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Nasdaq's Biggest Movers for July 13, 2012
So far today, the market has been on the rise. The Nasdaq is up 1%; the S&P 500 has climbed 1.3%; and the Dow has increased 1.3%. The recent surge in popularity of technological stocks has launched the Nasdaq Composite Index into the spotlight, making it one of the premier indexes in the world.
The biggest movers traded on the NASDAQ so far are:
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After a big jump of 15.4%, Affymax (Nasdaq:AFFY) is trading at $16.43 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 2.6 million shares. This is 2.5 times its current three-month average. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest. Margin analysis is a great way to understand the profitability of companies. Net profit margin is -21.6%. A negative net profit margin means the company spent more money than it made.
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 debt-equity (D/E) ratio compares the total liabilities for a company to its total shareholder equity. AFFY has a debt-equity ratio of 9%, which is on the low side. This shows that the company's assets are financed primarily through equity. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) is down 9.2% to reach $19.32 per share. At 6.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the average daily volume. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. GMCR's gross profit margin is 37.9%. The operating margin ratio can vary widely across industries, so investors should focus on comparing companies from similar industries or with similar business models. GMCR has an operating profit margin of 16.9%, which is low relative to its gross profit margin. Net profit margin is a good tool for fundamental analysis and long-term investing but is less useful for technical analysts and short-term traders. Net profit margin for the company is 9.5%.
Valuation ratios like 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 are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. A price/sales ratio is derived by dividing stock market price by company sales. The P/S ratio for GMCR is 2.09, which is relatively high. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. All things being equal, a low P/S ratio is good news for investors, while a very high one can be a warning sign.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:QCOR) is trading at $41.74 per share, down 8.2%. The company is currently trading a volume of 2.8 million shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Margin analysis tells us how effectively management can wring profits from sales and how much room a company has to withstand a downturn, fend off competition and make mistakes. QCOR has a relatively high gross profit margin of 94.9%. Since gross profit margins tend to stay stable, sudden changes may indicate financial fraud, accounting irregularities or problems in the business. Net profit margin comes as close as possible to summing-up in a single figure how effectively managers run the business. With a net profit margin of 38.6%, the company has a high one compared to its gross profit margin. A company with a high profit margin has a greater capability to maintain strong earnings during a recession than does a company with a low profit margin, providing investors with a greater margin of safety. Investors in growth stocks or short-term traders may be less interested in the operating margin ratio. Operating profit margin for QCOR is 59.7%.
In making a decision about a potential or existing investment, valuation ratios are useful as a basis for seeing whether the stock price is too high, reasonable, or a bargain. The easy-to-calculate debt ratio is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on the leverage for a company. QCOR has a debt ratio of 22.6%, which is fairly low. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
Coinstar (Nasdaq:CSTR) has decreased to $63.23 per share, a 5.6% fall. So far today, the company's volume is 1.4 million shares, more than yesterday's 889,689 shares. 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. Margin ratios highlight companies that are worth further examination. CSTR has a gross profit margin of 31.8%. Operating margin for CSTR is 13.8% and net margin is 7.5%, both low relative to its gross margin.
Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The capitalization ratio measures the debt component of the capital structure, or capitalization of a company (i.e., the sum of long-term debt liabilities and shareholder equity) to support operations and growth. The capitalizion ratio of 23.3% is on the low end. A low capitalization ratio can signify a failure to leverage equity into investment, missing valuable opportunities for growth and expansion. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq:PCYC) is currently trading at a share price of $52.72, a 3.3% decline. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 687,194 shares. This is 0.4 times its average volume over the past three months. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. Profit-margin ratios can give investors deeper insight into management efficiency than earnings alone can provide. Gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net margin are commonly used margins. PCYC has a negative operating margin of -932.1%. This means that the company came in with a net operating loss in the most recent quarter.
Investors can make use of valuation ratios to estimate whether a stock is fairly valued. The price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). P/E ratio for PCYC is 264.4. A high P/E ratio indicates a stock that is expensive, while a low P/E ratio indicates a stock that is cheap. SEE: Understanding The P/E Ratio
Raven Industries (Nasdaq:RAVN) is up 3.1% to reach a current price of $74.98 per share. At 7,325 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times the current daily average. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Profit-margin ratios help us to keep score, as measured over time, of management's ability to generate profits and manage costs and expenses. There are three key profit-margin ratios: gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin. The gross profit margin for RAVN is 33.8%. Relative to its gross profit margin, RAVN's operating profit margin of 24.1% and net profit margin of 13.5% are low.
Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. The assumption with high price/earnings stocks (generally of the growth variety) is that investors are willing to buy at a high price because they believe that the stock has significant growth potential, and the price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio helps investors determine the degree of reliability of that growth assumption. PEG ratio for RAVN is 2.43. While P/E ratios are important indicators of market value, a high P/E in and of itself is not bad because it may indicate a company whose earnings are growing very rapidly, so many investors look at the PEG ratio in order to get an idea of whether or not a particular P/E ratio is justified by underlying earnings growth.
MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:MSTR) is at $118.12 per share after an increase of 2.9%. The company's volume for the day so far is 64,593 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. MSTR has a gross profit margin of 78.4%, which is on the high end. Investors should track gross profit margin ratios over several years in order to see if earnings are consistent, growing or declining. MSTR has an operating profit margin of 0.3% and a net profit margin of 2.9%, both high compared to its gross profit margin.
Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in determining the value of a stock, but it is very important to keep in mind that while some financial ratios have general rules (or a broad application), in most instances it is a prudent practice to look at a company's historical performance and use peer company/industry comparisons to put any given company's ratio in perspective. The price/book value ratio is one of the more common methods of determining whether a stock is fairly valued. MSTR's P/B ratio of 7.51 shows that its share price is higher than its book value. 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. One problem with the P/B value ratio is that it can be difficult to calculate the true book value of a company, so investors should be aware that many measures of book value may provide only a rough estimate, and should be taken with a grain of salt. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. 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 |
| Affymax, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFY) | $514.2 million | +15.4% |
| Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq:GMCR) | $3.3 billion | -9.2% |
| Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOR) | $2.87 billion | -8.2% |
| Coinstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:CSTR) | $2.1 billion | -5.6% |
| Pharmacyclics, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCYC) | $3.76 billion | -3.3% |
| Raven Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:RAVN) | $1.32 billion | +3.1% |
| MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq:MSTR) | $1.24 billion | +2.9% |
After a big jump of 15.4%, Affymax (Nasdaq:AFFY) is trading at $16.43 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 2.6 million shares. This is 2.5 times its current three-month average. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest. Margin analysis is a great way to understand the profitability of companies. Net profit margin is -21.6%. A negative net profit margin means the company spent more money than it made.
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 debt-equity (D/E) ratio compares the total liabilities for a company to its total shareholder equity. AFFY has a debt-equity ratio of 9%, which is on the low side. This shows that the company's assets are financed primarily through equity. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq:GMCR) is down 9.2% to reach $19.32 per share. At 6.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the average daily volume. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. GMCR's gross profit margin is 37.9%. The operating margin ratio can vary widely across industries, so investors should focus on comparing companies from similar industries or with similar business models. GMCR has an operating profit margin of 16.9%, which is low relative to its gross profit margin. Net profit margin is a good tool for fundamental analysis and long-term investing but is less useful for technical analysts and short-term traders. Net profit margin for the company is 9.5%.
Valuation ratios like 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 are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. A price/sales ratio is derived by dividing stock market price by company sales. The P/S ratio for GMCR is 2.09, which is relatively high. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. All things being equal, a low P/S ratio is good news for investors, while a very high one can be a warning sign.
Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:QCOR) is trading at $41.74 per share, down 8.2%. The company is currently trading a volume of 2.8 million shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. Margin analysis tells us how effectively management can wring profits from sales and how much room a company has to withstand a downturn, fend off competition and make mistakes. QCOR has a relatively high gross profit margin of 94.9%. Since gross profit margins tend to stay stable, sudden changes may indicate financial fraud, accounting irregularities or problems in the business. Net profit margin comes as close as possible to summing-up in a single figure how effectively managers run the business. With a net profit margin of 38.6%, the company has a high one compared to its gross profit margin. A company with a high profit margin has a greater capability to maintain strong earnings during a recession than does a company with a low profit margin, providing investors with a greater margin of safety. Investors in growth stocks or short-term traders may be less interested in the operating margin ratio. Operating profit margin for QCOR is 59.7%.
In making a decision about a potential or existing investment, valuation ratios are useful as a basis for seeing whether the stock price is too high, reasonable, or a bargain. The easy-to-calculate debt ratio is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on the leverage for a company. QCOR has a debt ratio of 22.6%, which is fairly low. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.
Coinstar (Nasdaq:CSTR) has decreased to $63.23 per share, a 5.6% fall. So far today, the company's volume is 1.4 million shares, more than yesterday's 889,689 shares. 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. Margin ratios highlight companies that are worth further examination. CSTR has a gross profit margin of 31.8%. Operating margin for CSTR is 13.8% and net margin is 7.5%, both low relative to its gross margin.
Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The capitalization ratio measures the debt component of the capital structure, or capitalization of a company (i.e., the sum of long-term debt liabilities and shareholder equity) to support operations and growth. The capitalizion ratio of 23.3% is on the low end. A low capitalization ratio can signify a failure to leverage equity into investment, missing valuable opportunities for growth and expansion. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq:PCYC) is currently trading at a share price of $52.72, a 3.3% decline. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 687,194 shares. This is 0.4 times its average volume over the past three months. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. Profit-margin ratios can give investors deeper insight into management efficiency than earnings alone can provide. Gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net margin are commonly used margins. PCYC has a negative operating margin of -932.1%. This means that the company came in with a net operating loss in the most recent quarter.
Investors can make use of valuation ratios to estimate whether a stock is fairly valued. The price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). P/E ratio for PCYC is 264.4. A high P/E ratio indicates a stock that is expensive, while a low P/E ratio indicates a stock that is cheap. SEE: Understanding The P/E Ratio
Raven Industries (Nasdaq:RAVN) is up 3.1% to reach a current price of $74.98 per share. At 7,325 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times the current daily average. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Profit-margin ratios help us to keep score, as measured over time, of management's ability to generate profits and manage costs and expenses. There are three key profit-margin ratios: gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin. The gross profit margin for RAVN is 33.8%. Relative to its gross profit margin, RAVN's operating profit margin of 24.1% and net profit margin of 13.5% are low.
Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. The assumption with high price/earnings stocks (generally of the growth variety) is that investors are willing to buy at a high price because they believe that the stock has significant growth potential, and the price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio helps investors determine the degree of reliability of that growth assumption. PEG ratio for RAVN is 2.43. While P/E ratios are important indicators of market value, a high P/E in and of itself is not bad because it may indicate a company whose earnings are growing very rapidly, so many investors look at the PEG ratio in order to get an idea of whether or not a particular P/E ratio is justified by underlying earnings growth.
MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:MSTR) is at $118.12 per share after an increase of 2.9%. The company's volume for the day so far is 64,593 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. There are many tools investors can use to evaluate a stock, including margins. Margins, quite simply, are earnings expressed as a ratio, or a percentage of sales, and this allows investors to compare the profitability of different companies, while net earnings, which are presented as an absolute number, cannot. MSTR has a gross profit margin of 78.4%, which is on the high end. Investors should track gross profit margin ratios over several years in order to see if earnings are consistent, growing or declining. MSTR has an operating profit margin of 0.3% and a net profit margin of 2.9%, both high compared to its gross profit margin.
Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in determining the value of a stock, but it is very important to keep in mind that while some financial ratios have general rules (or a broad application), in most instances it is a prudent practice to look at a company's historical performance and use peer company/industry comparisons to put any given company's ratio in perspective. The price/book value ratio is one of the more common methods of determining whether a stock is fairly valued. MSTR's P/B ratio of 7.51 shows that its share price is higher than its book value. 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. One problem with the P/B value ratio is that it can be difficult to calculate the true book value of a company, so investors should be aware that many measures of book value may provide only a rough estimate, and should be taken with a grain of salt. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. 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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