Buying stocks now? 3/17/2020

My dad's friend, & stockbroker was Muriel Siebert, a name you might remember from the bygone years.

Before he died my dad lamented (for the zillionith time), not taking her up on Xerox.
 

I want to buy AVAV, SQ, NVDA, DIS, LUV, plus etfs ITA, QQQ, and SPY. My ''appetite'' is bigger than my ''larder''. LOL
 

"Ignore" cleans a thread up nicely. :) Sometimes it's hard to 'hear' even excellent content due the static of arrogance.

Thanks to all who are responding in a teachable manner. I value your experiences and good communication skills.
 
rkunsaw said:
I'll tell you what I like if you won't blame me if it doesn't do well.
Ford (F) is around $5 a share right now and pays good dividends.
AT&T (T) also pays good dividends
Lockheed Martin (LMT) has lost $160 per share and I think it will gain it back whenever the market recovers

There are a lot of bargains out there right now. I've spent just about all my cash now or I'd buy more.
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I like Ford at $5 with earning for 2019 @ 1.19, 2020 estimated at .92 cents , 2021 @ 1.15 they should continue to pay their 50 cent dividend.

I also own and like AT&T.
 
including ALL DIVIDENDS ford has not made money for investors in 15 years unless you were so good at timing a buy and sell as a trader that you found a window of opportunity to make a profit because investors sure made no money .

they had an average total return of minus 44% ytd

average of minus 33.45% over the one year

average of minus 17.77 the last 3 years

average of minus 3.86% the last 5 years

average of minus 3.86% the last 10 years

average of minus .87 % the last 15 years

does that sound like a good stock to anyone here ? And that includes all dividends paid ...it was an awful investment over any time frame the last 15 years ....


ON THE OTHER HAND a simple s&p 500 fund returned

an average of minus 21% ytd

an average of minus 8.13 over the one year

an average plus 4.30 over the 3 year

an average plus 6.28 over the 5 year

an average of 9.71 over the 10 year

an average of 7% over the 15 year ....

WHICH WOULD YOU WANT TO OWN .

Do you really think ford is magically going to do something it hasnā€™t been able to do in 15 years , like make money and provide a decent return for taking on not only market risk but individual company risk too.

I would call it a speculation more than an investment.
 
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My opinion only. The problem with Ford and some other car companies is that they want a share of the electric car market. But in my opinion that will always be a niche market for several reasons. The power outages after a catastrophe are perfect example of why an electric car that needs charging is not something one wants to own and maintain. Throw in cheap oil & gas along more efficient engines people don't have reason to upgrade/buy an electric car. This R & D and production also takes away from keeping other models and/or keeping the price down on them. Along with the fact some that feel the car loan sector will be the next bubble to burst.

And not be conspiratorial but there are rumors Ford might have cooked their books after the crash of 08 to make it seem like they were the only major car manufacture that didn't need a bailout which helped sales for a while. So if they have been traveling on shakey books for a decade sooner or later the numbers will have no place to hide.
 
It is pretty much a foregone conclusion a recession is coming. Job losses could be as much as two million. The corona virus is yet to impact us in it's full capacity and hospitals are all saying they don't have the beds and respirators to handle the coming wave of patients. Over and over it was said yesterday doctors may very well decide who will live and who will die for the lack of equipment to treat all. It is going to get much, much worse before it gets better. I will not buy anything on Wall St. at any time in the near future.
 
fmdog44 said:
It is pretty much a foregone conclusion a recession is coming. Job losses could be as much as two million. The corona virus is yet to impact us in it's full capacity and hospitals are all saying they don't have the beds and respirators to handle the coming wave of patients. Over and over it was said yesterday doctors may very well decide who will live and who will die for the lack of equipment to treat all. It is going to get much, much worse before it gets better. I will not buy anything on Wall St. at any time in the near future.
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only buys i made the last week were long term treasuries after the 10% drop the last 2 days and gold which i think eventually may do very well ...right now the dollar is holding up strong but that could reverse sending gold soaring .....
 
Annie, I'm about the farthest you could find from being a stock guru, but I do have a few shares of different companies. As Catlady warned, be careful right now. Although I expect there will be government help for many companies, some may still go bankrupt. At that point, there may be little to nothing left for shareholders.

I'd be looking at companies with a lot of cash reserves to be able to ride this out. I'd also buy only a small amount at a time. Be prepared to see the value of what you've just bought to drop drastically.

I like to choose a very low price that I want to pay and put in a limit order for the stock for that amount. It might never hit but if it does, I know I'm getting the stock for the price I feel comfortable paying.

Although I have bought stocks for companies with products/services I don't use, I prefer to buy companies I'm familiar with. It's likely a comfort factor thing. Just today I was in Walgreens picking up a few food items because the grocery stores had huge lines, and it crossed my mind that I was supporting a company where I owned a little stock. I like that.

The stock market is like the wild west right now, so be careful. As strange as this sounds, have fun with it if you can. I'm likely an oddball, but I find it exciting finding out all I can about a stock then putting in a order with hopes it will drop to my price.
 
Haha @Red Cinders, I'm exactly like you, I love bear markets!

I've been wanting to buy BA for a long time but couldn't afford it at $400. This morning I bought a few shares at $100 and it promptly went down to $90. Oh well, I have to remind myself that I bought it on sale at 75% off. LOL

The great Peter Lynch always said to buy what you use and like. I don't always do that but I like his philosophy (re your Walgreens).
 
Catlady said:
Haha @Red Cinders, I'm exactly like you, I love bear markets!

I've been wanting to buy BA for a long time but couldn't afford it at $400. This morning I bought a few shares at $100 and it promptly went down to $90. Oh well, I have to remind myself that I bought it on sale at 75% off. LOL

The great Peter Lynch always said to buy what you use and like. I don't always do that but I like his philosophy (re your Walgreens).
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Peter Lynch was never a fund manager long enough to see what was wrong with his logic about buy only what you understand off in the future ..in fact Peter retired from fidelity even before he ever went through a recession...

We all understood sears , Ford , jc penny , xerox , Polaroid, we understood film and Kodak ....

We understood kraft and Heinz and who didnā€™t understand General Motors . We all knew blockbuster and oil companies too .. technology we did not understand even took what was scarce like oil and made it abundant...we are drowning in oil today .

Well technology which we did not understand totally obsoleted many ways of doing things , healthier eating killed many food companies of old and the new disrupters no one understood changed the way we all shop .

So I donā€™t think the stick to what you know worked out to well in the long run ...in fact except for Apple most of us never heard of all the great companies today that dominate the s&p 500 nor did we understand them in their early days
 
AnnieA said:
Have never bought single stocks before so am wondering about buying low now. Have been looking at cruise line stocks etc.

Any stock market gurus have advice for those of us who want to buy low but are lacking in knowledge?
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I would steer clear of troubled sectors like cruise lines, airlines, restaurants and casinos. Too much uncertainty.

There are blue-chip bargains like JP Morgan and Pfizer, but...

I think there are going to be further price drops.

We are holding onto our cash now because we might need it in the near term (next two years).

If you think prices can't get much lower, I recall Microsoft selling for about $17 in 2009. It was at $58 in 2000, then went to $17, then to $170. Now it's at $136. What is the "right" price for this great company?
 
JimBob1952 said:
I would steer clear of troubled sectors like cruise lines, airlines, restaurants and casinos. Too much uncertainty.

There are blue-chip bargains like JP Morgan and Pfizer, but...

I think there are going to be further price drops.

We are holding onto our cash now because we might need it in the near term (next two years).

If you think prices can't get much lower, I recall Microsoft selling for about $17 in 2009. It was at $58 in 2000, then went to $17, then to $170. Now it's at $136. What is the "right" price for this great company?
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Markets have no memory ...the value is only what someone is willing to pay at that moment.
....stocks are priced by greed ,fear and perception, not memory of what they once were.

The failed company graveyard is filled with once high flying stocks that never went back to what they once were
 
The two stocks I own (in small quantities) Facebook and Apple are still doing very well despite the major market dives but I wouldn't buy anymore private stocks at my age. I have to agree with Mathjak on this one.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
The two stocks I own (in small quantities) Facebook and Apple are still doing very well despite the major market dives but I wouldn't buy anymore private stocks at my age. I have to agree with Mathjak on this one.
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This is why I tend to try to dispel the hype , old wives tales , mantras and myth that floats out there ....much of it has been proven to sound great but ultimately really not true in practice
 
JimBob1952 said:
If you think prices can't get much lower, I recall Microsoft selling for about $17 in 2009. It was at $58 in 2000, then went to $17, then to $170. Now it's at $136. What is the "right" price for this great company?
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That's why I like to look at the high/low prices in 5 years, that gives me an idea how low I want to buy (or how high to sell?). Would be nice to buy now at the 2008 prices, but I like to be reasonable. And, yeah, I remember MSFT and INTC at $16 each, and after Nadella became CEO of MSFT it went up to $190 and Intel languished at $69. They are ALL down now because of the virus, so nobody's fault.
 
mathjak107 said:
Markets have no memory ...the value is only what someone is willing to pay at that moment.
....stocks are priced by greed ,fear and perception, not memory of what they once were.

The failed company graveyard is filled with once high flying stocks that never went back to what they once were
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Well, yeah. I've owned a few in my time, and probably own some now.
 
AnnieA said:
I have mutual funds already and am not touching those right now. The question was about buying single stocks while they're currently low. I'm not stupid and can learn. This is not astrophysics or neurosurgery. I have two master's degrees ...just not in finance. I also have time on my hands for learning more these days.

I asked a specific question. If you don't have the time or ability to answer that question in a meaningful way or point to meaningful resources about purchasing single stocks, please refrain from answering me.
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The problem is that it's not astrophysics or neosurgery. It's not a science. You can learn the basics pretty quickly, but the market is subject to irrational swings. And now it's subject to crazy moves from algorithmic trading and bots. Experienced professionals routinely lose their shirts.

Mathjak isn't going to win any prizes for charm, but he has done his homework and his outlook is sound.

I, on the other hand, have not done my homework. But I am charming as all get-out. šŸ˜
 
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Catlady said:
Haha @Red Cinders, I'm exactly like you, I love bear markets!

I've been wanting to buy BA for a long time but couldn't afford it at $400. This morning I bought a few shares at $100 and it promptly went down to $90. Oh well, I have to remind myself that I bought it on sale at 75% off. LOL

The great Peter Lynch always said to buy what you use and like. I don't always do that but I like his philosophy (re your Walgreens).
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Catlady, who would have thought that Boeing would go this low? They have some hurdles to get over, but I would bet they are too big and important for the government to let them go down in flames. I will say that I'm not brave enough to go after BA right now, but those who are will probably reap the rewards over the coming years. I'm a little too conservative in my acquisitions. With Walgreens, I put in a very low order. Last year they missed estimates and dropped big, and I was able to get in at a price that was lower than what it closed for today.
 
@Red Cinders = Yeah, I'm different that way, I like volatile stocks, gets my adrenaline going. LOL Not all of my stocks are high-flyers, I do own some conservative ones but mainly for their dividends. They are boring.

I like BA because I like futuristic stocks and they're involved in not only defense and planes, but also in drones and space stuff. I never thought I'd be able to own them and even 5 shares is good enough for me for the ''one foot in the door'' pleasure. Hopefully I can buy more at $80 if it goes down that low. I admit I may be more of a gambler than an investor, but I'm having fun.

According to most, at my age, 77, I shouldn't even be in individual stocks because I have "one foot in the grave and one on a banana peel". But, I enjoy doing it and I don't have a lot of hobbies. When I kick the bucket my daughter can enjoy the spoils, her name is in my account as heir. It won't go to waste.
 
When Mathjak was talking about the less-than-optimal method of buying only what you know, it brought home the point that successful investors have to be open to new things. Even Warren Buffett was reluctant to invest in technology for years, though I doubt he is kept up at night over any lost gains. This is why having a good professionally run fund is important. Fund managers are (or should be) up on the latest and greatest. Even index funds have a little of everything giving us fully-rounded exposure. For those of us who also have a few stocks just because we want them, hopefully we're able to make a little money and not lose our shirts.
 
Warren only got into techs because he hired two younger guys to replace him, they are the ones who pushed to buy Apple. And fund managers very seldom beat the market. I don't like mutual funds, but do buy sector ETFs for safety because they own most of the companies in that sector. Not all of them will fail and many also pay dividends.
 
Catlady, I've heard that about fund managers seldom beating the market. I'm wondering that now in the changing environment if they'll do better than index funds. Over the past few years, the market went either straight up or sideways for a time. There weren't a lot of losers. Once we come out of this mess, the landscape may change and make good stock pickers important again. BTW, I like your style! :)
 


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