in.

By the way what were those moving avgs on that graph?

[dukhunter99]

Thanks to all for your advise on this. I think I know what you are talking about. STAY AWAY FROM PENNY STOCKS!!! Lesson Learned. I got hooked by that "GET RICH FAST" scheme. I'm over it and moving on! Thanks Guys!!!

By the way, the moving averages were 31 Green, 150 Orange, 200 Blue

[Albert0373]

:) That's the way to do it.

[Jelly]

I know I am new at this but I thought I picked up enough from you guys to make some sound picks. I know this should be in the penny stocks forum but I wanted to get some good advice. Where did I go wrong here. [/IMG]

I know I should **** with you in the Off Topic forum, but I wanted to help dilute the integrity of this one.

[wallstreetsedge]

Please WSJ - don't send him/her to TMA though!! That's not better at all!! In fact - they're actually more likely to go to zero. Geez! Maybe that's not what you meant.

haha it was just an example.. not a recommendation lol

[smartinvestor30]

Thanks to all for your advise on this. I think I know what you are talking about. STAY AWAY FROM PENNY STOCKS!!! Lesson Learned. I got hooked by that "GET RICH FAST" scheme. I'm over it and moving on! Thanks Guys!!!

By the way, the moving averages were 31 Green, 150 Orange, 200 Blue

Well, let's just be clear, it's not to say that all penny stocks are bad or that you can't make money from investing in penny stocks, it's quite the contrary.

The biggest problem penny stocks present are not that they are pumped and dumped by newsletters etc etc but rather, there is a liquidity issue. Look at the volume and see how you might have trouble selling off your shares at a good price.

Also it's hard to trust their movements because there is virtually no professional money going into them, it's small investors who have a few thousand and want to get in and out of the stock to make a buck, this causes fluctuations in price that can sometimes be unreliable with technical analysis. Also it can be hard to evaluate the company because of the fundamental data that's available.

[zyzzyva57]

Here is a rule I learned at Hard Knock U: whenever Master Cramer says something and it is confirmed by all the other major players of Wall Street, then heed the advice, e.g., Penny Stocks, buying/selling in increments...

Argue/debate a stock pick, but absorb across the board investment advice by the pros when they "herd" on trading and investing advice