Author Topic: I bought my first individual stock in over 10 years (LUV at 23.05) on 05/14/20  (Read 1322 times)

clarkfan1979

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I do believe in index funds and that is why I haven't bought an individual stock in over 10 years. However, one of my friends talked me into it on March 14th. It was the last day of snowboarding for the year. We were both worried that fun was being cancelled. We were brainstorming on ideas for fun that we could do virtually. He pressed me hard to buy individual stocks as a game ($1,000 to $2,000). I agreed, but mostly as an activity to bond with my friend.

On March 14th, I agreed to buy stock in Southwest Airlines (LUV), which was a Saturday. It closed at $41.28 on Friday, March 13th. In April my friend asked when I was going to buy. I told him that I was waiting for the country to get a little more pessimistic. Once it dropped below $30, my friend wanted to buy, but I told him that I was holding out for $25.

On Thursday, May 14th at 10:00 a.m., I bought 100 shares at $23.05. My friend got 25 shares at $23.00. The current 52-week low was $22.47 on Thursday, May 14th around 10:15 a.m. It looks like we were within 15 minutes and 2.6% of buying at the absolute bottom.

On May 27th, 9 trading days later, LUV stock is currently at $33.25. I'm up 44.2%.

I'm not saying that I can replicate this again. However, I feel like I haven't shot a basketball in over 10 years and just made a 3/4 court shot on the first try.

My current holdings within individual stocks is less than 1% of my total net worth, of which I am comfortable.

ETF2

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Glad you got in on it.  But this was not like shooting a basketball from 3/4 court and hitting on the first try.  You could almost throw a dart at a random selection of stocks at that time and kill it.  Which is fine, I bought airlines and cruises, too.  Everyone did.  But we also want to be careful not to give people a false impression of their sick investing skillz!

clarkfan1979

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I'm not saying that I can replicate it, but I still like my analogy. I bought within 2.6% and 15 minutes of the 52 week low.

S & P 500 is up 7% since May 14th. LUV is up 46%. The random dart analogy doesn't seem to be supported.



Paul der Krake

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I'm more interested in whether this means Southwest pulls the plug on their Hawaii experiment... terrible timing.

Airlines have been seeing some crazy swings lately. Tempted to short the shit out of Hawaiian Airlines. I don't see how these guys recover. They had labor dispute and years of mismanagement beforehand in historical tourism highs. Maybe they merge with Alaska and form a west coast behemoth.

clarkfan1979

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I haven't heard of Southwest pulling the plug on Hawaii. If you are considering, "shorting the shit out of Hawaiian Airlines", then that would be good news for Southwest.

I used to live on Kauai (2015-2019). I still own a home there and rent it out. I fly back 4 times/year. Southwest entering the Hawaii market has been huge for me. I fly 3 times/year by myself and bring my wife and son once a year. This is 6 flights/year total. I think we have enough points and accrue enough points monthly that I do not plan on buying a plane ticket with cash for at least 18 months.

Southwest did very well during the last recession. I am "betting" they do the same during this recession. We will see if my bet is correct. Only time will tell.
« Last Edit: June 03, 2020, 08:49:04 AM by clarkfan1979 »