Sometimes, if I am looking for a very long term play on a down and out stock, I might try to find the point of maximum pessimism in a stock. That point where absolutely everyone thinks the stock has had it. I take the contrarian point of view of course from that of the crowd in this instance. Mayne is close to this point now and I repeat an article - p 47, AFR , 28.9.99

"Mayne Nickless slid a further 14.8 cents yesterday to a year low of $4.095, adding insult to the profit injuries suffered by its hospital operations. In early September, the company reported a 16.1 per cent slide in annual net profit before abnormals to $110.5 million. This was at the lower end of market expectations. But given that it is now trading at a 7.7 per cent dividend yield and has a moderately low price-to- earnings of 13.4 times, some investors must be wondering if the stock is becoming attractive."

Remember though, it is more profitable as a trader to pick stocks in and up trend. Just remember your reasons for buying and selling stocks and your time horizons for investing. Never try to pick lows.