TRADE LIKE A

STOCK MARKET
WIZARD
 TRADE LIKE A
STOCK MARKET
WIZARD
HOW TO ACHIEVE
SUPERPERFORMANCE
IN STOCKS IN
This page intentionally left blank ANY MARKET

MARK MINERVINI

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Copyright © 2013 by Mark Minervini. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United
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ISBN: 978-0-07-180723-4
This book is dedicated to my mother, Lea, who sacrificed so much
MHID: 0-07-180723-3
of her own life so that my sister and I could have a better one. To my
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-180722-7,
MHID: 0-07-180722-5. father, Nate, who encouraged me to take a chance and follow my

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol dreams; may they both rest in peace. And, to my wife, Elena, and
after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to
the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such daughter, Angelia; my beacons of light and promise for the future.
designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

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Mark Minervini, Minervini Private Access, LLC, or their affiliated entities in United States and/or
other countries: Specific Entry Point Analysis®, SEPA®, and Leadership Profile®.

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 C ontents

Forewor d ix

CHAPTER 1 An Introduction Worth Reading 1

CHAPTER 2 What You Ne ed to Know First 11

CHAPTER 3 Specific Entry Point Ana lysis:

The SEPA Strate gy 27

This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER 4 Value Comes at a Price 41

CHAPTER 5 Tr ading with the Trend 63

CHAPTER 6 Categories, Industry Groups,

and Catalysts 95

CHAPTER 7 Fundamentals to Focus On 117

CHAPTER 8 Assessing Earnings Qualit y 141

CHAPTER 9 Follow the Leaders 161

CHAPTER 10 A Picture Is Worth

a Milli on Dolla rs 189

vii
viii CONTENTS

CHAPTER 11 Don’t Just Buy What You Know 259

CHAPTER 12 Risk Management

Pa rt 1: The Nature of Risk 269
Foreword

CHAPTER 13 Risk Management

Pa rt 2: How to Deal with
and Control Risk 291

Acknowledgm ents 317

I n my 40 years of investing I have read numerous investment
books, and you would think that I would have a large library filled
with them. The truth is that my collection is quite small, because so few
investment books are worth keeping. To the handful that are worth reading,
Index 319
one I am adding to my library is Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard by Mark
Minervini. Mark’s book has to be on every investor’s bookshelf. It is about
the most comprehensive work I have ever read on investing in growth stocks
and includes vital details not found in other popular books on that subject.
Some investment books cover only the fundamental aspects of investing,
and others cover only the technical aspects, Mark’s book combines the most
important factors that could help you find superperformance stocks in the
future. Everyone wants to own the next Apple Computer, Costco, or Home
Depot, and Mark shows you what to look for.
Mark took years to research the methods that have made him successful.
He has dug up gems of investing knowledge from some of the great invest-
ment books and research most investors never knew existed. For example, a
source he cites is Superperformance Stocks by Richard Love. When you com-
bine that with the experience he gained through many market cycles, you
have a book packed with vital advice that will help any investor. In each
chapter, Mark clearly lays out the factors that are important for a success-
ful investment. It is one of those books you have to reread to really grasp all
that it contains
One of the best sections of the book is Mark’s description of the life cycle
of a growth stock. You get a fundamental and technical picture of where a
stock is along the different phases of its move from the start in phase 1, to

ix