This article is part of our real-money portfolios series.

Well, it happened sooner than I expected, but I'll be selling the Messed-Up Expectation portfolio's position (all 52 shares!) of Ceradyne (Nasdaq: CRDN). This morning, the company announced that it had agreed to be purchased by conglomerate 3M (NYSE: MMM) for $35 per share.

The sweet thing is that both positions will end up in the green, both the March 2012 purchase at $32.45 and the June 2012 purchase at $25.41. Overall, the portfolio will make 24% on its investment in a mere six months. Not too bad!

I was expecting Ceradyne to become a bigger player in oil drilling, selling its PetroCeram ceramic screen filter to Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and other big field drillers, as well as branching out further in automotive, health care, and cosmetic uses of its products. 3M obviously saw the same kind of opportunity, felt it had a broader reach (which it probably does), and decided to acquire the company.

So long, Ceradyne! It was nice while it lasted.

Come and discuss this and other investments on my Messed-Up Expectations discussion board, or follow me on Twitter.

Ceradyne turned out to be a great investment for me. Here's a free report that reveals the name of what should be a great investment for you, "The One Energy Stock You Must Own Before 2014."

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