Oracle Stock

[LikeWaah]

Thanks for all the input and points of view. I wouldn't be comfortable shorting the stock as I am aware of the practice but do not understand it enough to use. I will admit I am pretty uneducated beyond the basics of investing.

I don't care for Larry Ellison (I bet he will lose sleep tonight ) and although I know it is a ridiculous notion I feel that holding the stock we do helps him.

My wife did not enjoy her tenure at Oracle after the Sun purchase and I simply am no longer interested in keeping the stock. Now I let emotion in it's all down hill from here.

Simply put I would like to invest the money somewhere other than Oracle. Of course, if it starts going up I will do a complete about-face.

Definitely do what you are comfortable with.

If you're okay with the price you'll get, sell it tomorrow. It sounds like you really don't want it any longer than you have to have it. Then once you have the cash, you can start looking at places to put that money.

That's an entirely different conversation altogether.

 

[SNsMoto]

Definitely do what you are comfortable with.

If you're okay with the price you'll get, sell it tomorrow. It sounds like you really don't want it any longer than you have to have it. Then once you have the cash, you can start looking at places to put that money.

That's an entirely different conversation altogether.

This is not good advice. He says he is not very educated beyond just the basics. Lack of information may make someone feel comfortable simply because they don't have all the pieces to the puzzle.

The average investor was very comfortable selling everything in 2008 when the market crashed which, of course, is the worst possible time to sell. Emotions come in to play and you should never be emotional with investing.

 

[afm199]

This is not good advice. He says he is not very educated beyond just the basics. Lack of information may make someone feel comfortable simply because they don't have all the pieces to the puzzle.

The average investor was very comfortable selling everything in 2008 when the market crashed which, of course, is the worst possible time to sell. Emotions come in to play and you should never be emotional with investing.

He's not selling everything, he's closing one position held for years to invest in something else. I support the move.

 

[atypicalperson]

The longer you hold out on the sell, the more missed opportunities you accumulate to gain (or lose) in another stock.

 

[Blankpage]

you got burned on precious metals?

There was an alternate reason for that post but with regard to precious metals I'm still way over my initial purchase price.

Ten years in the market with mediocre returns and then then the crash of 08-09 I got in a few at blowout and in a couple of years blew away the returns of the previous ten. I’m waiting for another crash, I'll adjust that strategy if I think I should.

 

[MC BumSlap]

I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per day. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.

 

[mike23w]

I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per day. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.

lol. there's zero chance he'll keep it up (1% gain/day) over the long term (30 years).

 

[LikeWaah]

This is not good advice. He says he is not very educated beyond just the basics. Lack of information may make someone feel comfortable simply because they don't have all the pieces to the puzzle.

The average investor was very comfortable selling everything in 2008 when the market crashed which, of course, is the worst possible time to sell. Emotions come in to play and you should never be emotional with investing.

I'm not suggesting that he liquidate his entire portfolio, but it's clear he is not interested in keeping ORCL any longer.

I don't follow Oracle closely, but if he's not comfortable with options, then I doubt he'd be comfortable trying to time his exit. Thus, if the current market price is satisfactory to him, he should just exit his position.

At the end of the day, it's his money, and he should do what he thinks is right. He might be right, he might be wrong. I'm just providing suggestions on how I would handle that situation.

It doesn't sound like OP is going to take a loss. The shares are back from when Sun Microsystems was still around (2010), so OP is most likely to be in the green here. I don't see any risk in selling.

OP wants out, what other exit strategy would you suggest?

 

[afm199]

I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per dayaccording to him. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.

FTFY

 

[gnahc79]

I wonder if HFT has any impact on day traders. the google says yes there's some impact.

 

[900ss]

My three other common stock positions, smaller in total than our Oracle position, are doing well. As recently stated by someone, the stock did not cost anything as they were converted options from Sun. Our cost basis is $33.00, it closed today at $33.02 and has a 52 week range of $29.52 to $36.43. To my way of thinking it is a dud.

The choices I have made for our 401(k)s are doing extremely well, having returne 17.8% YTD, 20.61% for 12 months, and 11.86% for 6 months. I am happy with these numbers, so I feel that (luck aside) I am doing alright as a small-time investor.

With the 401(k)s I am in it for the long haul, and have never timed the market and bailed when it falters. It is simply that Oracle has been relatively dead and I know the money could be put to better use. I am not an emotional investor, even though I alluded to being one - in jest.

Again, thanks to all for the input and making this an interesting thread.

 

[Reli]

IMO, any stock that you do not research & monitor on a regular basis should be dumped and exchanged for a diversified fund. Funds are what the vast majority of investors should buy, not individual companies. The exception of course is if you are employed by a company that's giving you stock as part of your compensation -- obviously that's a different story. But even then, no individual stock should make up more than about 5% of your total portfolio, IMO. Too risky unless you are actually keeping up on research regularly enough to be confident that it's a good value and still has growth potential.

 

[mike23w]

if you are investing long term and already have the typical allocation of index funds (which i think you mentioned in this thread or another), you should dump oracle and put the proceeds into your chosen investing strategy. that would be the smart play imo.

 

[Blankpage]

you got burned on precious metals?

There was an alternate reason for that post but with regard to precious metals I'm still way over my initial purchase price.

I stand corrected. Last Oct I sold a motorcycle for $7100. At that time I decided to park the money in PM's instead of blowing it. Splitting it between platinum and palladium coins. I don't even remember how many of each I bought but it was the first time since 09 that I bought any PM's. I just throw them in the safety deposit box with the rest. I guess I'm more of a buy it and forget it type of investor but after a year I'm probably behind on that one, oh well some day...

 

[SNsMoto]

He's not selling everything, he's closing one position held for years to invest in something else. I support the move.

I'm not suggesting that he liquidate his entire portfolio, but it's clear he is not interested in keeping ORCL any longer.

I don't follow Oracle closely, but if he's not comfortable with options, then I doubt he'd be comfortable trying to time his exit. Thus, if the current market price is satisfactory to him, he should just exit his position.

At the end of the day, it's his money, and he should do what he thinks is right. He might be right, he might be wrong. I'm just providing suggestions on how I would handle that situation.

It doesn't sound like OP is going to take a loss. The shares are back from when Sun Microsystems was still around (2010), so OP is most likely to be in the green here. I don't see any risk in selling.

OP wants out, what other exit strategy would you suggest?

That bottom blurb in my post about the average investor was just an example showing what can happen when mistaken comfort and emotion comes in to play. Sorry for the confusion.

Barfing from korea bishes!

 

[afm199]

IMO, any stock that you do not research & monitor on a regular basis should be dumped and exchanged for a diversified fund. Funds are what the vast majority of investors should buy, not individual companies. The exception of course is if you are employed by a company that's giving you stock as part of your compensation -- obviously that's a different story. But even then, no individual stock should make up more than about 5% of your total portfolio, IMO. Too risky unless you are actually keeping up on research regularly enough to be confident that it's a good value and still has growth potential.

Pretty much. I hold individual stocks when I think they are going somewhere, but I hold funds and ETF's for long periods. And CEF's but you really need to understand how CEF's trade before you get into them.

 

[MC BumSlap]

Quote:
Originally Posted by yodaisgod View Post
I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per dayaccording to him. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.
FTFY

FTFY

I've seen his financials.

 

[afm199]

Quote:
Originally Posted by yodaisgod View Post
I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per dayaccording to him. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.
FTFY
I've seen his financials.

Ask for ten years of tax returns and get back to us

I can show you some great records that show me being a stock picking genius. Over ten years things tend to average out a bit.

 

[Reli]

Quote:
Originally Posted by yodaisgod View Post
I know a guy who buys and sells in one day. He never keeps stock overnight (bad news comes in the middle of the night). He averages about a 1% return per dayaccording to him. Factor that out over the course of a year....yeah, he's not hurting at all.
FTFY

I've seen his financials.

His financials including the starting and ending balance in his brokerage account? Including records of all deposits/transfers? Kinda doubt it.

Also, it isn't just bad news that comes in the middle of the night.......Good news comes too........so if your friend really never holds stock overnight, he's missing out on that upside.

 

[Owensdad]

To elaborate:

Let's say you own stock with a large built in gain... Your tax basis is $1, its FMV is $20. Your unrealized gain is $19 and not subject to tax until you realize that gain by selling the stock, for example.

If you buy a put at $20 (an option to sell at $20) you have effectively locked in that gain. If the stock loses value you can exercise your put and sell at $20.

If the stock appreciates, and your put option becomes worthless, you will still be considered to have recognized the $19 of gain, which will be added to your tax basis going forward. If the issue tanks below $20 later, the wash rules may suspend your losses. Messy.

The IRS considers the purchase of that put option as a taxable disposition, triggering $19 of taxable gain, even though you did not actually sell anything.

In either case, you generated a tax liability as though you sold property at a gain, without enjoying any proceeds (i.e., cash) from an actual sale!