Why I Bought: Thought it was at a good buy point. The company sells a new technology – Solid State Hard Drives, and is a leader in the industry.
Why I Sold: I set a stop 8% below my buy point. After a few weeks of some upward movement, it began to reverse. I noticed that while the major indices were rising STEC was falling. A few days later it gapped down and I was stopped out.
Lessons learned: Always cut losses short at most 8% below the buy point. STEC continued to fall after I sold, and the stop kept me from losing an even larger amount of money. STEC appears to now be forming a new base and I might consider buying back in.