Trade: Cedar Fair (FUN)

Yesterday I sold approximately one third of my position in Cedar Fair (FUN) at a price of $55.25.  This price represented a net loss of around 11.1% (tax harvested).  As I stated in my Disney initation here, I wasn't pleased with the results I've been seeing from the amusement park industry and noticed there seems to be something larger than just weather driving the lower than expected results (not to mention I've taken way too long to react to what I was seeing).  As such, I'm shifting away from Cedar Fair in favor of Disney for a more broadly diversified holding that doesn't rely on just amusement parks, but entertainment more broadly.  Third quarter results are coming up towards the end of the month and should they provide solid results, I may get a price pop I can take advantage of and maybe even get a small profit from.  In the meantime, I wanted to sell this position to pay for the Disney shares I grabbed.  I am waiting for my next DIS purchase opportunity, hoping it will be below my cost basis and will use that time to try to find better prices to sell Cedar Fair at. Getting rid of this position also allows me to get rid of the extra tax prep considerations post 2019 preps.


When looking at my selling strategy, I didn't react well enough.  I gave the company way more credit for what they were doing than they deserved.  Under new leadership when you don't see continued strong results you need to get out quickly and I failed to do this.  By the time the first miss announcement came out I thought the stock sold off enough to compensate, but that wasn't reality.  I need to be more critical of activities and be careful of falling too far into weather narratives.  While weather certainly has been an impact at times along the way, there is more I missed that I need to pay attention to.  In the end, I'd say my lack of homework and staying on things are a reason for missing out on the nice gains I had.  At the very least, I may have been able to sell some of the position just to take profits as things were appearing to turn ugly.  But there is no real guarantee I would've done that.  The lesson from here is to figure out how/when to do better with selling strategies like that.

Notes:
Stock Ratings: 1 = buy at current stock prices, 2 = buy on a 5-10% dip in stock price, 3 = sell on a 5-10% increase in stock price, 4 = sell at current stock prices to raise cash.  Ratings are based upon 12-18 month outlook on stock direction and not necessarily related to moves I make due to financial positioning.

Nothing on this site should be taken as advice, research, or an invitation to buy or sell any securities.  All views expressed are solely of my own and I am not a professional money manager.  Please consult with your financial adviser before taking any action in your own portfolio.

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