Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Why is it important to research a stock before buying it?
The only sensible reason to invest in individual stocks is if you have reason to think that they will perform better than the market as a whole. How are you to come to that conclusion other than by doing in-depth research into the stock and the company behind it?   If you can't, or don't want to, reach that conclusion about particular stocks then you're better off putting your money into cheap index trackers.