APWR –> FSYS Another lesson learned

I’ve sort of gone back to old trading habits this week, only sticking to the new highs list to find potential buys.  I also have learned that stops (both buy and sell) are something I have not figured out how to use properly.  It seems I’ve gotten very good at buying high and selling low with all my stop orders.  I also see that buying a stock on its breakout day is a bad idea.  I usually pay too much, and then cringe as it collapses the following day.

Yesterday:

I watched APWR go down on big volume.  I had set my stop at $28.95, which locked my loss in at roughly 5%.  I didn’t really have any other reason to pick that price.  It of course ran down and hit my stop.  I had also noticed one of my watch list stocks break out big time on big volume…FSYS.  I not only felt anxious about apwr’s weakness, but felt greedy about fsys strength.  I put in buy for FSYS.  I hit that.  So I sold apwr low and bought fsys high. Driven by fear / greed.

Today:

APWR is up, and I feel compelled to buy again.  FSYS is down, yet I don’t feel compelled to sell.  I’m proud of that.

Lessons learned:

• Do not buy a stock on a break out day.  Wait until the next day to see how it behaves
• Set your stops with wider margins
• Try not to sell a stock after just one moderate down day
• STAY AWAY FROM SCOTTRADE DURING THE DAY!