Is the run done? LVS is a gamble

Up close, too close to the fire, it's always disappointing not to register profits while the market is spinning and springing up and down. But given time, there's a better perspective. I don't feel bad about holding C, STP and WFC for more than a day or week or month.

I liked Las Vegas Sands more than a year ago, almost two. I never bought any -- it was pricey with a high of 138 in November of 2007. The foray into Macao (along with competitor Wynn) was a big question mark. Today, the question is whether the run is done for LVS, which hit a low of 1.38 last month, but has since run to 4.40 after the CEO bought $7.7 million of stock. Barron's played it up yesterday, noting that the CEO bought shares at 2.95.

Now that it's up 50% since Tuesday, I can't touch this. But if the economy truly is recovering, if the recession really is over, then LVS is not a 4-dollar stock. Or is it? Even at this bottom-of-the-barrel level, LVS is trading at 29 times future earnings. Yoikes. The Co is also strapped for cash.

People like to gamble and I don't see LVS going out of business, so I'll keep close watch. This might've been more of a yes/buy below 2 or 3. Tomorrow's unemployment numbers might just knock a lot of stocks down to buyable levels again.