I usually try to keep my readers informed. If someone is actually trying to copy my investments then it's vitally important that I keep them informed and don't go selling and buying behind their backs.
Just by the way: Don't do that. I'm not a professional. Insert legalese disclaimer here.
Well, in this particular case I suspect I'll be forgiven for failing to keep my audience informed, because it hasn't gone well for me so far.
I sold my 24 shares of Zillow on 3.14 for $86.03 each. In the two weeks since, the stock has gone over $100 per share and back down again. I had originally planned to hold out for $100 a share, but changed my mind back on Pi Day.
I changed my mind because 3D Systems stock was so ridiculously low, and I didn't think it would stay there. I had originally purchased 61 shares at $77.90 each. On 3.14 I purchased 34 more shares of DDD at $60.28 each. I now have 95 shares that I purchased for an average of $71.59 each.
In the two weeks since I bought my additional shares, though, the stock has dropped below $57 a share. Right now it's back up to $59, which is still less than I most recently paid for it.
In retrospect, I clearly should have held onto my Zillow stock a little longer.
I've done a few things wrong lately.
1 - I really shouldn't have bought Zillow in the first place. It's not been consistently profitable. It had three negative quarters last year. Had I stuck to my rules for investing then I wouldn't have bought it. I bought it anyway, though, because I was certain it would go to $100 within a few months. If only I had remained certain . . . .
2 - This one is counter-intuitive, but once I decided to disobey my own rules and buy it then I should have bought more of it. I only bought 24 shares at $83.25 each. I should have bought 48 or even 72 shares. See, I pay roughly $10 to buy and $10 to sell. I lose $20, then, over the course of each individual investment. I made a gross profit of $2.78 on each of my 24 shares of Zillow, for a total gross profit of $66.72, however once I subtract the $20 I had to spend then my net profit was only $46.72. Had I purchased 48 shares, though, then my net profit would have been $113.44, and if I'd purchased 72 shares then my net profit would have been $180.16. The $20 loss means less the more I invest.
3 - I should have waited for Zillow to go to $100 a share. I figured it would go up when the housing market heated up, probably in the late spring or early summer. Who knew it would happen at the very beginning of spring?
The good news is that I didn't lose any money on Zillow. The bad news is I didn't really make any serious money, either.
It'll all work out someday when I sell DDD. I'm reasonably certain it will eventually go back up to over $96 a share. Sadly I have no idea WHEN that might be. The key word is "eventually."
