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How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short
There are two sides to everything, except the stock market. In the stock market there is only one side--the right side. In certain market conditions, selling short can put you on the right side, but it takes real knowledge and market know-how as well as a lot of courage to assume a short position.
The mechanics of short selling are relatively simple, yet virtually no one, including most professionals, knows how to sell short correctly. In How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short, William J. O'Neil offers you the information needed to pursue an effective short selling strategy, and shows you--with detailed, annotated charts--how to make the moves that will ultimately take you in the right direction.
From learning how to set price limits to timing your short sales, the simple and timeless advice found within these pages will keep you focused on the task at hand and let you trade with the utmost confidence.
The mechanics of short selling are relatively simple, yet virtually no one, including most professionals, knows how to sell short correctly. In How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short, William J. O'Neil offers you the information needed to pursue an effective short selling strategy, and shows you--with detailed, annotated charts--how to make the moves that will ultimately take you in the right direction.
From learning how to set price limits to timing your short sales, the simple and timeless advice found within these pages will keep you focused on the task at hand and let you trade with the utmost confidence.
208 pages, Paperback
First published December 24, 2004
112 people are currently reading
550 people want to read
About the author
William J. O'Neil
46 books132 followersWilliam J. O'Neil is a stock trader, entrepreneur and writer, who founded the business newspaper Investor's Business Daily and the stock brokerage firm William O'Neil & Co. Inc. He is the creator of the CAN SLIM investment strategy.
He studied business at Southern Methodist University, received a Bachelor's degree and served in the United States Air Force.
He studied business at Southern Methodist University, received a Bachelor's degree and served in the United States Air Force.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 20, 2020
A lot of wisdom and experience about short selling principles is laid out in ~50 pages. The rest part of the book is ~200 pages of pure graphics analysis. The main reason why I really liked the book was that only core ideas and main princles of short selling was discussed. As for the beginner like me this was the main important thing. O'Neil in this book also provides tips how to indetify most overvalued stocks which experience public hype and are perfect candidates for short selling after euphoria ends. For example "look for stocks which recently increased a lot only due to the announced stock split". This is very relevant nowdays (2020 september) when US technology stock are extremely hot and big cap names like Apple and Tesla just recently did stock splits
June 5, 2009
Great book. The title is very straight-forward and concepts are well defined. However, I must warn you that this book is not Stock 101.
In my humble opinion, the weekly charts are hard to understand. There is no explanation about the candles/wicks or how to interpret the Spider chart.
Despite all the hair-pulling confusion, I still enjoyed this book tremendously. Highly recommended for financial traders.
In my humble opinion, the weekly charts are hard to understand. There is no explanation about the candles/wicks or how to interpret the Spider chart.
Despite all the hair-pulling confusion, I still enjoyed this book tremendously. Highly recommended for financial traders.
January 5, 2022
Skip this one and go to another short selling book (even if you follow the O'Neil CAN-SLIM stock selection theory). Here's why. The two concepts are short and sweet: sell short when the macro indicators of the market indicate it's a bear market and find those stocks which had heeded to all time highs in the proceeding market.
When this was written, Blogs weren't yet the de facto way of sharing information. However, the content of this book is better suited for a blog article than a whole book on the subject. This also was before the prevalence of Modern Portfolio Theory being written about, so it assumes that the reader hasn't investigated the returns of a reverse-ETF. Those instruments didn't exist when this was written, hence the material is also showing it's age.
I also feel that the book was either written in a hurry or the author (Morales) didn't have as much experience on the matter as O'Neil has had on long-side investing. He uses a first-person voice in some cases to be that of O'Neil, but it's not O'Neil's writing style. Additionally, O'Neil has stated publically that he has not really made money in bear markets.
That all said, there are much better books on this subject, especially The Handbook of Pairs Trading: Strategies Using Equities, Options, & Futures of doing a combination short and long investment. Pairs trading theory is a newer yet solid approach to establishing short positions, since the uptick rule and shorter bear markets these days make it much harder to have a profitable trading outcome.
When this was written, Blogs weren't yet the de facto way of sharing information. However, the content of this book is better suited for a blog article than a whole book on the subject. This also was before the prevalence of Modern Portfolio Theory being written about, so it assumes that the reader hasn't investigated the returns of a reverse-ETF. Those instruments didn't exist when this was written, hence the material is also showing it's age.
I also feel that the book was either written in a hurry or the author (Morales) didn't have as much experience on the matter as O'Neil has had on long-side investing. He uses a first-person voice in some cases to be that of O'Neil, but it's not O'Neil's writing style. Additionally, O'Neil has stated publically that he has not really made money in bear markets.
That all said, there are much better books on this subject, especially The Handbook of Pairs Trading: Strategies Using Equities, Options, & Futures of doing a combination short and long investment. Pairs trading theory is a newer yet solid approach to establishing short positions, since the uptick rule and shorter bear markets these days make it much harder to have a profitable trading outcome.
September 30, 2016
It is mainly on technicals, which might work for short terms in specific types of markets. However, it will crush you in as many markets. There are a few books that are better on short selling, ins and outs, what to be concerned about, what to take advantage of, etc....
October 1, 2021
A short read! Ha ha ha! Certainly this is half the material of O’Neils “How To Make Money In Stocks”. I guess it assumes that the foundation has been laid in that tittle.
The most important things highlighted in this book are the anatomy of typical short selling opportunities and plenty of historical charts to analyze. With this you must hone your skills to determine when it’s a good time to short a certain stock or just be out of the market for a while.
The most important things highlighted in this book are the anatomy of typical short selling opportunities and plenty of historical charts to analyze. With this you must hone your skills to determine when it’s a good time to short a certain stock or just be out of the market for a while.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2023
This is a book that talks about shorting stocks and using technical analysis to determine when to sell stocks short.
The basis for all the shorting in this book is to be confident that you know when a stock will drop. The book is 80% previous examples of companies and that time in the market when they should have been shorted.
I didn't like that most of the book was just bar charts from dozens of companies with some doodles on when the best time to short was.
I didn't like this as it assumes the reader is a pro at TA, and then spends most of the time preparing the reader to spot 'obvious' signs a stock is going to drop.
Also, the book has examples of stocks that should be shorted going back to the 60's. The topic of this book seems underserved, but this book could be updated to reflect current markets.
The basis for all the shorting in this book is to be confident that you know when a stock will drop. The book is 80% previous examples of companies and that time in the market when they should have been shorted.
I didn't like that most of the book was just bar charts from dozens of companies with some doodles on when the best time to short was.
I didn't like this as it assumes the reader is a pro at TA, and then spends most of the time preparing the reader to spot 'obvious' signs a stock is going to drop.
Also, the book has examples of stocks that should be shorted going back to the 60's. The topic of this book seems underserved, but this book could be updated to reflect current markets.
October 27, 2020
I’ve read and re-read O’Neil’s How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short several times, and each time that I read or review charts included with this book, I find new tidbits that are applicable to my trading decisions.
Investors interested in trading growth stocks, both long or short, should read this must-have book.
Investors interested in trading growth stocks, both long or short, should read this must-have book.
July 10, 2021
Limited material
This is not long enough to be called a book. It's basically a lot of charts with comments. Not really a book
This is not long enough to be called a book. It's basically a lot of charts with comments. Not really a book
February 11, 2022
Short and sweet! Great primer on how to sell short stocks in the right market environment.
December 11, 2025
One day later I’m 25% through this book. Some very practical insights. However, 1/3 of the book is filled with nothing but charts. No explanation on his methodology of detection. All charts are backward looking. In a book that zeroes in on how to sell stocks short by reading charts, clearly there might be selection bias. That is why I do not enjoy the book in general.
Compared to "the Art of Short Selling", this is a 1.
Compared to "the Art of Short Selling", this is a 1.
May 20, 2008
After reading various authors on investing, O'Neil's materials seemed to remain relevant, insightful, and without fluff. Another IBD devotee on a message board mentioned this book as a must read and source for his recent success, so I requested it from the library. It is a short read, with mostly charts of past models of short sells. O'Neil's explanations of why and how to be on the look for proper shorts are only a couple pages long, but should pique your awareness of the other half of investing aside from "buy and hold".
October 20, 2009
Even if you don't sell stocks short, the information is useful for technical analysts for signals on when to get out of long positions.
July 2, 2016
great diamonds hidden inside
November 16, 2024
Theoretically sound good but these methods only work on very trending stocks. Interesting read but "don't try this at home".
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews