There are strange influences to buy a stock and this how Nomura Holdings, a Japanese investment bank, become my favorite. I so far did 38 trades on this NMR symbol and also evangelized it to a few lunch time colleagues. When Nomura picked up the Asian and International operation of failed Lehman Brothers in 2008, Wall Street called them ‘the chess club kid who desperately wanted a seat at the cool table’. Also, there was a long, well written story in New Yorker on the cultural tussles of Nomura to blend in with Wall Street high achievers, who came along with the new acquisition. The story offered a glimpse of how differently a Japanese investment bank operated and when I looked up their stock price, it was trading blow an affordable $5.
At lunch table we discussed Nomura story and my stock market wannabe friend- he admits his wife was pressurizing him to invest in stock as she heard ‘nice’ things from other ladies- asked me whether I would consider buying Nomura. I said I probably would and next day he surprised me buying 500 shares of Nomura. First time buyers are restless – whenever I pass by his desk that day, I see him gazing stock charts, lunch time was filled with Nomura talk and he stops every conversation with a question – When are you buying Nomura? Just to save a friend, I bought 200 shares next day at a price 30 cents higher and an hour later realized that he had already sold his shares and booked a profit of $140. He could not wait anymore and was nervous he would lose money if he delayed it any longer. He stayed out of stock market after this one deal saying it’s very distracting.
I started liking Nomura like the way I liked GE or Ford stock in those recession times where you buy really cheap and hold at most a week to time and then turn in for a profit. It’s that simple- buy some options if you want to complicate it a bit J. In 2011, I did three different trades that total 1000 shares of Nomura, averaging $5, but with no support at sight, it dropped to below $3 later that year. I also became inactive in Stock Market for various reasons but left only Nomura there, unsold. Today, the stock was closed at $ 9.50 and I am thinking chicken katsu curry and sake for dinner.
