This year, I’ve been contributing 10% of my paycheck to my company’s new stock purchase plan. At the end of each quarter, that quarter’s contributions are used to purchase company stock at 15% off the lower of either the quarter’s beginning or ending price. I’m only allowed to trade company stock during certain windows of time. Since my company’s stock price has been down lately, I wanted until the end of the open trading window to cash out. It’s usually suggested to sell as soon as possible, particularly since I am already invested in my company through half of my employer matching contributions in my 401(k) and a consistent salary. However, with the stock price down, I was hoping I could get at least the benefit of the full 15% discount.
Waiting until now—the end of the open trading window rather than the beginning—paid off, but I may not be as lucky next time.
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I’m currently trying to decide what to do in terms of my employer’s ESPP. The discount is 10% and stock is bought on a monthly basis (the month following the payroll deduction). So far so good. The issue… a 1 year required holding period to get the 10% discount. My company’s stock has taken a hit recently (banking), but I believe it to stay at a similar level or go up slightly over the next year. Thoughts?