First Stock I Ever Owned: SIX
The first stock I ever owned was Six Flags, Inc., which trades under the ticker SIX. I started dabbling in stocks at the end of my senior year in high school after a special finance and accounting class that traveled around came to my high school – I was hooked. It was the sort of thing where you got $10,000 in play money in order to pick some stocks, and you got to monitor them and see how they did, with prizes going to the best performing portfolios. Once I learned about it and understood the time value of money concept, I opened up my own brokerage account.
I really had no idea what I was doing – I picked companies I had heard of. Six Flags is a company with a number of amusement parks, which I enjoyed and figured must be a good investment, so I put $250 into it (big money right ). Well, the company was struggling then with narrow margins, a lot of debt, and (it seemed to me) a number lawsuits from things that happened at the park. I ended up holding it for a few years and then sold it for a small gain in 2006, but I definitely lagged the overall market. Fast forward to 2010 and the company merged, renamed, uplisted, etc and the now trades on the NYSE as Six Flags Entertainment Corp. The company has been doing great, and is up more than 700% since 2010.
Unfortunately, it is really hard to tell what the value of my initial $250 would have been if I had not sold in 2006 due to the move to the different exchange and stock splits – whenever you look at the “inception” of the ticker SIX, it only goes back to 2010, so that was a disappointment. It would have been at least a 10 bagger though, worth at least $2,500. Too bad I didn’t hold right! I think I moved into Cheesecake Factory’s stock right after (ticker: CAKE), which is up about 100% from 2006, but that is a lag on the overall markets which are up about 140% since that time (though I sold out long ago).
To me, learning by doing is one of the best methods… just jump in and see how it goes! Sounds like my crypto strategy actually… Ha!
Do you remember the first stock you ever owned?
Brian
Note: Free image courtesy of pixabay.
your post always talented and original.because everyday to read your post i am learning alots of new thing about steemit platform.its really very big matter for me.today you showing stocks matter.we knew that something is going to happen or how it will be in a few years although it was quite some time ago and I think the business world is not easy, maybe it's like a stock exchange.thanks to sharing for your good post..my dear friend.. @brian.rrr very well done..take care yourself and best of luck of your great work.may god bless you and your family.my best wishes alltime with you..
I’m a junior and still learning about crypto and investments but eventually I will figure it out. Some of the bigger steemians like you give me tips and that helps a lot and thanks again for the post.
Just because you love a product does not mean it's a good investment. (Heck my parents like to shop at Sears because the store is never crowded! I like the food at Potbellies.) Personally I was never that crazy about it. I could make better tasting food at home. The only time I ate there was when I got a bunch of free coupons after the E. coli. But my personal feeling about the food are irrelevant, what matters is the money.
What you should do is look at the company's financials. What are its margins, change in same store sales, how many open and closed... What are the trends. Just because the stock has been beaten down does not mean it'll go up.
I'm not saying it is a bad or a good investment, but I am saying you should always look before you leap. You need to know what you are getting into.
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments. I have considerable experience now, but for this first stock I ever picked story, I just invested in something I liked so it was not any research!
Investing and trading is quite tricking, a wrong investment might ruin you and the right one, make you.
But to be honest, there are always signs of intending success, it's never plain old simple but with painstaking research one can always predict a stock or crypto
Hello friend, I hope you are well
I was surprised to read you but things that happen hopefully we knew that something is going to happen or how it will be in a few years although it was quite some time ago and I think the business world is not easy, maybe it's like a stock exchange
I think it just was not for you maybe with this came or came better things
Hello how are you? I always say that if we were fortune-tellers, the world would be another, so you could not know what was going to happen.
Who would say or who would imagine that the company was going to get up but often this is how things usually are? There are no rules for this. Maybe you took this business when it was not your time. I think you endured a lot and did a lot for the company but it was not your time
The most I have come to buy are cell phones I spent a lot with the changing economy I sold it at a price a little low with a small profit margin but I did maybe after leaving the next day the phone was more expensive these they are things that happen
The first stock I purchased was a security company that built secured doors for jails, schools and other buildings. It was a penny stock and I had a lot of wild rides with it. That was in 2003.. I was 18 years old.
My intro into the world of stocks and investment was very similar. There was a stock challenge that my math teacher had ya participate in. I do a similar thing with my students as well. The markets can be connected to world events and watched for fluctuations. You can even analyze historical data. I use a website calle “How the market works”. It is an amazing tool for students and beginner investors. They are even incorporating crypto into possible portfolio options. I highly suggest taking a look.
Learning from that experience was worth a few dollars, I think it has happened to all of us that after letting go of something we see how it grows and goes up and we always ask: if I had endured a little more. but neither is business.