Penny Stocks and Micro Cap stocks: Finding the Bottoms

by Keith Guyette M.Ed, J.D.

Trading low priced Micro cap and penny stocks is a "High Risk High Reward" style of trading. I have found that one of the most profitable ways to trade these stocks is by finding the bottoms. If you are correct and find the bottom, the stock has nowhere to go but up. If you are wrong and miss the bottom, no one wants to "catch a falling knife".

Over the years I have developed very successful strategies to find bottoming stocks, I have taken these strategies and created bottompicks. When searching for bottoming stocks, the first key is to understand what caused the stock to drop in the first place. The second key is to find out if there is any reason this stock should go back up in price. This can only be done with a complete understanding of technical analysis and the "due diligence" of fundamental analysis.

When a stock is bottoming, it has dropped to a new recent low. This could be as dramatic as the lowest price in years or something as simple as a 50% pullback from recent highs. At this point the stock may begin to stabilize (trade sideways). This could mean that the stock is now poised to rise again in price, but it could also be preparing for another move lower. With micro caps and penny stocks it is always easy to find stocks that look like theyre at their bottoms. It seems that every night we are analyzing a hundred different stocks that have recently broken their downtrend. If you are unsure of how to find stocks in up trends or downtrends, try a stock screener.

Once you think youve found a stock that is technically ready to begin that profitable trend to new highs, it is now time to do your homework. Fundamentally there are many things to look for. There are so many that I can only give you a brief overview. You will want to read the filings and news to understand the companies share structure, current operation, and if there are any future events that may cause the stock to rise. Some of the more important items you will be searching for in the filings are operating shares, authorized shares, float and warrants.

When you have found a stock that is bottoming with a solid share structure and is due to release great news, such as a new product or strong earnings. This is probably a good time to buy. Prepare to hold on, stocks in this market have been known to rise thousands of percentage points in a short amount of time.

About the author: Keith Guyette M.Ed, J.D. is a professional trader as well as the owner and head stock analyst for www.bottompicks.com. Mr. Guyette is also the moderator at one of the largest stock bulletin boards on the web.

More Articles About Stock Trading

VIX 20-Day MA

Arthur Eckart

The stock market rallied and stayed high last week, in spite of higher than expected Jan inflation data, e.g. the PPI, Import Prices, and Capacity Utilization. So, perhaps, the unwinding of Feb options skewed direction. Also, the underperformance of Nasdaq is typically negative for the market.

Want to know what the VIX is all about when it comes to stock trading? Well, find out here. What's discussed here is a VIX (S&P 500 Volatility Index) daily chart, as well as the moving avergae of the VIX to illustrate why the VIX related to trading. Learn more...

Stocks double all the time

Steve Hoven

Copyright 2006 Steve Hoven

The Importance of a Trading Plan

Yves Mailhot

Trying to win in the stock market without a trading plan is like trying to build a house without blueprints - costly mistakes are inevitable.