James B. Stewart is a savvy investor. He’s also cautious about taking his gains when they’re presented to him. While searching for stocks that have risen rapidly from their March lows–when he recommended that his readers think about buying–he came across these success stories which include Sotheby’s more than doubling:

So I searched for U.S. stocks with a PEG greater than 4 and above-average gains since March 9. Here, ranked by gains, are some of the stocks that turned up: Powerwave Technologies (up 422%), Tenet Healthcare (361%), Cray Inc. (242%), Janus Capital (223%), Starwood Hotels (185%), MeadWestvaco (160%), Sothebys (136%), SanDisk (119%), Williams-Sonoma (102%) and LSI Corp. (100%).

I was surprised that they were such a varied lot, from auctioneer Sotheby’s to paper company MeadWestvaco to hotel and resort operator Starwood. If I owned any of these, I would be grateful for the big gains and start taking some profits. Since I don’t, the list didn’t do much for me.

Of course, if you owned Sotheby’s stock before the March lows, you’re most likely waiting for it to get back above September’s swoon. Even as the stock price climbs above $16 today, you still only back in October of 2008.

A Time to Let Go of Overvalued Stock (Wall Street Journal)