Monday, Apr. 13, 2009
First, it was just your average post-market rundown.
Maria Bartiromo on CNBC chatting away with a few forgettable guests. Then her eyes got big. Something came across her desk. Breaking news. Goldman Sachs has announced earnings. HAAH? Wasn't that supposed to happen in the morning before the bell?
Goldman Sachs, $3.39 a share, more than doubling on expectations -- much like Wells Fargo did on Thursday. Holy crap. Of course, GS didn't have a perfect situation, but it was pretty close considering the TARP situation and all those details. GS announced, as expected, a secondary offering of shares, and yet the stock dropped only 2 bucks to 128 in after-hours trading. Amazing. Only a royal stock like GS could get away with that.
Online, hordes of haters surfaced, questioning Goldman's profitability, making accusations of shady accounting. All I kept thinking was, 'Didn't you guys KNOW Goldman would kick ass? How could you be surprised? This is Goldman Sachs, the Don Corleone of Wall Street.'
I'm all for perfect ethical behavior on Wall Street, but nitpicking over every little thing is really too much. My perspective is simple: I don't have to like a company's product and/or services to try and make a few bucks by trading its stock. Whether it's tobacco, alcohol, guns, whatever -- if it's a good trade, I want to be in it early. All the sermonizing and self-righteousness is silly. I can't do it. Too distracting. I like numbers. When I handle them properly and with the right timing, numbers are my friend and puts money in my piggy bank.
Anyway, Goldman's stock sat, but Citigroup's shares erupted on thin trading in after-hours. It closed strong at 3.80, then fluttered higher to 4.30 before closing at 4.20. It'll be interesting to see where it opens at the bell. I'll be watching closely, though. I'm up 25% in C for one day, have no plan to lose profits. But I'm going to be patient. If it won't be necessary to sell C, I won't.
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