GorillaTrades
GorillaTrades provides stock and options recommendations based on a set of technical parameters determined by its founder, “The Gorilla”. GorillaTrades also provides stock market education, as well as market commentary. GorillaTrades current location is listed as being in Jupiter, Florida.
I subscribed to the GorillaTrades service hoping to use GorillaTrades’ recommendations in order to find some big winners, while also looking for an investment strategy that I could use in any market setting. I initially subscribed to GorillaTrades in the early 2000’s, after seeing a handful of their quirky ads on TV. While Davee Jones singing the Gorilla’s praises did catch my attention, it was the big winners the site boasted which kept it. After reading of “The Gorilla’s” back story of turning $250,000 into $5,500,000 in only 18 months, I figured I would give it a shot. I would not typically turn to such a comical approach to investing for my advice, but at the time GorillaTrades offered a two-week free trial so I really had nothing to lose.
First things first, GorillaTrades costs $499 on a yearly basis or $799 on a bi-yearly basis. GorillaTrades does not require you to download any complicated software to your computer, and the $499 price is significantly cheaper than any other service that offers a similar bundle of advice. For the $499 you receive two daily emails from “The Gorilla”, one in the afternoon and one at night. The afternoon email is just a short summary of the stock market’s activities leading up to the afternoon, while the email you receive at night is much lengthier and provides an analysis of the day’s stock market activities. The stock picks that are recommended are first introduced in the nightly emails as well. So for instance, if GorillaTrades was recommending to buy a certain stock, it is included in the nightly email the day before subscribers are instructed to buy it. Included with each stock pick in the nightly email are the reasons why it is being chosen, the company profile, as well as a graph looking at the past 3-4 months of the stock’s activity and showing entry, target, and exit prices. GorillaTrades also tracks all of their current positions from the day they are recommended to subscribers, and this information is made readily available to all subscribers. GorillaTrades also tracks and regularly maintains their “closed transactions” list, which shows every single one of their recommendations (winners and losers) dating all the way back to 2003. With each subscription you also have access to the Weekly Options Recommendations, Small Cap Stock Picks, and Bonus Stock Picks called “Special Situation Picks”. There is also a lot of educational material including videos on the GorillaTrades system as well as the overall stock market, which is extremely helpful. The site has enough information to answer literally any question you might have about the system, the only thing they don’t have too much information on are options. I have emailed in a couple of times and asked why they don’t have more information on options, and the responses I have gotten usually point to the fact of how risky options are and how options plays are for more experienced and aggressive investors. I understand why GorillaTrades may not want to be held accountable for educating its subscribers on options, as they can be difficult for new investors to understand and there is a lot at stake. Other than the limited information on options trading, the site is full of useful information which as a subscriber you have full access to.
The GorillaTrades founder is said to have identified fourteen technical parameters that a stock displays, before breaking out. These fourteen points are the entire foundation of the GorillaTrades system, and have proven to be effective in identifying big winners over the years. In order for GorillaTrades to recommended a stock for potential purchase it must meet all fourteen of the technical parameters, otherwise it will not make it into the portfolio. The GorillaTrades radar is said to analyze thousands of stocks each night, and then “The Gorilla” narrows down the results to typically one or two picks which are then recommended in the nightly email. “The Gorilla” does not disclose what all of the fourteen technical parameters are for obvious reasons, but he does give information on twelve of the parameters which include volume, velocity, and volatility, among others. The additional stock picks within the GorillaTrades system are the “GorillaPicklets” or small cap stock picks, and the “Special Situation Picks”. Both of these kinds of picks have a lower market cap of under $1 billion, sometimes having very low market caps. The difference between the two is that “GorillaPicklets” are always around $5 or less, while “Special Situation Picks” have no price limit. The interesting piece of information is that even though these kinds of picks have a lower market cap, they still have to meet the same fourteen technical parameters as the “GorillaPicks” or large cap stock picks. While you do receive less guidance with these kinds of picks and they do not appear as often as the large cap stock picks, when they do appear they are definitely a bonus to the system.
One of the main reasons I am such an advocate for GorillaTrades as opposed to other systems, is the simplicity factor. GorillaTrades recommends stock picks each night and clearly outlines the recommended entry, target, and exit prices. I don’t always have the time to spend researching new potential stocks, so I like the fact that they do the work for you and then tell you where to get in and where to get out. Although in my opinion, what truly sets GorillaTrades apart from other stock picking systems is the added layers of protection within the system. This is what really hit home for me, and proved that this system was truly an investment strategy with the potential to work in any market environment. The first example is how GorillaTrades has a two-step process in order for a stock pick to make it into the portfolio. First a stock has to trigger, or trade above the previous day’s high; once a stock has triggered it makes it into the portfolio. GorillaTrades knows that most aggressive subscribers buy as soon as a stock triggers, but the GorillaTrades system recommends waiting until a stock confirms before buying. Once a stock triggers it should then confirm in order to ensure the stock is on track to truly breakout, rather than a false breakout. The confirmation theory says that the stock must close higher than the previous close, open, and trigger price, while also trading at a specific volume area. The good thing is that GorillaTrades tracks all of this for you, so as soon as a stock triggers you get a text message alerting you the stock has triggered and you get notification if the stock has confirmed in the nightly email. The second example of the added layers of protection within the system is how GorillaTrades sets a stop loss on every pick, usually 6%-8% in order to limit your potential losses. The third example of the added layers of protection within the system is how GorillaTrades recommends two target prices, and recommends subscribers sell between 50%-75% of their position at the first target for diversification purposes. So once a pick reaches it first target GorillaTrades recommends to sell between 50%-75% of your position to takes some gains off the table, while also allowing you to reinvest that capital into a new pick. The fourth example of the added layers of protection is how GorillaTrades raises the stop loss and second target prices in parallel, to preserve gains while keeping strong stocks within the portfolio. This is one of the most impressive points of the system, and I know I have personally used this principle to my advantage countless times.
Another great feature of the GorillaTrades system is the “Option Idea of the Week”. Every week GorillaTrades introduces an options play with less than a $5,000 investment and no margin requirement. Given the extremely risky nature of options, GorillaTrades reiterates multiple times that the “Option Idea of the Week” is only for the most aggressive investors. With that being said, if you have the knowledge and are familiar with options I definitely recommend checking out GorillaTrades, even if it was for the options feature alone. Obviously not every options play is a huge winner, but I can undoubtedly tell you that in comparison with other systems I have used that the results and advice from GorillaTrades are consistent, and that’s what I like. It is also worth noting that I have friends that have told me of their options plays based on the Gorilla’s stock picks, and it works great for them. Again, the reason I like GorillaTrades is the fact that they do the work for me. Therefore, I have not personally tried this strategy I just stick to the weekly options picks, but I have heard it to be a successful strategy.
All in all, GorillaTrades is one of the two financial websites I have tried over the span of my 30+ years investing in the stock market that I would recommend to my personal friends and family. The only perceived downside to the system is that it is majorly technical, and does not incorporate fundamentals into the analysis process. However, I would counter that logic with that old saying “if it aint broke, don’t fix it.” If “The Gorilla” has spent the last 15 years or so finding these stocks with a strictly technical analysis, then he should keep doing it. I like GorillaTrades because the site is honest and does a great job of tracking their picks’ performance (winners and losers), and if you have tried many other sites you know that is a rare find. When I began writing this article I did not want it to be an outright advertisement for GorillaTrades, instead I wanted to inform readers of just how useful this system is when compared with others. I have used GorillaTrades system for many years now, and there has not been a single year that my portfolio was in the red. So while I have undoubtedly found some huge winners with this system over the years, I would like to point out that GorillaTrades is an actual INVESTING SYSTEM that works. Obviously not every pick is a winner, as I have certainly taken some losses with GorillaTrades. The point is that with the GorillaTrades system, my losses were small and my gains were consistent. As every seasoned investor knows, there will surely be losses along the way. I have kept my subscription with GorillaTrades because they help keep my losses small, the profits consistent, and all while targeting big gains. I would recommend GorillaTrades to any investor looking for a structured investment strategy, while also targeting big gains.