Trade Management and Psychology

After I entered my trade the price stalled for a bit, but never violated the setup or dipped close to my stop price. By buying on the breakout, I try to capture the move immediately as it’s happening. But because the market is unpredictable, it’s also unreasonable to expect the price to move in your favor immediately after you enter. After 2 days of waiting, the price finally starting to move up.

$ANET’s green candles were never violent, but rather slow and steady. These are actually the painless, easier trades to manage. It never pulled back hard so all I had to do was sit back and wait until the next earnings day.

Exit Price & Time

The predictions for $ANET’s next earnings report were strong, with many analysts anticipating blowout numbers. Despite the temptations, a cardinal rule is to never hold through earnings. That would transform me from a risk manager to a gambler. I closed my position at 3:30PM immediately before the market’s close.

Although the stock closed at $144.72 for the day, it could have just as easily dropped down 5%. I have no regrets with this trade.

Exit Price: $139.86

Exit Date: 5/4/17