Richard Wyckoff Quotes

“By keeping the stock low and depressed, the large operator discourages other people from buying it and induces more short selling. He may, by various means, spread bearish reports on the stock. All this helps him to buy. When he is thus buying and selling to accumulate, he necessarily causes the price to move up and down, forming the familiar trading ranges, or congestion areas, which appear frequently on figure charts.”

“The large operator does not, as a rule, go into a campaign unless he sees in prospect a movement of from 10 to 50 points. Livermore once told me he never touched anything unless there were at least 10 points in it according to his calculations.”

“The preparation of an important move in the market takes a considerable time. A large operator or investor acting singly cannot often, in a single day's session, buy 25,000 to 100,000 shares of stock without putting the price up too much. Instead, he takes days, weeks or months in which to accumulate his line in one or many stocks.”

“Those who understand it buy only when prices are low with the idea of selling when they are high; and they operate only in the stocks or commodities which they can move best so they may secure the highest possible rate of turnover of inventories.”

“When a large operator wishes to accumulate a line, he raids the market for that stock, makes it look very weak, and gives it the appearance of heavy liquidation by sending in selling orders through a great number of brokers.”

“When you have learned to take a wholly impartial viewpoint, unbiased by news, gossip, opinions and your own prejudices, you will realize that the stock market is like any other merchandising business.”

“You have often noticed that a stock will sell at the highest price for many months on the very day when a stock dividend, or some very bullish news, appears in print. This is not mere accident.

The whole move is manufactured. Its purpose is to make money for inside interests — those who are operating in the stock in a large way. And this can only be done by fooling the public, or by inducing the public to fool themselves.”