Going Short and Long...Help Please

Hi there... I have a question that may sound silly, but i would love to have it answered.

-Is it possible to go long and short on the same stock, E.G. Say for instance RIO was priced at $100, and i believed that it would move 50cents, but i wasnt sure which way it would go, could i put a sell order at $100 with a stop loss at $110, and also a buy order at $101, with a stop loss at $99.50.

Thankyou

If you can't be long and short the same instrument - you don't have a position.

If you want to be short below 99.50 and the stock is currently at 100 then place a sell stop at 99.50 - ditto to wherever you want to be long.

Alternatively a long straddle(or strangle) might be an idea.

Naderhassan said:

Hi there... I have a question that may sound silly, but i would love to have it answered.

-Is it possible to go long and short on the same stock, E.G. Say for instance RIO was priced at $100, and i believed that it would move 50cents, but i wasnt sure which way it would go, could i put a sell order at $100 with a stop loss at $110, and also a buy order at $101, with a stop loss at $99.50.

Thankyou

Click to expand...

I know with IGIndex you can do this. There is an extra tick box called 'Force Open' which will keep both positions open instead of closing the orginal position. There is ofcourse the possibility that both positions could be triggered and both stop losses triggered if the price fluctuates wildly and your stops are too close.

Learn about options

Naderhassan said:

Hi there... I have a question that may sound silly, but i would love to have it answered.

-Is it possible to go long and short on the same stock, E.G. Say for instance RIO was priced at $100, and i believed that it would move 50cents, but i wasnt sure which way it would go, could i put a sell order at $100 with a stop loss at $110, and also a buy order at $101, with a stop loss at $99.50.

Thankyou

Click to expand...

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short answer -- YES !

as long as you satisfy the margin requirements of your broker (going short on equities is done with margin !) and thats usually a minimum of $25K in the USA !

WHY is another question, because in your case, aside from some strange numbers you have there, it only shows that you dont know what the stock is doing, and trading that way is kinda not good !

but anyway, YES you can !

mp

mp6140 said:

short answer -- YES !

Click to expand...

erm the short answer is NO

If you're trading the underlying equities then your net position is either long, short or flat.

The exposure the OP wants to a large move either up or down could be achieved with a long straddle/strangle.

DT said:

erm the short answer is NO

If you're trading the underlying equities then your net position is either long, short or flat.

The exposure the OP wants to a large move either up or down could be achieved with a long straddle/strangle.

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im extremely sorry but holding a short and a long "accounting" wise is the equivelent of NO position, but im not an accountant, but rather a trader --- and to a trader it is holding a long and short in that stock and yes, it is a straddle, by definition -- not a great one, but a straddle (or hedge) nevertheless and would show as such on my trading platform !

mp

mp6140 said:

im extremely sorry but holding a short and a long "accounting" wise is the equivelent of NO position, but im not an accountant, but rather a trader --- and to a trader it is holding a long and short in that stock and yes, it is a straddle, by definition -- not a great one, but a straddle (or hedge) nevertheless and would show as such on my trading platform !

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Your post is a bit confused - a long straddle is created by buying both put and call options contracts with the same strike.

You can't be simultaneously long and short the actual stock, if you're long 1000 XYZ shares and short 1000 XYZ shares you've got no position.

DT said:

Your post is a bit confused - a long straddle is created by buying both put and call options contracts with the same strike.

You can't be simultaneously long and short the actual stock, if you're long 1000 XYZ shares and short 1000 XYZ shares you've got no position.

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correct on that definition, but i have nothing to do with options and only deal with the original instrument. therefore I can "hedge" or "straddle" the instruments, no matter what your definition may be !

from the accounting pov, holding equal long and short positions in a stock can reflect "no position" as one nuetralizes the other, but in REALITY, you are actually holding two positions --- if i make profit on the long, and then on the short, which is EXACTLY how i trade, it is not NO POSITION --- ITS TWO WINNING TRADES !

i do not deal with the market by having read a book --- i deal with what IS and not what others call it --- TWO PROFITS MEANS I HAD TWO POSITIONS, no matter what your accounting states !

Ive been running a NYS registered financial holding company in the USA that does one simple thing, perhaps ANCIENT in its origins --- i run a REAL hedge fund, that REALLY hedges for profit, unlike the ones in trouble now, who probably work with YOUR concept of accounting !

please dont bother me with semantics --- words are not what keeps the wolf from the door ---- its profit that counts and its profit we make and we make it by hedging and/or straddling (the fence)

mp

check hedge strategies

Naderhassan said:

Hi there... I have a question that may sound silly, but i would love to have it answered.

-Is it possible to go long and short on the same stock, E.G. Say for instance RIO was priced at $100, and i believed that it would move 50cents, but i wasnt sure which way it would go, could i put a sell order at $100 with a stop loss at $110, and also a buy order at $101, with a stop loss at $99.50.

Thankyou

Click to expand...

I was looking to do the same.
Some brokers refused the order to have both, you may check first.
Another way is like the hedge fund do, going long on hot stocks (high return) and short on loser (e.g. over priced).
Check inside of some books hereon

stock going long and short simultaneously - Google Book Search

good luck