10 Reasons for Selling Stocks (Shares)

During your investing career, you will do these two transactions; buying and selling. Buying requires knowing the fair value of a stock and then compare it with recent price. If recent stock price is 10% below fair value and an investor does not mind getting a 10% return, then he should buy the stock. If not, he can then move on to other stocks.

Selling, however is not that simple. Sometimes, investment do not go the way you want it to be. Your prediction may not be accurate. Furthermore, your time frame may be longer than you expected. Here are ten different reasons investors might sell a common stock:
Need the money
This generally happens due to improper planning. However, things happen. Even the most carefully planned strategy may not work. Catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina or Rita may force investors to sell an investment if his household is affected by it.
The book is unclean
When management left their post abruptly or when the Securities of Exchange Commission (SEC) conduct a criminal investigation on a company, it may be time to sell. Your assumption may be inaccurate as a lot of fair value calculation is based on the company's balance sheet, cash flow or other financial statement published by management.

Takeover news
When one of your stock holding is getting bought by other companies, it may be time to sell. Sure, you might like the acquiring company but you still need to figure out the fair value of the common stock of the acquiring company. If the acquiring company is overvalued, then it is best to sell. A good example would be the purchase of Time Warner by American Online (AOL) in 2000. At the time, AOL share price was way overvalued with Price Earning ratio of 100.

Taking Profits Off the Table
Your stock has risen 40% from your purchase price. Your fair value calculation indicates that