PTEK

[David Sklansky]

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I'll give the 'standard' answer which I also believe to be correct in this instance. Don't buy individual stocks unless you have a really good reason to. Just thinking that something seems like a good idea is not a good reason. From reading this thread I would say that you do not have a good reason and therefore should not buy the stock.

Index Funds FTW

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That "standard" answer should now be modified to inlude what I named The Fundamental Theorem of Investing. Thus you don't buy a stock unless you have a really good reason to AND you can show the flaws in the reasons for those who are willing to sell it to you. In fact the second part may be reason enough in itself.

[DesertCat]

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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...