[Guest]

I observed this intersting scenario in my stock portfolio.

A week back the stock price was the same as the profit% it showed in my portfolio. Today when the price of the stock has been reduced by half, of what it was then, its showing the same amount of loss% as it showed earlier as profit.

Can you compute the price i purchased the stock at :-)

[Prime]

The initial price of the stock was 25. Then it went up by 33 and 1/3%.

You could win a fortune trading options on that stock with some well timed transactions.

[Guest]

Just ballparking got me $20.59 and within a long decimal of a percent. So that should be close...?

Edited February 25, 2009 by theharangue

[Guest]

Good algebra puzzle...

p = initial purchase price

n = first week gain

Eq 1: p+n (new price) = n/p*100 (percent gained)

Eq 2: using (p+n)/2 as second week price "half of what it was" then the loss percent is: [1-(p+n)/2(p+n)]*100 = n/p *100

Solving Eq 2: n/p = 0.5

Subst to Eq 1: 1.5p = 50 or purchase price was $33.33

Week 1 you gained $16.67 (50%)taking it to $50 and then Week 2 it dropped to $25 (-50%).

Edited February 25, 2009 by Archimedes

[Prof. Templeton]

Good algebra puzzle...

p = initial purchase price

n = first week gain

Eq 1: p+n (new price) = n/p*100 (percent gained)

Eq 2: using (p+n)/2 as second week price "half of what it was" then the loss percent is: [1-(p+n)/2(p+n)]*100 = n/p *100

Solving Eq 2: n/p = 0.5

Subst to Eq 1: 1.5p = 50 or purchase price was $33.33

Week 1 you gained $16.67 (50%)taking it to $50 and then Week 2 it dropped to $25 (-50%).

The OP says the purchace price was the same as the profit percentage. In your example they are different ($33.33 and 50%). Prime's answer above works.

[Guest]

The OP says the purchace price was the same as the profit percentage. In your example they are different ($33.33 and 50%). Prime's answer above works.

OP says "price" was same as profit % and if this is purchase price then you haven't made any profit yet. I interpret the OP to say that the price after increase was equal to gain % and then loss % later was same as gain % initially.

[Prof. Templeton]

OP says "price" was same as profit % and if this is purchase price then you haven't made any profit yet. I interpret the OP to say that the price after increase was equal to gain % and then loss % later was same as gain % initially.

O.K. I gotcha now.

[Guest]

You could win a fortune trading options on that stock with some well timed transactions.

The initial price of the stock was 25. Then it went up by 33 and 1/3%.

Yes the answer is correct... WOW you took less time in solving it than what I took in putting this puzzle into words and then veryfying that it is solvable nice...

well Prime, "well timed" in times like todays is a really subjective phrase but anyways thanks for the tip

[Guest]

Good algebra puzzle...

p = initial purchase price

n = first week gain

Eq 1: p+n (new price) = n/p*100 (percent gained)

Eq 2: using (p+n)/2 as second week price "half of what it was" then the loss percent is: [1-(p+n)/2(p+n)]*100 = n/p *100

Solving Eq 2: n/p = 0.5

Subst to Eq 1: 1.5p = 50 or purchase price was $33.33

Week 1 you gained $16.67 (50%)taking it to $50 and then Week 2 it dropped to $25 (-50%).

well the flaw in your eqn is that it should read

Eq 1: p+n (new price) = (p+n)/p*100 (percent gained = current price)

the same will be reflected in the second eqn.

nice try ..thanks