2026년 2월 11일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Yahoo Finance
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – February 11, 2026 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Western Digital WDC, Seagate Technology STX, Micron MU, Sandisk SNDK, NVIDIA NVDA and Oklo’s OKLO.
Trend, Risk & Resilience: A Guide to Profitable Trading
Multiple academic studies suggest that for retail investors, the road to consistent, profitable trading is riddled with potholes. In fact, numerous wide-ranging academic studies suggest that 80% of retail traders are unprofitable and quit within two years. Worse yet, the success probability drops to just 1% for day traders. That said, despite the daunting success rate data, I have learned that achieving profitability is possible and worth pursuing.
However, the unfortunate fact is that most retail investors focus on things they shouldn’t, such as stale macroeconomic data, complex trading systems, and short-term trading. In today’s commentary, I will draw from my more than two decades of investing experience to come up with eleven simple but effective steps to achieving profitability. I think that you will find these steps straightforward, sensible, and easy to implement on day #1.
Position Size to Survive Negative Periods, Manage Emotions
The number one mistake I see amateur investors make is position sizing too large. Imagine that you have an account size of $250,000. If you risk your entire account on a trade and take a 5% stop loss, your loss $12,500. The problem with position sizing too large is that the outcome of any given trade is never certain (regardless of how much conviction you may have).
Whether it’s George Soros or Stanley Druckenmiller, the best investors all suffer losing periods. In the hypothetical instance above, if you suffer five consecutive losses (which is almost guaranteed to happen at some point), you have just blown half your account.
In an alternate scenario, if you risk the same 5% per trade but on a $25,000 position size, you will have only lost $6,250. Rule #1 as an investor should always be risk management. If you protect your downside, the upside will take care of itself.
Follow the Trend
Another common mistake investors make is buying stocks in a downtrend. Amateur investors often want to feel smart, so they try to pick bottoms. That said, often the end of the downside is difficult to predict. Instead, investors should recount Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, that is, “A body in motion stays in motion.”
Investors can dramatically increase their odds by buying a stock that is already up trending and above its moving averages. As William O’Neil once said, “It is one of the great paradoxes of the stock market that what seems too high usually goes higher and what seems too low, usually goes lower.”
Story Continues
Data storage stocks like Western Digital, Seagate Technology, Micron and Sandisk are fantastic examples of the power of uptrends. SNDK doubled in 2025 and then consolidated. While most investors would think the fun is over, SNDK has already doubled in 2026, underscoring the power of momentum and price trends.
Extend Your Timeframe
A common pitfall for new investors is obsessing over short-term price action. Unfortunately, short and intraday time frames often lead to investor losses. Short-term time frames are unpredictable and noisy. Stick to the daily, weekly, and monthly timeframes to block out the noise and observe the underlying trend.
Run Winners Cut Losers
Most new traders focus on finding the next hot stock pick while ignoring sound trading mechanics. The following quote from Paul Tudor Jones changed the way I looked at risk management forever and took my trading to the next level:
“5:1 (risk/reward. Five to one means I’m risking one dollar to make five. What five-to-one does is allow you to have a hit ratio of 20%. I can actually be a complete imbecile. I can be wrong 80% of the time, and I’m still not going to lose.”
Riding winners and cutting losers is counterintuitive for new investors. These amateurs often try to breakeven on losers and lock in winners far too soon. Instead, they should embrace the simple math behind successful and profitable investing. Remember, a 50% drawdown requires a 100% gain to break even.
Stick to Leading Stocks in Leading Industry Groups
Investors should focus their energy on trafficking only in the best merchandise. Leading stocks should be liquid and strong across industry, technical, and fundamental perspectives. The combination of liquidity and growth is the closest thing to a “holy grail” that exists in investing.
Institutional investors, the most deep-pocketed investors, are attracted to these stocks and often accumulate them, pushing their prices higher for multiple years. NVIDIA is a fantastic example of such a stock. NVDA is extremely liquid, is trending upwards, has robust double-digit top-and-bottom growth, and is a member of the hottest industry (AI).
Lean Bullish, But Respect Bear Markets
For some reason, fear and the urge to call tops are obsessions among new investors. However, long-term data suggests that investors should lean bullish more often than not. Over the past ten years, the S&P 500 Index has delivered positive annual returns 80% of the time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has historically gained 10% annually.
Overall, stocks tend to climb the proverbial Wall of Worry. Investing legend Peter Lynch described it best: “Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections than has been lost in corrections themselves.”
Respect Bear Markets
Nevertheless, bear markets are inevitable and can be avoided by using a 200-day moving average. As Paul Tudor Jones once taught:
“My metric for everything I look at is the 200-day moving average of closing prices. I’ve seen too many things go to zero, stocks and commodities. The whole trick in investing is: How do I keep from losing everything? If you use the 200-day moving average rule, then you get out. You play defense, and you get out.”
This simple rule would…