15% is a pretty good discount, and you said the stock is currently depressed, which is the time to buy. If you took the 15% profit, what would you do with it? Invest it in another company or maybe a mutual fund? But then, there would be a short term capital gain, so you wouldn't get the entire 15%, right? I dunno.....just thinking this through.....
Without knowing who you work for advising you to sell or hold is a non-starter. If you think the company will still be around when you retire and that is 20 or so years away then holding onto the stock is usually the thing to do - especially if you plan to stay with the company and keep on accumulating its stock.
The reason why I don't simply "buy and hold" is I work for a small pharma. My company won't be around in 20 years, probably not even ten. It will either prosper and be bought, or wither and fold, that's the way biotech is. I'll probably be spending the money on tuition next fall in graduate school.
I don't think the upside of lowered tax burden (by holding it for a year) is worth the risk. Many of my co-workers lost small fortunes on our company stock a few years ago, so very few employees hold for the long term.
Are you diversified? (cash, equities, debt instruments, real estate, commodities, etc.)
Do you own any precious metals?
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It entirely depends on lots of factors. Among them is how much of your net worth/retirement is invested in company stock? Obviously if you work for GE that is not like working for Oracle. Dollar cost averaging works wonders but the question is too vague to be able to be answered.
For the first time since college my net worth is approaching positive territory. I've just finished paying off my student loans leaving me effectively debt free. I'm 24, but don't have a 401k. Which I don't think is unreasonable considering practically every nickle I earned beyond food, rent, and gas went to student loans.
Not really diversified, my only "wealth" consists of guns, motorcycles, and cash. I follow the mad max investment strategy... just kidding.
atek3