Question

Anyone on here good with stocks and stuff? I got questions.

Answer 1

how may I assist you

Answer 2

Okay. Say I buy six shares of tesla's stock. Tesla is at 747.91 right now and if I buy six shares, it'll cost 4487.46. If I sell the shares once the stock goes up to like 750.00 or something, will I get a gain of how much I paid or double?

Answer 3

Like will I get 4487.46 (how much I paid) plus 2.90 back?

Answer 4

Therefore only make a gain of 2.90?

Answer 5

You will get back 2.09 per share * 6 shares on top of what you paid. However, the final profit may be a bit less than that due to brokerage fees.

That being said, most people would not sell at such a low margin.

Answer 6

Oh yeah. I was just putting it that low for reference. So you will get back how much the stock price went up times how many shares you bought?

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

Ok. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks so much

Answer 9

Yes

if you sell at a profit, you are guaranteed to get your money back + the amount the stock rose

Answer 10

Ok. Then is it a common thing for a stock as low as .50 to jump 1.00

Answer 11

from .50 to 1.50

Answer 12

Not really. Stocks that are **that cheap** (typically we call these penny stocks) tend to be unstable. It's also a common scam for people to get together, inflate the stock by buying it, telling everyone about the stock, and then selling at the peak, only for the price to quickly plummet back down.

Answer 13

Some people *do* make money like that (ex: day traders) but it is incredibly risky and I wouldn't recommend doing it.

Answer 14

A reminder that a company's stock value is proportional to it's stability and success (well, in theory anyway). That's why you'll never see a well-established, reputable company as a penny stock.

Answer 15

https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/types-of-stocks/penny-stocks/#

Answer 16

Well I'm confused because if I buy a stock thats high (like DJI) I wouldn't be able to buy many shares. If I bought it, and it went up a couple of dollars, I'd gain 2-8 dollars from it. But if I buy a tons of shares from a cheaper stock, it'll likely plummet?

Answer 17

Basically, yes. Ideally you wait for a "dip" in the price of high-value stocks, and sell at a "peak". To be a successful stock trader you have to think in the long term and be prepared to hold stock for long periods of time. Day trading is much harder and much less likely to pay off in the long run.

Answer 18

That's what I was thinking. But ebfore that I have a prior question. If I buy shares do they stay until I sell it? Or can they "expire"?

Answer 19

Stocks last forever. Of course, if the company goes bankrupt, the stock is gone and you lose everything.

Answer 20

Have you heard of dividend investing? Some companies pay you to hold onto their stock, and that may be a less risky income source if you have the capital.

Answer 21

Could you please explain how that works?

Answer 22

A bank will give you a small % interest to keep your money in the bank.

Some companies will give you a small % of income per year/quarter/month/etc. to buy and hold onto their stock.

https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/types-of-stocks/dividend-stocks/how-to-invest-in-dividend-stocks/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U62ZsfSsfoU&ab_channel=JosephCarlson (I only invest casually, I recommend joseph carlson as a beginner-friendly source for information on investing)

Answer 23

Ok these sources are going to be a big help and since you do invest, that's more reassurance. Thanks.

Answer 24

Ok. So if a stock is normally in the 2,400.00s and suddenly drops to 2,100.00, that would probably be a smart time to buy shares of them right?

Answer 25

Maybe. You always have to consider: - will this stock drop lower? how long do I think it will take to go back up? can I afford the risk? That's why it's hard to judge based on numbers alone.

Answer 26

Real-life example: Around 15 (?) years ago Delta was doing very bad, on the brink of bankrupcy, stock dropped to like a dollar. They recovered (talking about pre-corona). Theoretically you could have bought Delta and made a significant profit but you would have to take a huge risk that Delta would recover.

Answer 27

Ohhhhhh. That would've have been a very very huge gain depending on how many shares you bought.

Answer 28

How will the length of the time it'll take to go back up effect it?

Answer 29

If a company takes 10 years to double it's stock price, that's a great profit - but can you afford to have your investment sitting around for 10 years? We call stock market gains "paper gains" until you actually sell, because you don't actually get the money until you make the decision to sell.

Answer 30

ok thats also a good point. man this is hard.

Answer 31

How will the lenght of the time it'll take to go back up effect it?

Answer 32

just patience right?

Answer 33

The length of time will affect your decision making process. You can look at the overall growth rate of the company, look at current trends in the market, and think about how long a company might take to make a profit that you are personally happy with selling. Of course, you don't have a crystal ball but you have to decide whether the wait is worth it or not.

Answer 34

You have to decide what % profit is worth selling or not. For example, I use merill lynch and I can set a stock to automatically sell only if it goes above, say, $100. I have to think about what amount of profit that **I** would be happy with. If I sell at $100, but the stock goes up to $110 the next day, that's my loss and I have to accept that risk when I make a decision.

Answer 35

ok. but you sold it so you don't actually lose money but miss out on a higher gain right? this probably sounds stupid to ask but I just want to make sure, unless there are more ways to lose the money.

Answer 36

Yes, you don't physically lose money unless you sell at a loss

Answer 37

(or bankrupcy)

Answer 38

alright, and I was wondering if the alphabet inc (googl) stock is a good but right now because it closed at 2,817.52 today and 2,870.82. But it's usually in the 60s so maybe theres a chance that it'll go up probably 43 more? and depending on how much money you have and how many shares you buy, if that happens, you could make a huge gain right?

Answer 39

Like do you think its a good time to buy GOOGL or do you think it'll drop more. It could go bankrupt but that seems highly unlikely. Right?

Answer 40

I think GOOGL is a good *long-term* investment. I don't want to say "yes 100% go buy it now" but I would recommend considering it and doing your research.

Answer 41

I don't think I'm the best source to ask because I tend to pick safe, long-term investments and I rarely sell. My primary motivation for investing is to build a retirement fund, since I don't need extra day to day income.

Answer 42

ok that makes sense. which stocks do you invest in when you do buy them. or do you just buy any when it dips and seems like it'll go up again?

Answer 43

mostly index funds like SPY
I have a *few* individual companies I like, like Disney and Microsoft.

Answer 44

and then there are such thinks as stock orders that are good till cancel. so if i do buy tons of shares of GOOGL then wait for it to go up and sell it, but it keeps dropping and dropping, could I cancel it, or do the good till cancel expire?

Answer 45

I don't just buy based on numbers, I have to research the company, the overall history of the company's stock price, what the company does, what the market is like, etc. I look for companies that have a lot of potential to grow (ex: tech companies have a lot of potential to innovate, compared to, say, grocery stores, that are stable but don't have a lot of potential to innovate or grow)

Answer 46

yeah. i do that when i see a stock with good numbers, i would research it, but quickly enough so that it doesn't go up in the time im researching.

Answer 47

I think you can cancel GTC orders

Answer 48

i mean there are other companies that unexpectedly went up. Like imagine buying tesla in the near end of 2020 and look at it now. it went up 136 so that was a potentially very big gain.

Answer 49

Yeah. Like the name suggests - "good til cancelled" --> order still stands until the transaction goes through or its cancelled.

Answer 50

alright

Answer 51

do you have any suggestions of which stocks you think not know would be a good buy?

Answer 52

My portfolio is v. simple:

- Vanguard + SPY for index funds
- Visa, Microsoft, Disney, Google for individual companies

That's it, I like mine low maintenance

You can also look at Joseph Carlson's portfolio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYPrmWhdFc&ab_channel=JosephCarlson). I think he says something about looking at other portfolio's to *learn* but not copy, and I think that's good advice.

Answer 53

Ok. yours seems simple enough and having more could be either more gain or more loss. so it's risky

Answer 54

do you know vangaurds symbol?

Answer 55

Vanguard has different symbols for it's different sectors, but I have VOO

Answer 56

QQQ is a good etf too

Answer 57

ok

Answer 58

i wanted to invest in tesla since its high on average and it's falling now, but i think it's just going to keep falling because they stopped solar subscription service...?

Answer 59

I don't think I'll ever buy tesla, I think the industry is too volatile/risky rn. just my two cents.

Answer 60

oh haha okay

Answer 61

microsoft would probably be a good buy right now since it seems like it dipped a bit and will go up soon. I think I'll do a GLC on GOOGL, Amazon, Toyota, and Voo on Monday and research it into more on the weekend. Which stock have you made the highest gain from?

Answer 62

msft probably

I could check my portfolio sometime for details

Answer 63

ok. i think i have 2 more questions. have you even bought any shares from gamestop? it seems like it dipped pretty low and will go up again.

Answer 64

ever*

Answer 65

nah no gme it was a fun meme but I wasn't interested in putting my own money in it

Answer 66

hahaha ok

Answer 67

and can you buy a share of the same stock and then buy it again when its lower?

Answer 68

yes

Answer 69

like can I buy google stock when its at 2800 and buy google again if it drops 2700 and it would count as 2 differnt orders? sorry btw for so many questions

Answer 70

yeah

Answer 71

aight

Answer 72

cause i made a very bad mistake and bought googl this morning when it was 2888...oops. it wasnt a GTC

Answer 73

so i want to compensate for it

Answer 74

... Ah. I see. If you just need the $$$ back soon you could just sell tomorrow morning.

Answer 75

Anyway, I gotta go to bed soon. This has been a good talk. c:

I'm going to recommend @SmokeyBrown and @Isry as two other people you could talk to for more questions about investing. Good to have other perspectives.

Answer 76

ok. i might sell it tomorrow. thank you so much for the advice and i really mean it!

Answer 77

i enjoyed it

Answer 78

yeah, me too, this was fun. much better than answering 50 million questions about FOIL or whatever. c:

Answer 79

hahhaha. im dead. goodnight *soon*