Alcoa

[AnaBraswel]

Why would the PPS of 'AA" Alcoa be going down with all the good news for them..

[Anirame]

News may be good for the company, but good news doesn't pay you. Only the dividend (AA - 12 cents a year) and price action (traders buying and selling) pays.

This is the most common mistake I see among new traders. It's not your fault, you just don't know any other way, yet.

What price did you buy at, and what is your stop plan and/or target price to sell?

No stock will go up forever, eventually people will take some profits. Pullbacks are just part of market cycles. Before getting into a trade I have a plan based on the price action at that moment. Every stock can be different though. It could be a 5 minute plan or a 1 year plan. Nonetheless, having a plan will help take emotion out of the trade so you can focus on finding good entries and then let the plan work.

[Anthonypt]

That's really the key isn't it? Just because the news is great doesn't mean the price will rise. Ok so a bunch of people think "ye that's great news I'll buy some." What better time for a few hedge funds to unload a couple 10 million shares to take profits over a one week period and only see a .50 drop in price.....sometimes when buyers are lined up there is someone at the door with armloads to sell. You just never know.

[appoitebeargo]

AA is a good stock and more importantly a different company from 5 years ago. It's a good long term holding. That said, anything can happen.

In the short term, I believe the share price will RESUME it's rise shortly. The market is in a pause, so it's not strange that AA is stalled.

[asojoxoomebed]

Obugi, this is directed to all readers here, I just use your words as an example many can learn from.

I suppose we could argue what a 'good' stock is or what long-term vs short-term is, but everyone is going to have a different opinion. The only thing that matters is he setup to make money? So, what's his mindset behind the trade (why did he buy), and what is the trade plan?

The bigger point I'm trying to make is to not to trade what we 'think' or 'want' the stock to do, but trade what the price action is actually doing.... This is where developing a strategy and a plan comes into play no matter if its for 5 minutes or for a year or more. His idea of a plan may be different from mine or yours. But he needs to have one BEFORE entering the trade. Even if the plan is as simple as: Stop Loss at $x.xx, let a winner run. WHATEVER the plan maybe, just have a plan. Don't hold hold hold forever just because of 'good' news or its a 'good' company. You know, Enron & Worldcom were once thought to be a 'good' companies. Things can change in hurry. Like Acstudio said, you never know when the big dogs are going to unload some or maybe even buy some on 'bad' news? This is why we need a strategy and a plan, not just buy on a whim because news was 'good.'

EDIT: I originally had a sentence here discussing past and present action on AA, but that would defeat the purpose of this post. I'd rather this make readers think about the bigger picture of trading/investing than a simple "Why AA did blah, blah, blah...." So next time, before entering a trade, ask yourself; "why buy now?" and "what is my exit plan?" If you don't know the answer to both, get back to the basics and find your strategy.