Stock Watch: A Look Back

Before we delve into some new stocks, let's take a look at our track record from the stock we were watching a while back. We'll list the date we introduced a stock we were watching, what the price was and what it is now.

We will no longer be rolling out any cheesy "Free Stock Picks" to make the stock market seem more like sports, though make no mistake, the stock market is just legalized gambling. Here's a look back:

June 15, 2009
MGM: Then - $7.13... Now - $14.19... Profit = $7.06 (+99.02%)
LVS: Then - $9.10... Now - $42.08... Profit = $32.98 (+362.42%)
IGT: Then - $16.30... Now - $16.57... Profit = $0.27 (+1.66%)

Welcome to the wonderful world of casino stocks. Had you bought LVS near its bottom, you would be in good shape at the moment. As you can see IGT has not quite had the same boon, so if you debated between LVS and IGT after we recommended both of them, and went with IGT--whoops. MGM bounced back as we expected, a nice 100% profit there. But LVS is clearly the cream of this crop.

September 23, 2008
AIG: Then - $5.00... Now -$27.65... Profit = $22.65 (+453.00%)

Lot's of bad press was going around about AIG at this time, but that's the key to making money in the market--take a contrarian approach when the market is bottoming out. That's when you can find value in big companies like AIG. We might even still buy AIG and expect to make money once the U.S. economy finally gets out of this thing, but to get in at five bucks is gold. It's all about timing.

January 29, 2008
ETFC: Then - $4.14... Now $14.49... Profit = $10.35 (+250.00%)

Another value pick here... It's almost hard to believe E-trade was down to four bucks (actually got down to two), and we simply got in at the right time again. Trusting that the big companies will bounce back (most of them) in a recession is the best way to make money, although the downside is that it requires the economy to be in a recession. We did a nice job getting into some of these near their bottoms and striking while the iron was hot, but we also missed an opportunity with other stocks that had bottomed and then ballooned back up even more. Still, we're happy with the results of the ones we were in on.

January 21, 2008
STTK: Then - $0.035... Now $0.06 (as STTN)... Profit = N/A

This is your lessen kids: don't bet on penny stocks. While the appeal of getting rich quick is there, it's very rare. You may be asking, what are you talking about Stock Lemon, though STTK changed its symbol, it is up from three-and-a-half pennies to six pennies, almost 100% profit! Sure, kids, it looks that way. But the reality is, as far as we can tell (we haven't really been paying attention to this one), they had some sort of reverse split a couple years ago wherein a single share of STTK is not equal to a single share of STTN. Anytime a company changes its symbol, unless it was bought by someone, it's not a good sign. This is a borderline bankrupt company that by all appearances had nothing to do with Bird Flu as they claimed. Sketchy.

As you can see, aside from our dip into penny stocks (idiots), we have fared pretty well in the past. Here's hoping for continued future success. Take note: all of these stocks were as of market close on Friday, in what has been a bad week to start what is likely to be a bad month. These stocks all reached even higher levels than their current prices.

Taking Stock Again

Earlier, we posted an entry titled Taking Stock (Lemon), explaining what was a brief absence from our post here at the site.

Now, we're Taking Stock again, this time in relation to the Free Stock Picks which used to dominate our site.

In other words, we've been taking some time to get back in the stock market, now that things are finally starting to clear up.

We've had brief success in the past with STTK, ETFC, and AIG, all of which are in miserable shape at the moment, but those were obviously short term stocks anyway. In the future, we'll have more stock analysis in addition to our sports coverage on the site.

Good things are ahead here at Stock Lemon, so stay tuned.

We Still Like AIG

Last week we gave you AIG as our first Free Stock Pick in a while. Since then, it has dipped a little, but with the economic bailout finally coming through from the United States government, AIG should rise again soon.

That said, we still like AIG... and so does Wayne Rooney and Manchester United of the English Premier League. If you're unfamiliar, the England star and the rest of his Manchester teammates are sponsored by AIG, and represent our Free Stock Pick with every goal.

So, just as it is with this site, if you stick with it long enough, you're going to make some money.

Finally, a Free Stock Pick!

It's been a long time since we've rolled out a Free Stock Pick here, and for good reason. The United States economy has been less than solid recently, so you can't blame us for staying away.

However, for those of you still interested in the stock picks we (sometimes) have to offer, we have great value on our latest find.

You might have heard recently of American International Group, more commonly known by the acronym AIG. Perhaps you've also heard of the government bailout of the company and the subsequent drop in the stock from the 52-week high of $70.13 all the way down to the 52-week low of $1.25.

Clearly the company has seen better days. But those days are about to come back, and as the stock closes at an even $5, it's time to get in.

As you can see, the last couple of days have seen the stock rise back up, and it won't end there. While it won't be getting back to $70 anytime soon, it will be going up--and fast.