My first question is, lets say I am in an NYSE stock short and it gets killed. It drops a half point and I feel like a big print is comming and I want to get out (buy it back).
What is the best way to do this. Often there will ofcourse be a huge spread at this point. Should I put in a market order and try and share in the big print if their is oneor should I put in a limit order somewhere between the bid and the offer?
This depends on the situation. I have been in catastrophic situations where the stock is getting killed and is spreading down .50 to a point at a time. I have marketed out and limited out with both good and bad results. At times, the stock has just spread a dollar and you think its the final print coming up.
I have hit market and most of the time he will fill me with a decent print (about a .25 to a dollar). However, sometimes he will fill me at the offer and I will miss out on the print below. I have also put limits in above the bid just as rtharp mentioned, but a few times I have gotten clobbered because instead of printing below my bid he will only print down .25 or .50......Then if he is really oversold he will rip it up and by the time you get your new order in....you end up giving back your unrealized gains and ending up with an actual loss. I think for me, in these catastrophic stiuations like omc a few months ago or ICN last week, marketing out has been the best thing. Although, in situations that are less crazy like a tradethrough occuring while you are already in the stock , I think putting a bid in is alright. The other option you have is avoiding the stock altogether if you are not already participating when the stock is extremely volitile and totally getting crushed. They are profitable,but very high risk situations.
And lets say....the stock is getting creamed and a huge print does go off. I think, "damn I missed my chance".
I think marketing out and taking your lumps if you missed the spread is the best thing to do....I have sat on the sidelines waiting for a pullback to get a better price but sometimes the stock never looks back and I have had to swallow enormous losses. Again, this is referring to a stock that is getting crushed and is extremely volitile. One of the bigger traders in my office told me once: if you are wrong, just get out. Forget about price. especially if you are trading size. Hoping for a better price may be disasterous.