Captainccs: "What remains true always is that the BMWM chart is just the starting point of your due diligence."

What!!? You mean that there is no magic formula that will eliminate uncertainty and guarantee success in the stock market??! Next you'll be telling me that politicians can't be trusted or that some bankers lack integrity!

Thanks Denny, What you say makes sense. Since a number of companies seem to follow the same pattern I'm inclined to believe that the causative factor is in the market or the economy rather than some ideosyncratic factor specific to the company. I wish I were perceptive enough to figure out what it is, if it is. That might make it possible to analyze how it might affect the stock in the future. And I might get to be a talking head on CNBC, maybe even get a ghost writer to massage it into a best-seller.

My comment after your quote above was meant to make fun of myself. I was incredibly naive and unrealistic about the limits of the BMW Method when I first learned about it. Exactly as you said, I'm learning about the need for due diligence and also about my need to learn how to do a better job of it. On the plus side I have found the method very helpful in finding stocks that might have hidden value; also determining just where the price stands along the growth curve gives me a better perspective on the stock's potential for future growth when I'm considering a company that may not be a true BMW candidate.

Looking back to just a year ago makes me appreciate how much I've learned from guys like you on these boards. It's also painful to realize how ignorant I was then and frightening to get some intimations of how ignorant I must be now. I do appreciate your help.

D