and here's more proof. Yet another item for the Note To Self file.
I didn't buy Cenovus Energy (CVE) shares, but I didn't get them free either.
One day I had Encana (ECA) shares valued at $57.63. The next day I an equal number of Cenovus shares which traded at $26.30 that first day. Needless to say, the Encana shares dropped by more than $26.30 to $30.13. Such is life when a public company divides itself into two entities. In this case, Encana the giant became Encana the gas company and Cenovus the oil company.
Initially the talking heads suggested keeping Encana and blowing off Cenovus. Since then, sentiment has turned and there's a fairly even split between: A) Keep both B) Dump Encana C) Dump Cenovus and D) Dump them both. As usual, every analyst that BNN drags out of the woodwork has their own, and very different opinion. Not surprising retail investors get confused. Who are you supposed to believe?
I've been holding Encana since last July and Cenovus since the split on December 1. I've been getting pretty bored with both. Cenovus has been as high as $27.84 so when I put in a sell order at $27.00 on March 22 when when it was trading at $25.24 it was a bit of a flier. I figured, what the heck, if it happens to drift up there in the next while I'd be happy to unload them.
I reviewed the sell order last Monday. Cenovus closed at $25.11 on Friday the 26th. As it had been trading in a tight range between $24.50 and $26.00 for some weeks, $27.00 seemed a long way off. I renewed my sell order through April 2.
I was in a bit of a fog when I staggered to my computer at 4:30 AM on April Fools Day. Don't ask. I noticed that Cenovus has spiked to $26.53 the day before. I should have gone to (Bloomberg Commodities) to check the overnight price of oil. I should have noted that the whole energy sector had gone up on Wednesday. Gosh knows, I hold four major energy players and am monitoring ten others right on my Yahoo! Home Page. Instead, I checked email, read a few blogs, stood on the scale and declared to my wife, for the tenth time since Christmas, that I am starting that diet right after the long weekend. No way I starting before I get those chocolate bunnies!
You gotta know, I got taken out at $27.00 on the way up to $28.12. That's the disadvantage of being a part-time trader. Any self respecting day trader would have been all over the winds of change and canceled the $27.00 sell order before the markets opened, watched for a while and made an extra buck a share...or held if he could see some more upside.
On a positive note, I now have some liquidity in my trading account. Just have to source out the next home run!
I should rename this bog, The Lazy Canadian Investor!
I didn't buy Cenovus Energy (CVE) shares, but I didn't get them free either.
One day I had Encana (ECA) shares valued at $57.63. The next day I an equal number of Cenovus shares which traded at $26.30 that first day. Needless to say, the Encana shares dropped by more than $26.30 to $30.13. Such is life when a public company divides itself into two entities. In this case, Encana the giant became Encana the gas company and Cenovus the oil company.
Initially the talking heads suggested keeping Encana and blowing off Cenovus. Since then, sentiment has turned and there's a fairly even split between: A) Keep both B) Dump Encana C) Dump Cenovus and D) Dump them both. As usual, every analyst that BNN drags out of the woodwork has their own, and very different opinion. Not surprising retail investors get confused. Who are you supposed to believe?
I've been holding Encana since last July and Cenovus since the split on December 1. I've been getting pretty bored with both. Cenovus has been as high as $27.84 so when I put in a sell order at $27.00 on March 22 when when it was trading at $25.24 it was a bit of a flier. I figured, what the heck, if it happens to drift up there in the next while I'd be happy to unload them.
I reviewed the sell order last Monday. Cenovus closed at $25.11 on Friday the 26th. As it had been trading in a tight range between $24.50 and $26.00 for some weeks, $27.00 seemed a long way off. I renewed my sell order through April 2.
I was in a bit of a fog when I staggered to my computer at 4:30 AM on April Fools Day. Don't ask. I noticed that Cenovus has spiked to $26.53 the day before. I should have gone to (Bloomberg Commodities) to check the overnight price of oil. I should have noted that the whole energy sector had gone up on Wednesday. Gosh knows, I hold four major energy players and am monitoring ten others right on my Yahoo! Home Page. Instead, I checked email, read a few blogs, stood on the scale and declared to my wife, for the tenth time since Christmas, that I am starting that diet right after the long weekend. No way I starting before I get those chocolate bunnies!
You gotta know, I got taken out at $27.00 on the way up to $28.12. That's the disadvantage of being a part-time trader. Any self respecting day trader would have been all over the winds of change and canceled the $27.00 sell order before the markets opened, watched for a while and made an extra buck a share...or held if he could see some more upside.
On a positive note, I now have some liquidity in my trading account. Just have to source out the next home run!
I should rename this bog, The Lazy Canadian Investor!
1 comment:
Semi-active young investor here. I had a somewhat similar experience with VT a few weeks ago. Bought under 9 and sold in the mid 10s for a nice 15% gain. Got greedy and thought I could get out, and get back in below 10 to crystallize some of my gains. I still believed in the long-term potential of the stock, but again, greed reigned supreme. Well leading up to earnings season VT and agricultural commodities became in high demand, and once I got out the stock just kept rising. I'm still reasonably happy with my 15% gain in less than a month, but it's the lost opportunity that bites at me. Lesson learned - be smart, patient and not greedy.
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