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Well, in that case... What stocks should I buy and what are your "good" reasons to buy them?
Im not trying to be funny... Im really intersted in investing and just dont know where to start. I was going to invest in PTEK because I thought the idea of a dealer-less machine will catch on in casinos in the near future. < So that was my reason.. (somehow i now think that wasnt a "good" reason)
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www.sec.org
Go to their EDGAR database and look up PTEK. Every company files their reports in this database, you can read PTEK's latest quarterly report (10Q) and annual report (10k), as well as any other material (important) filings.
Specifically, quarterly/annual reports will probably talk about their competitors, the risks of their products, and what progress they are making. It will also show you how much money they are making now, and give you a base to start modeling how much they can make if the product succeeds or fails. Then you can try to figure out what the stock should be worth, based on it's future profitability.
Of course if this sounds too hard, index funds...