I thought we had a financial advice or investment section, but I can't seem to find it.
Anyway, I don't know the first thing about stocks. Never bought one traded one or sold one. But I see that the company that owns MoviePass, Helios & Matheson Analytics (HMNY) has plummeted to $0.05 a share. In the last year it spiked at $9,714.38 a share at one point. It closed one day in October 2017 at $8,225.00 a share. For a 7 month stretch it was over $1,000.00 a share. But dropping every day since April an is now almost worthless.
So...is this the time to spend $100, buy 2,000 shares of this. If the company rebounds and shares go up to $500.00, 2,000 shares is worth $1M.
Or if the company has the next great idea and their stock spikes one day at $9,000 again, cash that puppy out for $18M.
I had never heard of MoviePass until they ran out of money a few weeks ago and that hit the news. Someone like Bob who apparently uses it might be able to tell you more about if he thinks they will be able to recover.
If you are just looking for something fun to do with a couple hundred bucks, sure, throw it at MoviePass if you like. But assume that you will lose every cent you put in, like if you had invested in Bitcoin last winter.
If you are looking for something to do with actual savings for your retirement or whatever you are saving for, and you don't have the time and inclination to do tons and tons of research on your own stocks, then I'd suggest index funds. Let some fund manager do the work for you. S&P has been killing it since just before the election and should continue to do so. If you're gonna pick individual stocks, go for rock solid companies that always go up. You may only get a fraction of a share since the prices are so high, but companies like Apple and Google seem to always go up. That's a safe investment, IMO.