Options Trading Tutorial

How to decide when to sell off my stocks?

Hi. I am an employee of Applied Materials Inc, listed as AMAT in NASDAQ. My company provides me the following stock plans/grants: 1. ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) 2. NQSO (Non-Qualified Stock Option) 3. RSU (Restricted Stock Units) In ESPP, we get shares at 15% discount. We can purchase shares twice a year(On last day of feb & august). The max amount one is allowed to invest in this scheme is 10% of my basic. In NQSO, we have an expiry period of 5 years. Shares would vest over a period of 3 years. (33% would vest at the end of 1 year, 33% next year and so on) Here, we get shares at a fixed rate of $8.6 In RSU, we get a grant of 40 shares every year. It does not require any investment. Another factor is i earn in Rupees (INR), but stock is traded in US Dollars($). So Exchange Rate of that date of transaction is applicable. Now, the trouble i am facing is how to decide when to sell how many shares? Considering that i have purchased stocks in all the schemes over past 2 years, and dollar has appreciated from 40 to 50 Rs. roughly, and some of the shares i own have been granted to me for free. how to decide when to sell how many shares?

Public Comments

1. sell when it's appreciated too high in value that the underlying cashflow is too low compared to the stock price, because the price will surely fall to more realistic levels in due time. or sell when demand is high, and buy back if it's selling low & the current & future cashflow of the company makes the stock look underpriced. good luck
2. when gold starts to rise quickly
3. Hey, I'm a stockholder in AMAT - get your butt back to work! lol ! If you need the money for other purposes sell those shares that would have the least tax consequence. You've got a 25% gain just on the currency appreciation! What do you see as an employee for the future prospects of the company? Some companies may not survive over the next few years. In that case I would sell all the stock - but I think AMAT will survive as it's one of the biggest players in its space. AMAT has had a little bit of a rally lately, so now is probably a good time to lighten up a little if you own a lot of stock.
4. sell now if u need to convert dollars to inr if not than hold on