Even straight-laced, even-keeled investors know that there comes a time when you must buy - not because everyone is getting in on a good thing, but because everyone is getting out. Just like great athletes go through slumps when many fans turn their backs, the stock prices of otherwise great companies occasionally go through slumps because fickle investors head for the hills.
As Baron Rothschild (and Sir John Templeton) once said, smart investors "buy when there is blood in the streets. even if the blood is their own." Of course, these famous financiers weren't arguing that you buy garbage. Rather, they are arguing that there are times when good investments become oversold. which presents a buying opportunity for brave investors who have done their homework.
Perhaps the most classic barometers used to gauge when a stock may be oversold is the price-to-earnings ratio and the book value for a company. Both of these measures have fairly well-established historical norms for both the broad markets and for specific industries. When companies slip well below these historical averages for superficial or systemic reasons, smart investors will smell an opportunity to double their money.
