When do you take profits?

=== SUMMARY === - The author asks for advice on when to take profits on UNH, which he bought a year ago and is now up 50%, originally expecting a multi-year hold. - His thesis was that UNH was oversold during a controversy and he bought multiple tranches; he leans value-investor but struggles with profit-taking. - Quality assessment: **Noise** – the post is a personal dilemma, not a deep-dive DD; lacks quantitative analysis or new fundamental data on UNH. === SENTIMENT === MIXED === TRADE IDEAS === UNH - AVOID | confidence: 0.65 | sentiment: -0.30 Speaker: u/No_Fox9908 (post author) + top comment u/mrmrmrj Thesis: 1. THE FACT: UNH appreciated 50% in one year, a 2-3 standard deviation return, while the healthcare sector (XLV) has been flat. The top comment argues this is unsustainable and UNH is unlikely to "5x". 2. THE BRIDGE: The author himself admits he is "happy with a 50% pop" and that he "never seem to get the taking profits part right." The community consensus is to sell and recycle capital into another beaten-down opportunity. 3. THE VERDICT: For a value investor, locking in an exceptional gain and redeploying into a new undervalued name is prudent. Holding further risks mean reversion and opportunity cost. Avoid initiating new long positions here. 4. RISKS: UNH could continue to grind higher if earnings beat or market sentiment rotates into healthcare; selling prematurely could miss further upside. The author’s original thesis (oversold, long-term quality) may still be intact. Timeframe: medium-term Key Points: - 50% gain in one year is statistically rare for UNH - Healthcare sector underperformance suggests rotation risk - Top comment explicitly recommends selling and buying another beaten-down stock - Author lacks a systematic profit-taking strategy - Opportunity cost is high; capital can be deployed elsewhere === COMMENTS SUMMARY === The top comment (u/mrmrmrj, +53) strongly argues to sell UNH, citing the unusual return and limited upside potential (no