2. 1. Your investment thesis has changed
The company's market share is falling, perhaps because a competitor is
offering a superior product for a lower price.
Sales growth has noticeably slowed.
The company's management has changed, and the new managers are
making reckless decisions such as assuming too much debt.
If something fundamental about the company or its stock changes, that can be
a good reason to sell. For example:
3. 2. The company is being acquired
Another potentially good reason to sell is if a company announces it has
agreed to be acquired. After an acquisition is announced, the stock price of
the company being acquired typically rises to a level close to the agreed-upon
purchase price. Since further upside potential can be quite limited, it may be
wise to lock in your gains shortly after the acquisition announcement.
4. 3. You need the money or soon will
It's generally a best practice not to invest in the stock market with any
money you expect to need within the next few years. But if you need
the money, that's certainly a valid reason to sell.
5. 4. You need to rebalance your portfolio
Owning a high-performing stock
Seeking to reduce your stock exposure
Your investment portfolio can become unbalanced in one or more ways.
That is why periodically rebalancing your portfolio, which may involve selling
some stock, is necessary for most investors. These are two of the most
common circumstances preceding a stock sale:
6. 5. You identify opportunities to better
invest your money elsewhere
In a perfect world, you'd always have spare cash to invest for every time you
identify an attractive investment opportunity. Since that's probably not the
case, you may decide to sell stock to invest the cash differently.
Let's say you notice an incredible buying opportunity for one of your favorite
stocks and decide you want 10% of your portfolio to be allocated to this
investment. If you don't happen to have 10% of your portfolio sitting in cash,
you may decide to sell some shares of another stock or exchange-traded fund
(ETF) you own to free up some capital. There's likely nothing wrong with the
other stock or ETF, but recognizing an excellent long-term opportunity
elsewhere can be a valid reason to sell.
8. When not to sell a stock
Don't sell a stock just because its price increased
Don't sell a stock just because its price decreased
Don't sell stock just to save money on taxes
10. When to sell stocks?
This Course will address all your triggers of selling stocks and
help you to learn the art of holding and choosing the right
time to sell a stock.