In this edition of The Motley Fool's "Ask a Fool" series, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Brendan Mathews take a question from a reader who asks: "Any ideas how far LinkedIn might drop? I would like to add more, but I'm still waiting."
Jason mentions some excellent words of advice that his father offered him at a young age: "You'll never buy at the bottom and you'll never sell at the top. Accept it, and you're a step ahead of the game."
Trying to call a bottom on any stock is tantamount to market timing, and that's just not what we do. While it's true that LinkedIn faces a big challenge in engagement, and growth is starting to slow in the company's biggest moneymaker -- the licenses it sells -- it really is the only company doing what it does. And, it has a management team behind it all that really is setting this business up for long-term success.
What investors can do is look at LinkedIn today and try to determine whether or not today's price offers a good shot at beating the market during the coming five years. Then invest accordingly.