But since it's a naughty child I already own, I'm willing to give it another chance. The time to sell winners is when they have plateaued, when you think you could get a better return somewhere else. It's a big company and it's not going to be able to grow as fast as it could when it was smaller. I like the energy sector and I like Enron as a portfolio diversifier. But I should be watching to spot a good time to trim back.
Losers are more difficult.
When I sell Lucent, I'll have to acknowledge that I made a mistake. What you've lost is the opportunity to invest that money somewhere else at a gain. I knew I wouldn't end up with anything so scientific as the price targets Jim Jubak uses because I feel that would lock me out of some stocks I want to own and eliminate too much on the upside. I sell it when I don't like the company's prospects anymore or because the price seems way too good to be true or because the stock has done so well it threatens to take over my portfolio. But I didn't do it.