Question

Stock Portfolio Value
Stock
Symbol
Previous Stock
Price
NEW
Stock
Price
Number of
Shares Owned
Previous Stock Value
New Stock
Value
Percent Increase or Decrease in Value






(same as shares purchased in
Understanding Stocks)
(Previous Stock Price multiplied by Number of Shares Owned)
(NEW Stock
Price multiplied by Number of Shares Owned)
(New Stock Value − Previous Stock Value) / New Stock Value × 100%)
Sample
ABC
$35.17
$29.29
200
$7034.00
$5858.00
($5858 − $7034) /
$5858 × 100% =
− 20.08%
Sample
XYZ
$22.50
$32.11
100
$2250.00
$3211.00
($3211 − $2250) /
$3211 × 100% =
+ 29.93%
GHA
$23.00
$27.70
100 shares
$2,300.00
$2,770.00
($2770 − $2300) / $2770 × 100% = +16.97%
TTO
$12.40
$10.30
200 shares
$2,480.00
$2,060.00
($2060 − $2480) / $2060 × 100% = −20.39%
FRB
$14.50
$14.70
100 shares
$1,450.00
$1,470.00
($1470 − $1450) / $1470 × 100% = +1.36%
BBP
$6.70
$3.00
100 shares
$670.00
$300.00
($300 − $670) / $300 × 100% = −123.33%
ISL
$34.90
$47.40
0 shares
$0.00
$0.00
0
RAG
$29.40
$30.10
100 shares
$2,940.00
$3,010.00
($3010 − $2940) / $3010 × 100% = +2.33%
Subtotal of New Stock Value
(total all the amounts from the “New Stock Value” column)
$9,610.00
Cash on Hand
(same amount left from Understanding Stocks)
$160.00
Total Assets
(“Subtotal of New Stock Value” plus “Cash on Hand”)
$9,770.00



Consider the following questions:
1. Have you made or lost money? What is the percentage increase or decrease ?
I have lost
of the overall portfolio?
2. Is it time to sell existing stock or buy a new stock? Why?

Answer 1

Short answers first
1) You lost money. Your portfolio went from $10,000 to $9,770, a loss of $230, which is −2.30% overall.
2) Don’t make a snap decision to buy or sell — review each holding’s fundamentals and your objectives. See details and actionable suggestions below.

Details and corrections
- Previous total stock value = $9,840.00
- New total stock value = $9,610.00
- Cash on hand = $160.00 (unchanged)
- Previous total assets = $9,840 + $160 = $10,000.00
- New total assets = $9,610 + $160 = $9,770.00
- Dollar loss = $9,770 − $10,000 = −$230
- Percent change = (New − Previous) / Previous × 100% = −230 / 10,000 × 100% = −2.30%

Corrected percent changes by stock (using standard (New − Old)/Old × 100%):
- GHA: (2,770 − 2,300)/2,300 = +20.43%
- TTO: (2,060 − 2,480)/2,480 = −16.94%
- FRB: (1,470 − 1,450)/1,450 = +1.38%
- BBP: (300 − 670)/670 = −55.22%
- ISL: 0 shares (no position)
- RAG: (3,010 − 2,940)/2,940 = +2.38%

Notes on the numbers
- Some of the percent calculations in the spreadsheet used the new value as the denominator; the standard and more useful measure is change relative to the previous (old) value, which I used above.
- Your biggest losers by percent: BBP (−55%) and TTO (−16.9%). Biggest winner: GHA (+20.4%).

How to decide whether to sell or buy (practical checklist)
1. Check your goals and time horizon
- If long-term (years) short-term dips may be acceptable. If short-term cash needed, consider reducing exposure.
2. Reassess each company’s fundamentals
- Has anything changed materially (earnings, debt, management, industry outlook)? If fundamentals are broken, consider selling. If drop is temporary and fundamentals remain strong, holding or averaging down may be appropriate.
3. Consider diversification and allocation
- BBP now represents a smaller dollar amount but a large percentage loss. If it’s an outsized risk in your portfolio or not aligned with your allocation plan, consider trimming or selling.
4. Tax and transaction costs
- Selling may realize losses (which can offset gains for taxes) but check commissions, bid-ask spreads, and whether fractional shares are allowed.
5. Use rules, not emotions
- Consider stop-losses or target sell prices, or take partial profits in winners (e.g., sell some GHA to lock gains).
6. Cash available to buy
- You only have $160 cash. That’s small for meaningful purchases; if you want to buy a new stock, either add more cash or use fractional shares and make sure the purchase fits your plan.
7. Actionable suggestions
- Review BBP: large loss → investigate why and consider selling if recovery looks unlikely.
- Review TTO: moderate drop → check fundamentals; if they’ve deteriorated, consider selling; if it’s temporary and you believe in recovery, consider holding or averaging down.
- Consider taking partial profits on GHA (it’s up ~20%) to rebalance.
- FRB and RAG are minor moves; hold if fundamentals are fine.
- Don’t buy a new stock just because you “feel” you should—only buy if it improves diversification or meets your investment criteria.

If you want, I can
- Recalculate portfolio allocation by stock,
- Suggest a simple rebalancing plan given a target allocation,
- Or dig into one of the tickers and list the key financial indicators you should check before deciding to sell or buy. Which would you like?