Michael Delaney

Cramer's Lightning Round - A Smoking, Sizzling Stock That Didn't Do the Job (4/6/09)

Buy and hold is never the way to go. Warren Buffet's favorite holding period is forever? Yes. But that does not mean that Warren Buffet doesn't sell a stock when it is no longer viable.

When you buy a stock, you have to pay attention. Buying and forgetting is lazy. Keep a stock for a long time (decades) if you want to. But keep track. There has to be some point where if it goes that low, you will get out. You can't sit in Enron, K-Mart, Delta Air Lines or Lehman Brothers until they go to zero. If you are down (pick a number: 20%, 40%, 60% etc.) you have to get out. Bill O'Neil at IBD likes to use 7% or 8%. That may be too small for a long term investor. But you have to have some stop loss number in mind. And the only way you will know the current price is to pay attention.

It makes no sense to watch Starbucks go below $10 when you bought it at $35. Sell it and if you really like their story, buy it back along the mutual fund managers when it stops sinking and becomes a value play.

Cramer's Lightning Round - A Smoking, Sizzling Stock That Didn't Do the Job (4/6/09)

Mad Money is aimed at investors, not traders. When you buy a stock, of course it can go down tomorrow, or next week, or next month. In fact, it certainly will. Nothing goes straight up when you buy it. And nothing goes straight down when you sell it. You're not that brilliant. (Neither am I. Neither is Warren Buffet).

When you buy something, will you have a profit a year from now? That's the question you should ask. If you want guaranteed upside, buy a T-bill and hold it until maturity. Or buy a CD at your bank.