Why didn't I stick with Dryships

18 months ago, a friend told me to buy Dryships. I bought it at $9, before selling it at $9.10 the next day. Today the stock hit $130. I missed it. Here is why I would miss it again.

Dryships is going through the roof. I once owned the stock but sold it quickly. In 18 short months, I missed a return on this stock that would have enabled me to retire or at least to live more comfortably. I of course am kicking myself.

When I bought the stock, I did some research. I learned that Dryships is a Greek manufacturer of, well, dry ships. Their ability to make money on these ships is based on the ocean shipping rates for cargo which in turn is based on the supply and demand equation of boats that can handle this type of shipping. The stock trades on that and nothing more. I sold the stock quickly after realizing that this was a highly volatile market that I could not understand.

When I saw that the stock hit $130, I did some research to find out why I missed it. I learned exactly the same thing, nothing more. As rates have improved and the company has executed well, the stock has gone higher.

I don't know if Dryships is a bubble or fairly valued. I do know that I don't know anything about global shipping rates. While sad that I missed a 13-fold run over the last 18 months, I am prepared to miss the next 13-fold increase or 13-fold decline. I know nothing about this and there is little info available to learn on. So I'll continue to miss it.

Mary  O'Donnell
Mary O'Donnell: Mary writes about Canadian investments for BestCashCow from Calgary, AL.

Comments

  • slicker

    October 18, 2007

    What do you invest in? Do you know the intricacies of semiconductor chips? Do you know how to forecast how many burgers McDs will sell next month? Do you know how Citibank manages its mortgage or arbitrage or derivitive or Merger/acquisition businesses? If not, then I take it that your world of investing is very very small. I admit it's true I eat hamburgers, bought a house and own a computer, but I know I'm no expert. Yet I've managed to make monmey in all these industries

  • Peter Grieves

    November 22, 2007

    Just hold tight. This thing is going to be a fallen angel - round trip to $9 coming.

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