Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who is in the spotlight for not reporting millions of dollars in income from stock funds, has disclosed that his holiday break involved playing the stock market for significant gains.
While his trades do not qualify him as a typical day trader, Corker did purchase two stocks only to sell them days later. Exact numbers were not disclosed, but Corker clearly did quite well for himself overall, pocketing at least tens of thousands and possibly more than $100,000.
In the days leading up to Christmas, Corker bought two out-of-favor stocks. One was Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., a company that was hit by foodborne illnesses. With the stock plummeting roughly 20% in the previous days, Corker jumped in with a $100,000-$250,000 stake.
The old adage that you should be wary of catching falling knives held true here. A week later, Corker found the stock was heading down and sold. Given the volatility of the stock on the days he bought and sold, it's possible he gained a small amount of money but he more likely lost some and perhaps as much as 3.7%. But he avoided a much broader mistake by selling when he did because this stock tanked further, shedding another 7.5% in the days since.
Meanwhile, Corker won big with Chesapeake Energy Corp. On Dec. 21 he bought a reported $500,000-$1 million stake in a company that had seen its stock fall dramatically in prior weeks. He sold his entire stake on Dec. 31. Again, exact profit figures are not available but the stock rose nearly 12% from opening bell to closing bell those days. It's possible he pocketed as much as 17.6% return those days, which could have netted him as much as $150,000.
Not a bad week.
