Don't Sit On Losses: How This Simple Rule Spared Investors From Meta's 77% Crash (2024)

Sitting on losses is never a good strategy because those losses can pile very quickly. Even strong stocks can dive and give up all gains from a buy point in a single session. That is why watching for sell signals and knowing how to sell stocks is vital to investing.

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There are different ways of finding topping signs. Chart analysis offers a clear clue through IBD's 7% sell rule. The sell rule is a simple and effective way of cutting your losses in a disciplined manner.

When a stock breaks out of a base, watch out if it falls below the base's buy point. This in itself is not a sign of a failed break out. However, if the stock falls 7% or more below the entry, it triggers the 7% sell rule. It is time to exit the position before it does further damage.

That way, investors can still be in the game for future opportunities by preserving capital. The deeper a stock falls, the harder it is to get back to break-even. A drop of 7% takes a 7.5% gain to fully recover. A drop of 20% takes a 25% rebound. A 30% decline takes a 42.9% bounce.

The 7% stop loss applies to any stock purchase at any level. If you bought a stock at 45 and the buy point was at 43, you want to calculate the 7% sell rule from your purchase price.

Selling Stocks: Advantage For Small Investors

The 7% sell rule is one of the tools nimble investors have that larger funds that hold massive positions among a wide range of stocks may not.IBD founder William O'Neil would point out that it is "a terrific advantage" that the nimble and decisive individual investor has over the institutions.

Don't Sit On Losses: How This Simple Rule Spared Investors From Meta's 77% Crash (1)Shares of Meta Platforms (META) broke out of a flat base with a buy point of 377.55 on Aug. 30, 2021 (1). Volume was lower than average, which could have alerted a watchful investor. Shares rose to 384.33 but quickly started to fall.

The stock fell below its 50-day moving average on Sept. 20 (2) — the first sign of trouble.

That same day, Meta's dropped as low as 349.80. That was a 7% decline (to 351.12) from the buy point.

Two days later, the stock gapped down and the 7% loss was quite clear by now. Shares plummeted to 88.08 by November 2022. That's a loss of 77% from the August 2021 entry.

Meta didn't get back to its August 2021 levels until January 2024. Investors holding on to its shares from the sell signal would have waited more than two years to get back to break-even. But those who sold in September 2021 would have the capital to get back into the stock for its 2023 rally.

How To Sell Stocks: Market Conditions Matter

The 7% sell rule holds true in bull markets. But in a bear market, it may be wise to exit earlier if the stock falls 3% to 4% from a buy point after a breakout.

The 7% sell rule is one of the simplest rules investors can follow. IBD had been calling it the 7%-8% sell rule, but as a practical matter, it is treated as a 7% loss trigger.

This article was originally published July 14, 2023, and has been updated. Please follow VRamakrishnanon Twitter for more news on the stock market today.

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Don't Sit On Losses: How This Simple Rule Spared Investors From Meta's 77% Crash (2024)

FAQs

Don't Sit On Losses: How This Simple Rule Spared Investors From Meta's 77% Crash? ›

However, if the stock falls 7% or more below the entry, it triggers the 7% sell rule. It is time to exit the position before it does further damage. That way, investors can still be in the game for future opportunities by preserving capital.

Do you lose all your money if the stock market crashes? ›

While it appears that you're losing money during a market crash, in reality, it's just your stocks losing value. For example, say you buy 10 shares of a stock priced at $100 per share, so your total account balance is $1,000. If that stock price drops to $80 per share, those shares are now only worth $800.

What is the rule number 1 in investing? ›

Warren Buffett once said, “The first rule of an investment is don't lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule.

Can investors lose their entire investment in stocks? ›

Technically, yes. You can lose all your money in stocks or any other investment that has some degree of risk. However, this is rare. Even if you only hold one stock that does very poorly, you'll usually retain some residual value.

When investors lose money where does it go? ›

“In other words, the money did not exist or disappear for long-term investors if you did not make any transactions. However, for short-term investors, when stock prices go up or down, the money would be transferred among them as a zero-sum game, i.e. your losses would be others' gains, and vice versa.”

Do 90% of people lose money in the stock market? ›

About 90% of investors lose money trading stocks. That's 9 out of every 10 people — both newbies and seasoned professionals — losing their hard earned dollars by trying to outsmart an unpredictable and extremely volatile machine.

Do you owe money if a stock crashes? ›

But, if your stock falls to $40 in price, you'll still owe $50 to your broker. Selling the stock, however, only raises $40. In order to make the broker whole, you'll have to pay an additional $10. That's how you can end up owing money on a stock.

What is the 80% rule investing? ›

In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.

What is the 90% rule in stocks? ›

The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.

What is the rule of 69 in investing? ›

The Rule of 69 tells you how long it takes to double your money with different returns. 🚀 The formula is simple: 69 divided by your investment's annual return rate.

What happens if you lose 100% of your stock? ›

When a stock's price falls to zero, a shareholder's holdings in this stock become worthless. Major stock exchanges actually delist shares once they fall below specific price values.

Should I pull my investments out of the stock market? ›

Key Takeaways. While holding or moving to cash might feel good mentally and help avoid short-term stock market volatility, it is unlikely to be wise over the long term. Once you cash out a stock that's dropped in price, you move from a paper loss to an actual loss.

Which stocks to buy in 2024? ›

Top 10 Stocks to Buy Before 2024 Elections
  • Hindustan Unilever Ltd. ( HUL) ...
  • State Bank of India (SBI) ...
  • Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) ...
  • Bharat Electronics (BEL) ...
  • Ultratech Cement. ...
  • New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) ...
  • Larsen and Toubro (L&T) ...
  • Varun Beverages.
May 2, 2024

Has a stock ever come back from 0? ›

Can a stock ever rebound after it has gone to zero? Yes, but unlikely. A more typical example is the corporate shell gets zeroed and a new company is vended [sold] into the shell (the legal entity that remains after the bankruptcy) and the company begins trading again.

Where is the safest place for money in a market crash? ›

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

Because they invest in real estate, REIT performance may be less correlated to the stock market, making them a good hedge against crashes. As an added bonus, they generally pay higher dividends than many other investments.

Could the stock market go to zero? ›

And while theoretically possible, the entire US stock market going to zero would be incredibly unlikely. It would, in fact, take a catastrophic event involving the total dissolution of the US government and economic system for this to occur.

Is my money safe if the stock market crashes? ›

Money held in an interest bearing account like a money market account, a savings account or others is generally safe from losses stemming from a stock market decline. Bonds, including various Treasury securities can also be a safe haven. That said, beyond cash-type accounts nothing is totally safe from losses.

Is it possible to lose all your money in the stock market? ›

If you do not use borrowed money, you will never owe money with your stock investments. Stocks can only drop to $0.00 per share, meaning you can lose 100% of your investment but not more than that, seeing as the stock cannot be of negative value.

Where does all the money go when the stock market crashes? ›

When the stock market crashes or even corrects significantly, the giant pool of money (trillions of investment capital) moves out of stocks and into bonds, and that can push down rates significantly (because more demand for bonds increases the price of bonds and that in turn pushes down yields or “interest rates;” this ...

Should I sell all my stocks before the market crashes? ›

This is because investors often become fearful during market crashes and sell their stocks to avoid further losses, which can drive down the price of stocks even further. The correct answer for this would be to invest after a major market crash.

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