Justin Scheuner's Stock Blog

May 12th

jscheuner — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:44:45 +0000

I finished the Stock Market Game in 2nd place. My total equity was $1,476,125.67. The one thing that allowed me to make the huge jumps that I did was reverse stock splits. One reverse stock split took me from being in the 20s into the top ten. Then, yesterday, I had another stock that was going to have a reverse split. That one vaulted me from third place, over Hunter Craig, and into 2nd place. I found that there were two things that did not work. The first was IPOs. I bought an IPO in one stock, and it ended up costing me about $20,000 in the span of two days. It did not work because I cannot be around the computer all day, and sell it when it was up really high. This is also the reason why my 2nd thing didn’t work–penny stocks. I realized that with penny stocks you have to be around a computer at all times to sell it when it went up at all, because the amount that it went up was so small, but since the price was so low it allows you to buy more shares, that one “half-cent” could make or break you when it comes to penny stocks. The one thing I liked most about it, was the anxiousness to always find new things to buy in the game, in an attempt to move up the rankings. It also provided something new to talk about at lunch, and you could compare ideas with your friends, and find out what worked and what didn’t work. I also liked being able to make fun of people who sucked at the stock market game, like Ben Smith. The one thing I disliked the most, was that people always found out your “secret stock.” Since we live in the age of the internet, anything you find online can also be found by other people online. This meant that there was a lot of copying stocks going on, as one person would find a good stock, then someone else would look on the internet and find the same stock. This is one of the reasons I did not win, because Donnie Shea was able to find the same stocks that I was finding. The biggest thing I learned was that the stock market is like a marathon roller coaster. You have to pace yourself for the finish, and you also have to deal with a lot of ups and downs. I experienced this throughout the entire game, as in the beginning I was in the top 3. Then, I moved into first, where I remained until I bought an IPO. Then that dropped me down to 28th place. Then I would slowly move up, and make my way out of the bottom 10, and in to the teens. Then, I found out about reverse stock splits, which then vaulted me into third place, where I remained until the last day of the game, upon which I jumped into 2nd place because of another reverse stock split. As for my stock market future, I might ask my parents to give me a few hundred dollars to invest in the stock market, and I would use my performance in the game as reason number one for why I should be allowed to invest in the stock market. If they don’t let me, then I will probably not be a player in the stock market until I am out on my own, and I have my own source of income.

May 11th

jscheuner — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:49:15 +0000

I am in 3rd place. Yesterday, my order for ZOOE did not work so I still have the 106,600 shares I had before. It split today, but as of yet, the game had not recognized the split. I am hoping that it recognizes it before the game ends.

May 10th

jscheuner — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:44:06 +0000

I am in 3rd place. Today I am buying another group of shares in ZOOE, hoping that it will be enough to put me over Donnie and into 1st place. The stock is supposed to split today, but I don’t think that it will happen before my order goes through. I still cannot do anything with ITEX, as it still has not reverted back to its original symbol.

May 7th

jscheuner — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:12:10 +0000

I am still in 3rd today. Yesterday, once again, my order for ZOOE never went through, and thus I still don’t have any shares in it. Today I am selling my shares in RST, because it keeps losing me money, and I don’t want to lose any more than I already have.

May 6th

jscheuner — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:26:22 +0000

I am in 3rd place. Yesterday, for some reason, my orders to buy ZOOE did not go through, and then it would not let me place another order. Today, however, I am hoping for better luck, and that my orders will actually go through.

April 5th

jscheuner — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:17:48 +0000

Today I am in 3rd and today is Cinco de Mayo. ITEX has apparently gone down to $0.00 and it won’t let me sell it for some reason. Also I still have RST but now I am buying ZOOE, which is a penny stock. I am hoping this last gasp effort will win me the game. I plan to sell ITEX as soon as I am able to, and other than these two transactions, I don’t plan on making any other ones.

may 4th

jscheuner — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:45:39 +0000

Today I am in 3rd place. ITEX is splitting today, and so I am going to sell it for a hefty profit. Yesterday as I siad, I bought RST and BGH, but later in the day yesterday I sold BGH so I could have more cash to buy some more ITEX, but I changed my mind on buying more ITEX and just decided to keep the extra cash. I am still searching for another reverse stock split, hoping that I can find one before the game ends

May 3rd

jscheuner — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:41:33 +0000

Today I am in 3rd place. The split for OCLR made me a lot of money on Friday, and I bought ITEX as I said. I am also buying RST and BGH, two stocks I had at the beginning of the game, just because I have a lot of extra money to spend, and these two stocks did well for me when I had them. I am hoping I can at least move into 2nd.

April 30th

jscheuner — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:40:48 +0000

Today Im in 8th place. Yesterday OCLR shot up after an announcement of an offering of their common stock release by the company. Today it split, but I am selling it so that I can buy ITEX, which is also going to split, but it will actually work, whereas OCLR did not work because it changed symbols. This is definitely my last transaction.

April 29th

jscheuner — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:29:50 +0000

I am in 21st place. After OCLR splits tomorrow, I am going to sell it, and then use all my money to buy ITEX, because it is supposed to have a reverse stock split on May 3rd. I am hoping that the combination of money that I make from these two stocks will at least put me into the top ten of the game, and hopefully even win the game for me.