Stock Picks 2014

What are people's predictions for this year? What's in your portfolio? What was your biggest success last year? Worst flop? Biggest hope for the new year? Biggest short?

 

I never understood predictions, isn't the stock market manipulated easily?

Isn't it impossible to predict a winner without manipulating said market?

I've only dabbled in it as in buying a few stocks and watch it go up and down for shits and giggles.

Never would invest in it though.

 

Biggest success: Bought SKUL @ 5.50, currently at $7.55 (37.3% gain), still holding
I'm also about to win my university's annual investing competition.

Biggest flop: Short CZR @ 19.81, out at $20.56

As always, I only try picking with ~10% of my portfolio. The rest is in low-expense index funds.

No picks yet for this year.

It's difficult to manipulate and it's also illegal to do so. Almost everyone should invest, although few people should try to pick individual stocks.

 

No and no, for the reasons that Pockets mentioned.


@Pockets:

My biggest success was buying SID at 3.71 (currently 5.88) - up 58.5%. Close second was EXPE, bought at 46.77 (currently 70.69) - up 51.1%.
Biggest flop was APC, bought at 91.85 (currently 80.06 but headed upwards) - down 12.9%.
Overall, market was up 9.7% in last six months, and I was up around 17.5% after fees and stupid costs I incurred along the way (19.5% without).

Haven't finalized 2014 picks yet either. Should get on that. Will probably be dropping GSK, APC, SID, and perhaps EXPE and CSCO (we'll see at earnings time). Will be acquiring BMY and others.

 

Poke.

 

Why do you think you can beat the market?

 

I don't expect to or necessarily think I can. I do, however, think that certain companies are poised to do better than the market in the coming years, so I plan to go with them.

 

Great pics! That is something we can see in 2014.