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So, first trade made, using Firstrade

CrashCrash
edited September 2019 in Off-Topic
Limit order. But not Bombardier, as referenced a while ago. The order is for Manulife. Ticker MFC. Limit order requested at $18.19. (US.) No trouble. But when I called, I was told the "F" in Bombardier's ticker disqualifies it. Foreign, Canada. Even though it can be obtained in the States, via OTC. Doggy poopies.

"Simply Wall Street" asserts that the stock is 47% undervalued. Anyone else using that tool?
https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/insurance/nyse-mfc/manulife-financial

Manulife pays a good dividend. Now I wonder if I'll be paid in US funds, or if a currency exchange must be made. And will the dividend go directly into my Firstrade account? I have not linked any bank accounts yet.

Comments

  • MikeMMikeM
    Interesting @Crash. Good luck with your play. I tend to call all stock purchases 'play' because for me I'm playing a bet - kind of fun. I remember checking out your Bombardier stock and to me MFC looks a lot better.

    Question, how did you pick your limit order buy point? I have my own not-so-technical buy method and with that I would have put the order in at around 16.4. Just curious.
  • CrashCrash
    edited September 2019
    Hello, @MikeM. "Question, how did you pick your limit order buy point? I have my own not-so-technical buy method and with that I would have put the order in at around 16.4. Just curious."
    ...Not much science to it. If I'm reading that trading tool correctly, I made my trade with an expiration at the end of the day, so it seems that it did not go through, after checking, once the market closed for the day. I decided upon just a few cents lower than the posted share-price at that particular moment, just so I could get in. Morningstar says the stock (MFC) is trading in a range that is already "fair value." Quite a difference from the "Simply Wall Street" opinion. Clearly, they both have a different perspective, or are using very different criteria.

    Please, DO tell: why would you go so low, at $16.40? Obviously, looking for a deeper discount, and you're willing to wait...
  • MikeMMikeM
    Yes. willing to wait and willing to pass on a buy. My not so technical method is to make sure the a stock I'm interested in has a lot of buy or out-perform ratings with different rating summary's I get through my Scwhab account. Then all I do is chart the stocks trend line, usually over 1 year, and just draw a straight line connecting the stock prices low points, drops. The follow through of that line gives me an idea of a"good" purchase point.

    @crash, this method for me has found some good buys and some that didn't work out. Stocks certainly can and have continued to fall through my buy point. But in those cases I just have to be patient. CVS was an example of that. Though I bought at a good price, before I new it it fell another 15-20% lower. But I was patient and I'm up slightly from my buy and I intend to hold on. In other cases, like Amazon for instance, the price continues to rise and I will never be a buyer I guess, unless I reevaluate my line.

    Again, good luck. You will find your own method over time.
  • BenWPBenWP
    I agree, @MikeM, with your method for finding a buy point. I traded in and out of CVS, buying first when M* rated it 5 stars and selling after a decent profit. These value plays (it is a game with money I can afford to lose) test my nerves and I, too, have caught some falling knives only to ride them down some more. I often comb through the M* 5-star stocks for candidates. A couple of recent failures, though not big losers, have been WCC, WAB, and SCHW. The ratings provided by Schwab, as you mention, are useful; I also look at SeekingAlpha. The latter has gone to a two-tier system, with some postings now available only to paying subscribers. I would do better if I were more patient. SCHW took a huge hit due to interest-rate worries, then promptly rallied. Unfortunately, I missed out because I had sold at a break-even point when the decline set in.
  • Derf
    @MikeM & BenWP : Would you both consider these (spiff plays) as old_Skeet calls his short moves ?
    Derf
  • MikeMMikeM
    @Derf, it's my play money and I trade stock as a fun hobby. I've never though of giving it a cute name. I believe spiff is just a made up acronym, isn't it?
  • BenWPBenWP
    @Derf: when I trade in and out of CAPE, I think that might be what Old_Skeet does. We're both using either an S&P 500 fund or, in my case, one that tracks the overall US market but has done so with some out performance. Like @Mike, my stock plays are short term and mostly for the satisfaction that comes with being a small player. In my portfolios, there are only two stocks I've held for a long time. In both cases, the investment started as a toe in the water, then more as the stocks rose. I sold some of one to pay for a wedding, and some of the other because of valuation concerns. As it stands now, the positions have appreciated so much that I don't want to sell and pay the CG taxes. BTW, it's easy to talk about winners, not so easy to recount the sad tales of the losers.
  • Derf
    @MikeM & BenWP : Thanks for your replies.
    Derf
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