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Marvell Technology Among the Nasdaq's Biggest Movers on August 17, 2012
The Nasdaq has increased 0.2%, the S&P 500 has remained steady and the Dow has decreased 0.2% this morning. The Nasdaq Composite Index represents all the stocks that trade on the Nasdaq stock market.
The biggest movers traded on the NASDAQ so far are:
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Taking a 15.7% hit, Marvell Technology (Nasdaq:MRVL) is currently trading at $10.35 per share. The company's volume for the morning is 27.4 million shares. This is 2.8 times the average daily volume. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. MRVL has a P/B ratio of 1.18 which shows that its share price is higher than its book value. It is important to take the company's debt into account when using the P/B ratio as debt can boost a company's liabilities to the point where they wipe out much of the book value of its hard assets, creating artificially high P/B values. All else being equal, a stock with a low P/B value ratio is more attractive than a stock with a high ratio. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
Francesca's (Nasdaq:FRAN) has soared 12% to reach a current price of $34.73 per share. So far today, 1.1 million shares have changed hands, which is more trading activity than there was yesterday. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. A price/sales ratio is derived by dividing stock market price by company sales. FRAN has a high P/S ratio of 6.1. In young companies, a high P/S ratio is a sign of sales growth that is expected to turn into earnings and cash flow. It is important to keep in mind when looking at the P/S ratio that just because a company is generating revenues, this does not mean that the company is profitable, and in the long run, profits drive stock prices.
Slipping 7.9%, VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS) is currently trading at $20.97 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 3.5 million shares. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The debt ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. The debt ratio for VVUS is a low 4.6%. This indicates that the company engages in conservative financing with opportunities to borrow in the future at no significant risk. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) is currently trading at a share price of $58.67, a 5.1% decline. The company's volume is currently 1.3 million shares for the day, 5.4 times its current three-month average. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. The P/E ratio has been used for ages by analysts and still remains one of the most relevant pieces of stock valuation. HIBB has a P/E ratio of 26.5. From the investor's perspective, a stock with a lower ratio is relatively cheaper than a stock with a higher ratio. SEE: The P/E Ratio: A Good Market-Timing Indicator
Liquidity Services (Nasdaq:LQDT) has risen 4% and is currently trading at $47.58 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 243,588 shares. This is 0.4 times its current daily average. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. Investors can make use of valuation ratios to estimate whether a stock is fairly valued. To a large degree, the debt-equity (D/E) ratio provides another vantage point on a company's leverage position, in this case, comparing total liabilities to shareholders' equity, as opposed to total assets in the debt ratio. The debt-equity ratio of 18% is relatively low. A low D/E ratio may be a sign that the company is not taking advantage of leverage to increase its profits. The D/E ratio is not a pure measurement of a company's debt because it includes operational liabilities in total liabilities.
Rising 3.5%, Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq:LULU) is currently trading at $62.79 per share. This morning, 937,104 shares have been traded, with trading activity in keeping with yesterday's while it was 2.3 million shares yesterday. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. A company's value as an investment is more easily estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio divides a company's P/E ratio by its growth rate of earnings-per-share. PEG ratio for LULU is consistent with the industry average at 1.44. Because of the adjustment for earnings growth rate, the PEG ratio is somewhat more useful than many formulas for comparing companies in different industries.
Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK) has risen 3% to hit a current price of $49.86 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 1.1 million shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. One of the favorite tools of many value investors is analyzing price/book value ratios, as it provides a measure of the underlying value of a company's assets as compared to the valuation of its equity. DECK's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 2.56. This implies that investors expect management to create more value from a given set of assets and/or that the market value of the firm's assets is significantly higher than their accounting value. Users need to be careful when applying this ratio though, as it is more useful for industrial companies that have a lot of tangible assets than it is for technology or consumer product companies that may not have much in the way of hard assets. SEE: How Buybacks Warps The Price-To-Book Ratio
The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.
The biggest movers traded on the NASDAQ so far are:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| Marvell Technology (Nasdaq:MRVL) | $6.92 billion | -15.7% |
| Francesca\'s (Nasdaq:FRAN) | $1.35 billion | +12% |
| VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS) | $2.28 billion | -7.9% |
| Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) | $1.62 billion | -5.1% |
| Liquidity Services (Nasdaq:LQDT) | $1.42 billion | +4% |
| Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq:LULU) | $6.47 billion | +3.5% |
| Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK) | $1.79 billion | +3% |
Taking a 15.7% hit, Marvell Technology (Nasdaq:MRVL) is currently trading at $10.35 per share. The company's volume for the morning is 27.4 million shares. This is 2.8 times the average daily volume. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. MRVL has a P/B ratio of 1.18 which shows that its share price is higher than its book value. It is important to take the company's debt into account when using the P/B ratio as debt can boost a company's liabilities to the point where they wipe out much of the book value of its hard assets, creating artificially high P/B values. All else being equal, a stock with a low P/B value ratio is more attractive than a stock with a high ratio. SEE: Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies
Francesca's (Nasdaq:FRAN) has soared 12% to reach a current price of $34.73 per share. So far today, 1.1 million shares have changed hands, which is more trading activity than there was yesterday. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. A price/sales ratio is derived by dividing stock market price by company sales. FRAN has a high P/S ratio of 6.1. In young companies, a high P/S ratio is a sign of sales growth that is expected to turn into earnings and cash flow. It is important to keep in mind when looking at the P/S ratio that just because a company is generating revenues, this does not mean that the company is profitable, and in the long run, profits drive stock prices.
Slipping 7.9%, VIVUS (Nasdaq:VVUS) is currently trading at $20.97 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 3.5 million shares. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The debt ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. The debt ratio for VVUS is a low 4.6%. This indicates that the company engages in conservative financing with opportunities to borrow in the future at no significant risk. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) is currently trading at a share price of $58.67, a 5.1% decline. The company's volume is currently 1.3 million shares for the day, 5.4 times its current three-month average. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. The P/E ratio has been used for ages by analysts and still remains one of the most relevant pieces of stock valuation. HIBB has a P/E ratio of 26.5. From the investor's perspective, a stock with a lower ratio is relatively cheaper than a stock with a higher ratio. SEE: The P/E Ratio: A Good Market-Timing Indicator
Liquidity Services (Nasdaq:LQDT) has risen 4% and is currently trading at $47.58 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 243,588 shares. This is 0.4 times its current daily average. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. Investors can make use of valuation ratios to estimate whether a stock is fairly valued. To a large degree, the debt-equity (D/E) ratio provides another vantage point on a company's leverage position, in this case, comparing total liabilities to shareholders' equity, as opposed to total assets in the debt ratio. The debt-equity ratio of 18% is relatively low. A low D/E ratio may be a sign that the company is not taking advantage of leverage to increase its profits. The D/E ratio is not a pure measurement of a company's debt because it includes operational liabilities in total liabilities.
Rising 3.5%, Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq:LULU) is currently trading at $62.79 per share. This morning, 937,104 shares have been traded, with trading activity in keeping with yesterday's while it was 2.3 million shares yesterday. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. A company's value as an investment is more easily estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio divides a company's P/E ratio by its growth rate of earnings-per-share. PEG ratio for LULU is consistent with the industry average at 1.44. Because of the adjustment for earnings growth rate, the PEG ratio is somewhat more useful than many formulas for comparing companies in different industries.
Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK) has risen 3% to hit a current price of $49.86 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 1.1 million shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move. A wide array of ratios can be used by investors to estimate the attractiveness of a potential or existing investment and get an idea of its valuation. One of the favorite tools of many value investors is analyzing price/book value ratios, as it provides a measure of the underlying value of a company's assets as compared to the valuation of its equity. DECK's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 2.56. This implies that investors expect management to create more value from a given set of assets and/or that the market value of the firm's assets is significantly higher than their accounting value. Users need to be careful when applying this ratio though, as it is more useful for industrial companies that have a lot of tangible assets than it is for technology or consumer product companies that may not have much in the way of hard assets. SEE: How Buybacks Warps The Price-To-Book Ratio
The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.
by
Investopedia Staff
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