What other tech stock to consider?

[Norse]

Yeah, I am afraid to email/PM Robert, Blake and 'Norse'. I have not been over at The Contrarian wedsite for about 3 weeks but I think there were many over there that were 'all in'.

I am fine, I did not hold GTAT, but my father lost what he normally makes in 14 days. I am sad to see all the money people have lost, and this is the reason why you should never go all in. In Norway it is not common to have control over your retirement fund, and as true social democrats we do not retire until we are at least 65 years old. I do see alot of people that have lost their total retirement in one stock. One guy who was already retired lost everything. This is just really sad.

 

[clmason]

Yeah, I am afraid to email/PM Robert, Blake and 'Norse'. I have not been over at The Contrarian website for about 3 weeks but I think there were many over there that were 'all in'.

It is an absolute blood bath over at TCI. Many were indeed "all in". Some are reporting to have lost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. A few saying they lost everything including retirement and nest egg. What a massive disaster this turned out to be... and it should serve as another reminder that going "all in" is really really really risky.

 

[Favguy]

I lost $17,000 today in GTAT, deeply upsetting, about 7% of my retirement fund, but in reality not a much worse hit than a particularly bad down day on the Nasdaq for my portfolio. Absolutely the worst thing I've personally ever encountered so far though. Proves the point for diversification if nothing else. I feel deeply sorry for the guys who were all in on this.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

It is an absolute blood bath over at TCI. Many were indeed "all in". Some are reporting to have lost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. A few saying they lost everything including retirement and nest egg. What a massive disaster this turned out to be... and it should serve as another reminder that going "all in" is really really really risky.

I'm not familiar with the GTAT investment community, but was there something about this company that was so promising that people would think that betting it all was a risk worth taking?

I'm a believer in Tesla, but I always remind myself that there's no guarantee of success, and plan accordingly. A core Tesla/SpaceX engineering principle is to assume that a failure can happen, and design the system to handle failure, which I think is also a useful principle for investment portfolio design.

 

[NigelM]

I've been "all in" a couple of times in my life, but in the companies I was managing as a senior officer or as CEO; if anything went wrong there I had no-one else to blame. My rule of thumb for investing these days is never to hold more than 5% of my portfolio in one single project/undertaking/company/fund.

I feel sorry for those folks (particularly TMC friends) who lost so much on GTAT but the takeaway for everyone here is always only to invest what you can afford to lose.

 

[Chickenlittle]

I've been "all in" a couple of times in my life, but in the companies I was managing as a senior officer or as CEO; if anything went wrong there I had no-one else to blame. My rule of thumb for investing these days is never to hold more than 5% of my portfolio in one single project/undertaking/company/fund.

I feel sorry for those folks (particularly TMC friends) who lost so much on GTAT but the takeaway for everyone here is always only to invest what you can afford to lose.

Agree with you but also would say investing everything in company that provides your income Carries an even higher risk. When not personally involved very easy to spot errors. I find it interesting to read that some people on TMC site (where seeking alpha articles are properly torn apart) cited a seeking alpha article as inspiration to invest in GTAT. Can't just accept article because it's what you want to hear. I am sure many shorts who lost on TSLA accepted negative tesla articles because it affirmed their own bias

 

[NigelM]

Agree with you but also would say investing everything in company that provides your income Carries an even higher risk. When not personally involved very easy to spot errors.

You're right. I should have added earlier that my background was in leveraged buyouts (private equity) and it's pretty much an all or nothing business; I had my fair share of sleepless nights in those days.

 

[Auzie]

Agree with you but also would say investing everything in company that provides your income Carries an even higher risk. When not personally involved very easy to spot errors. I find it interesting to read that some people on TMC site (where seeking alpha articles are properly torn apart) cited a seeking alpha article as inspiration to invest in GTAT. Can't just accept article because it's what you want to hear. I am sure many shorts who lost on TSLA accepted negative tesla articles because it affirmed their own bias

My humble suggestion would be for investors to spend a decade of investing before daring to go 'all in' in any one company. Diversification early on promotes learning as it forces investor to follow several different independent sectors rather than just one.

Financial loss can be devastating, but it may be a blessing if it happens early on and investor can learn from it and move on.

 

[bonnie]

I'm just sick for all my TMC friends who bet on GTAT. No advice, no hindsight. Just know I hold you all in my thoughts.

 

[Johan]

Wow. Classic big boy moves leave little investors blind sided:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2545295-apple-announcing-apples-newest-acquisition-gt-advanced-technologies

 

[dalalsid]

Wow. Classic big boy moves leave little investors blind sided:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/254...s-newest-acquisition-gt-advanced-technologies

Wow, what a horrible title for speculation

 

[bonnie]

Wow. Classic big boy moves leave little investors blind sided:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/254...s-newest-acquisition-gt-advanced-technologies

It doesn't say Apple IS acquiring, only laying out the case for Apple to acquire. It's a potential move, not a report on what has happened.

 

[Johan]

It doesn't say Apple IS acquiring, only laying out the case for Apple to acquire. It's a potential move, not a report on what has happened.

True. But it is one not very unlikely outcome. Why not? The bankruptcy was a big surprise for most small investors but probably not to Apple.

 

[Chickenlittle]

I'm just sick for all my TMC friends who bet on GTAT. No advice, no hindsight. Just know I hold you all in my thoughts.

The advise I offered was not meant for GTAT investors, I agree that chapter is closed and can only offer empathy. It was meant for those on this board. I see similarities in behaviors. I believe in tesla and am still invested in TSLA but will not commit same errors I have seen in GTAT.

 

[uselesslogin]

So I have some GTAT options. I was out with the family yesterday so while I saw the stock price I couldn't get anywhere to do anything. So now I can't sell them for any price of course. So it seems I have to see them every time I log in between now and January 2016 when they finally expire. Maybe that will help me be more cautious. When it goes to Pink Sheets does it become worthless and go away or do I just get to keep worthless options in GTATQ? I think I went a little overboard here but thankfully not so far overboard that it changes things much for me. Just a good lesson learned.

 

[anon]

So I have some GTAT options. I was out with the family yesterday so while I saw the stock price I couldn't get anywhere to do anything. So now I can't sell them for any price of course. So it seems I have to see them every time I log in between now and January 2016 when they finally expire. Maybe that will help me be more cautious. When it goes to Pink Sheets does it become worthless and go away or do I just get to keep worthless options in GTATQ? I think I went a little overboard here but thankfully not so far overboard that it changes things much for me. Just a good lesson learned.

It would be a good idea to contact your broker to see if you can abandon them or sell them for $0.00 - then you could claim the tax loss without having to wait.

 

[InTheShadows]

I have a few leaps in GTAT still. I'm glad I applied my rule of "would I still buy this today" after the Apple event and sold most of what I had at a loss.

I'm paying close attention though because I want to understand how this all goes down. I am also learning how others are reacting. And running through "what if this happened to TSLA" since I am heavily invested in Tesla at the moment.

I'm also wondering if I should have done some day trading on gtat yesterday and today. It looks like it has enough volume right now that I wouldn't have gotten hung out to dry. My rule above is what stopped me from trying to day trade it.

 

[FluxCap]

I'm just sick for all my TMC friends who bet on GTAT. No advice, no hindsight. Just know I hold you all in my thoughts.

Same here -- all you guys are in my thoughts, particularly sleepy and others who participate in his forum.

 

[Tslynk67]

GTAT is trading 90% up right now - is this all going to crash by the end of the day, is it just one last hurrah before the end?

 

[austinEV]

Would have been a gutsy move to buy yesterday. Up 105% from that basis. I have zero insight as to why that might be, just noting it.