Selling stocks to protect profits

Hi all!

Maybe a newbie topic but here it goes.
Assuming I have 10k in X and an unrealised profit of 20k. I could sell 10k and reinvest in Y keeping 10k in X.

What are your thoughts regarding selling stocks to recover your investment?

That is just mental accounting.

You shouldn’t base your investment decision on recent performance.

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Newbie answer : I guess it depends on the stock X… If X=GME then yes, you would certainly be better off selling it fast.
If the 200% gains were made quickly and the risk of having the value of the stock dropping fast, then yes, selling could be a good idea.
But with single stock strategy, the heavy % variation can go one way or an other

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Hi, sell only if Y is a good investment otherwise stay with X unless you need funds for other investments

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It depends, as always. Don’t sell your winners too early. If they are really good, they might 5x or 10x over the long-term. But be wary of over-concentration on too few stocks, so consider selling if one, or few stocks make up a large share of your overall portfolio. And sell if you are no longer convinced that this stock is a good investment or if your risk appetite changes. Of course, a lot of this depends on your assumptions, but that’s always the case in active investing.