If you are a sports fan, you know that some teams are said to have other team’s “numbers”. Regardless of talent level, one team just matches up better and often comes out on top. The Cincinnati Reds of the late 1980’s had the number of the Oakland Athletics, especially in the World Series. The A’s of that era had far more talent than the Reds but, for some reason, could never put it together. They simply had the A’s number. Similar to the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills.
The same goes for stock investing, it seems. There are certain companies – Twitter (TWTR:NASDAQ), Texas Instruments (TXN: NASDAQ), Netflix (NFLX:NASDAQ) – that just have my number.. Time and again over the years, I have entered trades for these companies to try and change that luck. Never happens.
Is this just poor trading or is it really possible for a stock to “have your number”? Its actually both. Often, when we lose money in a stock, it is because we don’t understand what they do. Those companies should never be considered for investment. There is a reason that you aren’t making gains in them. Maybe it is a lack of understanding but it may also be a lack of familiarity with the trading patterns. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
In a sport where the schedule is set for you, you cant avoid who is up next for you. In the stock market, you have your choice of thousands and thousands of stocks. There is no lack of opportunity. Cut your losses and move on!
This article is meant to be for informational purposes. It is written from my personal opinion and from informational sources believed to be accurate. It is not meant to be investment advice, and should not be construed as such. I do not recommend buying or selling any of the stocks discussed. All investments bear risk and your on due diligence should be undertaken to determine which investments are most appropriate for you.