I guess I wasn't the only one to view Mr. Market's recent thrashing of Corn Products International
Let's look back to the corn crunch that set off the share-price declines of everyone from Corn Products to Archer Daniels Midland
Granted, the fellow cut his target price to only $48, and the price was beaten down far below that figure. The downgrade still didn't help the rush to the exits. It did help my Motley Fool CAPS score, though, since I rated the company to outperform on the day of the plunge. If anyone out there pulled a similar coup with real dollars, congratulations -- you probably landed a return of 15%-20% in just a few trading sessions.
This is exactly the sort of nonsense that goes on when cool-headedness hits the road and animal spirits swoop in. The bright side to this episode is that if you're able to step back and assess such stormy situations dispassionately, you can profit big-time. In this case, you had the whole weekend to mull over Corn Products' exposure, and even a few days more for good measure. That whole "temperament" thing really works after all!