I have two general answers to this. If you're trading: sell when it hits your target price. If you're long term: sell when the thesis changes or you find a significantly better investment and need the money. Answer from creemeeseason on reddit.com
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Public
public.com › home › learn › how to know when to take profits
How to know when to sell your stocks? Easy way to calculate gains - Public.com
January 5, 2025 - When buying a stock, estimate a percentage you plan to sell at. For example, you may sell a position when it profits 20% to 25%. Once you reach this number, sell some or all of the position, or reevaluate your goals.
People also ask

How can you tell when to sell a stock?
There’s no exact science, and determining whether it’s a good time to sell a stock will come down to the individual investor’s preference, risk tolerance, and time horizon. However, you can also keep an eye on a stock’s valuation, consider your opportunity costs, and weigh other factors in order to make a decision.
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sofi.com
sofi.com › learn › content › when-to-sell-a-stock
How to Know When to Sell a Stock | SoFi
How much profit do I need before I sell a stock?
There’s no exact science or answer to determine how much of a return you’d need to see before you sell a stock. That’s up to the specific investor, and there may be times when you actually generate a negative return when selling a stock.
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sofi.com
sofi.com › learn › content › when-to-sell-a-stock
How to Know When to Sell a Stock | SoFi
Should you ever sell stocks when they’re down?
You can sell stocks when they lose value for any number of reasons, but it’s likely best practice to make sure you’re doing so as a part of an overall investing strategy, e.g. tax-loss harvesting, and not simply because you’re making an emotional or irrational decision based on current market conditions.
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sofi.com
sofi.com › learn › content › when-to-sell-a-stock
How to Know When to Sell a Stock | SoFi
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Bankrate
bankrate.com › investing
How To Know When To Sell A Stock For A Profit — Or A Loss | Bankrate
September 23, 2025 - Let’s take a closer look at when you should and shouldn’t consider selling a stock. Investing is ultimately about earning the highest rate of return possible while taking on a minimal amount of risk. As business characteristics and market prices change, investing opportunities change with them. If you own a stock, but find another investment — perhaps another stock or something else entirely — that you find more attractive, it could make sense to sell what you own in favor of the better opportunity.
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Amafinance
amafinance.org › ipo › concentration_finder
Calculate When to Sell | AMA Finance
You should not sell anything until you . Once the optimal (highest reward to risk) is calculated, fine-tune how much risk you are comfortable with until the specified number of months pass. If the risk is too high, the optimal thing to do is to increase your cash holdings in a manner proportionate to stock and market concentration.
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SoFi
sofi.com › learn › content › when-to-sell-a-stock
How to Know When to Sell a Stock | SoFi
September 2, 2025 - There are a few ways to approach the question of when to sell stocks. Risk, style, investing goals, and how much time you have are all critical variables. Perhaps the most relevant answer is “when you need to,” as that criterion alone requires specific calculations that depend on your overall plan, the type of investor you are, your risk tolerance, market conditions (i.e.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/excel › calculating when to sell a stock with a given amount of sales and amount of sales
r/excel on Reddit: Calculating when to sell a stock with a given amount of sales and amount of sales
June 28, 2023 -

Hi all. I am trying to calculate when I should sell a stock. I want to give it an amount of sales I want to have (lets say I want 5 sales) to achieve a given % profit (lets say 100%). Is there any way for it to give me the 5 times to sell a stock to achieve my desired profit amount? I am looking for each sale to be in a separate column (spill into the next column) but im not sure how to do that). I have the initial price when purchased. I just dont know the exact calculation to figure out how to find the prices of when to sell and then how to spill the results into the next columns

Also, could this equation be further complicated if I were wanting to slowly sell, lets say I want to sell every time im up 50% until I reach 100% total profit? How would this calculation be calculated? Thanks all

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u/Over-Marsupial2836 - Your post was submitted successfully. Once your problem is solved, reply to the answer(s) saying Solution Verified to close the thread. Follow the submission rules -- particularly 1 and 2. To fix the body, click edit. To fix your title, delete and re-post. Include your Excel version and all other relevant information Failing to follow these steps may result in your post being removed without warning. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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When you're aiming to double your money with 5 stock sales, it's a bit like splitting a pizza evenly so everyone gets a fair share. If you've invested $1000 and want to end up with $2000, you're basically slicing that goal into 5 pieces. Each piece, or sale, needs to bring in $400 to hit your target. For the Excel part, imagine you're trying to fill cups (columns) with water (money) from a pitcher (your total goal). You're pouring evenly until each cup hits the $400 mark. Now, if you're jazzing it up by wanting to sell a bit whenever you're up by 50%, until you double your dough, that's trickier. You're now playing a game where each move changes the next move's strategy. Excel can do a lot, but this needs some serious number-crunching, maybe even a bit of coding or using fancy Excel tools like the Solver to help plan your sales strategy. So, while Excel is great for planning and number-crunching, remember it's more about guiding you than predicting the unpredictable stock market. Always a good idea to mix in some expert advice if you're really playing the stocks game!
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The Motley Fool
fool.com › investing › how-to-invest › stocks › when-to-sell-stocks
When to Sell Stocks: 5 Reasons to Sell a Stock | The Motley Fool
May 14, 2025 - Sell a stock if the initial reasons for purchase no longer apply, indicating a changed investment thesis. Consider selling after a company acquisition, especially in all-cash deals where prices level off. Rebalance your portfolio periodically to manage risk and exposure, selling if necessary.
Find elsewhere
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Investopedia
investopedia.com › articles › stocks › 07 › when_to_sell.asp
Your Investments: When To Sell and When To Hold
July 8, 2025 - There are several factors to consider when deciding whether to hold or sell an investment position, including your risk tolerance and time horizon.
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NBDB
nbdb.ca › learning-centre › start-self-directed-investment › basics-self-directed-investing › when-to-sell-a-stock.html
Selling stocks. When’s the best time? | NBDB
August 4, 2025 - The answer to the question typically depends on your investment strategy, risk tolerance, time horizon, and the investment products in your portfolio. When market conditions start changing, an investor with a diversified portfolio that includes ETFs and Mutual Funds will have a different outlook on selling than an investor holding several individual stocks.
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Merrill
ml.com › articles › when-to-sell-investments.html
Reasons to Sell a Stock (And Reasons to Hold)
July 1, 2024 - If changes in market levels mean that stocks now make up 70% of your portfolio instead of the 60% you targeted, you’ll need to sell some of your stocks or stock funds to restore the balance.
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Farm Bureau Financial Services
fbfs.com › home › learning center › when to sell stocks: how to know...
When to Sell Stocks: How to Know When to Get Out of an Investment | Farm Bureau Financial Services
March 4, 2021 - Your stock’s P/E ratio is one way to measure that. To calculate, divide the price per share by its earnings per share. If you purchased your stock in a valley and now it’s peaking relative to its competitors, consider selling.
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VectorVest
vectorvest.com › home › when to sell stocks to capture profits and avoid losses: introducing stop prices
When to Sell Stocks to Capture Profits and Avoid Losses: Introducing Stop Prices - VectorVest
November 26, 2024 - Also, frequent price fluctuations can lead to ‘whip-sawing’, where you sell a stock and then buy it back at a higher price, leading to decreased profits. While the Ratchet Stop reduces risk, it may not lead to the highest profit performance. The Trailing Stop is a slightly less conservative strategy where the stop price is allowed to fluctuate along with the stock’s price. With platforms like VectorVest that calculate new stop prices daily, this approach becomes easy to implement.
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I Will Teach You To Be Rich
iwillteachyoutoberich.com › home › blog › personal finance › when to sell stocks: the only 5 reasons to sell (ever)
When to Sell Stocks: The ONLY 5 Reasons To Sell (EVER)
April 28, 2025 - If you spot a stock that you think ... want to sell your existing stocks. Even if your stock is performing well enough, if a better opportunity comes along, it can pay to jump on it. Of course, there’s no guarantee either way that this new stock will perform better. But you could be missing out if you play it safe and don’t make that leap. Whatever you do, make sure it’s a calculated and ...
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Wealthsimple
wealthsimple.com › en-ca › learn › how-to-sell-stock
How to Sell Stock & When You Should in 2022 | Wealthsimple
When you buy a stock of a certain company like, say, General Motors, you’re not actually buying stock from GM proper. Instead, you’re buying stock from another investor currently in possession of that stock. It’s the same when you sell; you’re not selling your stock back to the company.
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Public
public.com › home › learn › when to sell a stock
When to sell a stock
January 17, 2025 - One of the key strategies in long-term, or value, investing is finding stocks that are undervalued by the market. When this no longer holds true, the stock has reached its full value then it’s time to sell.
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Investopedia
investopedia.com › best-time-sell-your-stock-8735601
These 5 Tips Can Help You Decide the Best Time to Sell Your Stock
April 14, 2025 - When initially buying a stock, astute investors establish a price target, or at least a range in which they would consider selling the stock. Each stock purchase should also include an analysis on what the stock is worth, and the current price should ideally be at a substantial discount to this estimated value.
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TSI Network
tsinetwork.ca › daily-advice › how-to-invest › stock-market-rules-of-thumb-four-year-rule-sell-half-rule
Stock Market Rules of Thumb: Four-Year Rule & Sell-Half Rule - The Successful Investor Inc
December 4, 2025 - Selling half after a stock’s price doubles makes sense in a high-risk investment such as a penny mine. That way, you get back your initial stake. This can give you a clearer perspective on what to do with the other half of your investment.
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Investopedia
investopedia.com › articles › stocks › 10 › when-to-sell-stocks.asp
6 Reasons to Sell a Stock
September 16, 2025 - If you have a stock that's performing well, do some research to determine why. The gains may be justified by the company’s underlying fundamentals and real performance, or they could be a knee-jerk response to a takeover rumor or a short squeeze. A short squeeze effectively squeezes out short sellers when the price of a stock rises significantly and they want to close their positions.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/fidelityinvestments › when do you sell a stock?
r/fidelityinvestments on Reddit: When do you sell a stock?
February 26, 2025 -

I recently read Joel Greenblatt's "The little book that beats the market" where the author draws on Graham's value investing principles to purchase stocks of good companies that are undervalued. He developed a step-by-step process on how to purchase shares of 20-30 undervalued companies for a year and selling winners after holding them a few days more than one year and losers after holding them a few days less than one year (keeping in mind the capital gain cuts). It got me thinking about my portfolio and my question resulting from that was, if a stock is doing well and the company prospects are solid, should you still sell the stock? More generally, if the goal is long term investing (like Apple for example with a strong balance sheet and a solid market position and brand value), how long does it make sense to hold a stock before selling it?