The six-month checkup is not simply a matter of looking up the stock price in the newspaper, an exercise that often passes for Wall Street research. As a stockpicker, you can’t assume anything. You’ve got to follow the stories. You are trying to get answers to two basic questions: (1) is the stock still attractively priced relative to earnings, and (2) what is happening in the company to make the earnings go up? Here you can reach one of three conclusions: (1) the story has gotten better, in which case you might want to increase your investment, (2) the story has gotten worse, in which case
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