Should you buy stock before or after earnings?
If you believe a company will post strong earnings and expect the stock to rise after the announcement, you could purchase the stock beforehand. Conversely, if you believe a company will post disappointing earnings and expect the stock to decline after the announcement, you could short the stock.
Right before an earnings call event, the price of the stock already reflects the combined expectations of a lot of people with more knowledge than you have. Right after the event, some people are taking profits in short-term trades. It's a volatile time for the stock.
News related to a specific company, such as the release of a company's earnings report, can also influence the price of a stock (particularly if the company is posting after a bad quarter). In general, strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up (and vice versa).
In short, the 3-day rule dictates that following a substantial drop in a stock's share price — typically high single digits or more in terms of percent change — investors should wait 3 days to buy.
Timing the stock market is difficult, but understanding when to trade stocks can help your portfolio. The best time of day to buy stocks is usually in the morning, shortly after the market opens. Mondays and Fridays tend to be good days to trade stocks, while the middle of the week is less volatile.
External Market Factors
Although earnings move stock prices over the long run, in the short-term, the stock market operates on a supply-and-demand basis. This means that even if a company reports great earnings — or poor earnings — its stock price might move up or down based on external market factors.
Strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up (and vice versa). Sometimes a company with a rocketing stock price might not be making much money, but the rising price means that investors are hoping that the company will be profitable in the future.
When a company releases its earnings report, it typically provides commentary regarding both the results for the quarter and its internal forecasts for the coming year. Even if earnings beat estimates, a stock can fall if management provides a sour forecast for the future.
The most common reason for a counterintuitive post-earnings move, though, is a company's forward guidance. It may sound obscure, but a stock's price is impacted by expectations for expectations.
Any downward revisions to future sales, earnings, cash flow, and more could lead to concerns over the stock's future value. Downward revisions or developments that decrease future value expectations can be a fundamental reason why a stock might fall alongside good news.
What is the 10 am rule in stocks?
Some traders follow something called the "10 a.m. rule." The stock market opens for trading at 9:30 a.m., and the time between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. often has significant trading volume. Traders that follow the 10 a.m. rule think a stock's price trajectory is relatively set for the day by the end of that half-hour.
The 11 am rule suggests that if a market makes a new intraday high for the day between 11:15 am and 11:30 am EST, then it's said to be very likely that the market will end the day near its high.
The opening period (9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time) is often one of the best hours of the day for day trading, offering the biggest moves in the shortest amount of time. A lot of professional day traders stop trading around 11:30 a.m. because that is when volatility and volume tend to taper off.
The strategy is very simple: count how many days, hours, or bars a run-up or a sell-off has transpired. Then on the third, fifth, or seventh bar, look for a bounce in the opposite direction. Too easy? Perhaps, but it's uncanny how often it happens.
The 90 rule in Forex is a commonly cited statistic that states that 90% of Forex traders lose 90% of their money in the first 90 days. This is a sobering statistic, but it is important to understand why it is true and how to avoid falling into the same trap.
A buy signal is given when price exceeds the high of the 15 minute range after an up gap. A sell signal is given when price moves below the low of the 15 minute range after a down gap. It's a simple technique that works like a charm in many cases.
| Stock | Implied upside from April 25 close* |
|---|---|
| Tesla Inc. (TSLA) | 23.4% |
| Mastercard Inc. (MA) | 19% |
| Salesforce Inc. (CRM) | 20.8% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) | 30.1% |
Look for strong sectors and industry groups if you want to go long—that is, buy a stock with the expectation that its price will rise—and weak ones if you want to go short—which means borrowing and selling a stock whose price you think is going to fall, and then buying it back later at a lower price should it actually ...
Stock performance: How does the stock tend to perform when the company surpasses its earnings estimates? "If it has a track record of rising after the company beats analysts' estimates, there's a good chance it will do so next time," Randy says.
Some of the common indicators that predict stock prices include Moving Averages, Relative Strength Index (RSI), Bollinger Bands, and MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence). These indicators help traders and investors gauge trends, momentum, and potential reversal points in stock prices.
Do stocks go up the day after earnings?
Company Announcements Can Alter Investor Sentiment
For example, a positive earnings announcement may be issued, increasing a stock's demand and raising the price from the previous day's close.
Positive news will normally cause individuals to buy stocks. Good earnings reports, an announcement of a new product, a corporate acquisition, and positive economic indicators all translate into buying pressure and an increase in stock prices.
While selling stocks during a market downturn might make you feel better temporarily, doing so reactively because stocks are tumbling isn't a good long-term investment strategy.
Whether you should sell a stock at a loss depends on your trading strategy and overall portfolio composition. You may be able to hold stock at a loss for a longer period if it is a smaller part of your portfolio and doesn't drag your portfolio's value down.
But there's one group of investors who charge in to buy when stocks are selling off: the corporate insiders. How do they do it? They have 2 key advantages over you and me that provide them the edge during uncertain times. If you follow their lead, you can have that edge too.
