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Pharmacyclics and More Big Movers on the Nasdaq on August 20, 2012
The market has been slipping so far today: the Nasdaq is trading down 0.2%; the S&P 500 is down 0.3%; and the Dow has slipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index is a capitalization-weighted index, with each company weighted in proportion to its market value.
The biggest movers traded on the NASDAQ so far are:
Broker Summary: OptionsXpress Online Trading Platform
Increasing 6.5%, First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) is trading at $22.65 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 4.2 million shares. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. While investment valuation ratios are useful tools in estimating the attractiveness of an investment, remember that it is important to look at a company's historical performance and compare the company ratios with its competitors and industry overall. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a leverage ratio. FSLR has a debt-equity ratio of 15%, which is on the low side. Companies with low D/E ratios are more attractive to investors because they are better able to protect their business interests in times of decline. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq:VECO) has fallen 6.2% and is currently trading at $33.90 per share. The company's volume is currently 405,364 shares for the day, in keeping with its current three-month average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. 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. VECO's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 1.67. This high share price relative to asset value is likely to indicate that the company has been earning a very high return on its assets. 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
Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) is down 5.2% to reach $56.14 per share. The company's volume is currently 295,613 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 2.1 million shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/sales ratio measures a company's stock market price by its revenues. HIBB has a high P/S ratio of 2.06. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. It is important to compare P/S ratios for companies in the same industry, as ratios can vary quite widely for companies in different industries.
Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq:PCYC) has decreased to $59.70 per share, a 5.1% fall. The company's volume is currently 560,718 shares for the day, 0.9 times the average daily volume. Volume is an important indicator in technical analysis as it is used to measure the worth of a market move. If the markets have made a strong price move either up or down the perceived strength of that move depends on the volume for that period. The higher the volume during that price move the more significant the move. 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 debt ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. PCYC has a low debt ratio of 38.1%. 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.
Falling 4.9%, athenahealth (Nasdaq:ATHN) is currently at a share price of $87.85. So far today, 213,703 shares have changed hands. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. 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 price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio is calculated by dividing the price/earnings ratio by growth in earnings-per-share; the lower the PEG ratio, the more reasonably valued the security. PEG ratio for ATHN is 6.21. Because of the adjustment for earnings growth rate, the PEG ratio is somewhat more useful than many formulas for comparing companies in different industries.
Elbit Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ESLT) is at $31.65 per share after an increase of 3.5%. With 4,785 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.8 times the current three-month average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. 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 capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. ESLT has a capitalization ratio of 44.4%. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
Andersons (Nasdaq:ANDE) is up 2.9% to reach a current price of $38.49 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 33,866 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 134,074 shares. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. 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. The price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). ANDE's P/E ratio of 8.5 falls below the industry average of 15.63. Companies with low P/E ratios may find it easier to surprise the market to the upside, even if their financial performance is not as strong as that of companies with high P/E ratios. A high or low P/E ratio is not good or bad in and of itself, but a company trading with a high P/E ratio must continue to post strong financial performance or its stock price is likely to fall. SEE: How To Use The P/E Ratio And PEG To Tell The Future Of A Stock
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. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
The biggest movers traded on the NASDAQ so far are:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) | $1.85 billion | +6.5% |
| Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq:VECO) | $1.42 billion | -6.2% |
| Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) | $1.55 billion | -5.2% |
| Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq:PCYC) | $4.34 billion | -5.1% |
| athenahealth (Nasdaq:ATHN) | $3.33 billion | -4.9% |
| Elbit Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ESLT) | $1.3 billion | +3.5% |
| Andersons (Nasdaq:ANDE) | $695.6 million | +2.9% |
Increasing 6.5%, First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) is trading at $22.65 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 4.2 million shares. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it. While investment valuation ratios are useful tools in estimating the attractiveness of an investment, remember that it is important to look at a company's historical performance and compare the company ratios with its competitors and industry overall. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a leverage ratio. FSLR has a debt-equity ratio of 15%, which is on the low side. Companies with low D/E ratios are more attractive to investors because they are better able to protect their business interests in times of decline. The D/E ratio percentage provides a much more dramatic perspective on a company's leverage position than the debt ratio percentage.
Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq:VECO) has fallen 6.2% and is currently trading at $33.90 per share. The company's volume is currently 405,364 shares for the day, in keeping with its current three-month average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. 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. VECO's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 1.67. This high share price relative to asset value is likely to indicate that the company has been earning a very high return on its assets. 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
Hibbett Sports (Nasdaq:HIBB) is down 5.2% to reach $56.14 per share. The company's volume is currently 295,613 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 2.1 million shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The price/sales ratio measures a company's stock market price by its revenues. HIBB has a high P/S ratio of 2.06. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. It is important to compare P/S ratios for companies in the same industry, as ratios can vary quite widely for companies in different industries.
Falling 4.9%, athenahealth (Nasdaq:ATHN) is currently at a share price of $87.85. So far today, 213,703 shares have changed hands. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. 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 price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio is calculated by dividing the price/earnings ratio by growth in earnings-per-share; the lower the PEG ratio, the more reasonably valued the security. PEG ratio for ATHN is 6.21. Because of the adjustment for earnings growth rate, the PEG ratio is somewhat more useful than many formulas for comparing companies in different industries.
Elbit Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ESLT) is at $31.65 per share after an increase of 3.5%. With 4,785 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.8 times the current three-month average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. 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 capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. ESLT has a capitalization ratio of 44.4%. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
Andersons (Nasdaq:ANDE) is up 2.9% to reach a current price of $38.49 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 33,866 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 134,074 shares. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. 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. The price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). ANDE's P/E ratio of 8.5 falls below the industry average of 15.63. Companies with low P/E ratios may find it easier to surprise the market to the upside, even if their financial performance is not as strong as that of companies with high P/E ratios. A high or low P/E ratio is not good or bad in and of itself, but a company trading with a high P/E ratio must continue to post strong financial performance or its stock price is likely to fall. SEE: How To Use The P/E Ratio And PEG To Tell The Future Of A Stock
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. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
by
Investopedia Staff
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