Independence Contract Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:ICD) stock has been on a recent steady downtrend, causing some concern for shareholders.

Investors might be looking at various types of stocks that can be added to the portfolio. Selecting a wider range of equities may help the portfolio withstand prolonged market turmoil. Growth stocks typically have the potential to produce profit growth and above average revenues. Growth companies may reinvest a large amount of earnings back into the business. Fast growing companies can be attractive, but it may be important to verify whether or not shares are valued properly before buying in. Some investors may choose to select cyclical stocks. Cyclicals include companies that are very sensitive to the overall swings of the economy. Investors might also turn to adding foreign stocks to the portfolio. Keeping the portfolio diversified may end up being an important factor for longer-term investing success.

In order to gauge which way a stock is trending, you must compare a stock’s share price to its moving average.  Uptrending stocks trade above their moving averages, while downtrending stocks trade below. 

It is important to consider the moving averages of a downtrending security.  We see here that Independence Contract Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:ICD) is -18.60% away from the 20-Day Simple Moving Average.  Their 50-Day Simple Moving Average is a difference of -33.13% from current levels.  Further back, their 200-Day Simple Moving Average is -64.21% difference from today’s price.  Currently, the stock is -59.26% from its 50-Day High and 13.24% from the 50-day low. 

RSI and Recommendations

Independence Contract Drilling, Inc.’s RSI is 38.51.  Based on the stock’s volatility for the week, which is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given stock and represents average daily high/low percentage range of 12.07% and month of 12.10%.  Wall Street analysts have a consensus 2.20 recommendation on the stock.  

Historical Growth

Independence Contract Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:ICD)’s performance this year to date is -75.32%.  The stock has performed -6.86% over the last seven days, -34.75% over the last thirty, and -36.89% over the last three months.  Over the last six months, Independence Contract Drilling, Inc.’s stock has been -72.98% and -80.56% for the year.

Figuring out when to exit a certain position can be just as important as deciding which stocks to buy in the first place. Many investors will end up holding onto a loser for far too long. The emotional attachment to a particular stock may keep the investor from making the decision to sell when necessary. On the other side of the coin, investors may hold onto a winner for way too long hoping for further gains. Investors may have to come up with a specific plan for what to do in these situations. Planning ahead may help ease the burden of making the tough portfolio decisions.