Ryanair Holdings plc and More Big Movers in Transportation on November 5, 2012

Currently, the Nasdaq has risen 0.1%, the S&P 500 has declined 0.3% and the Dow has slipped 0.3%. The transportation sector is a category of stocks relating to the transportation of goods or customers. It is made up of airlines, railroads and trucking companies. The performance of the transportation sector is sensitive to the price of oil. Because operations revolve around the use of vehicles, fuel prices represent a significant cost to transportation companies. As the price of oil rises, transportation companies will be expected to earn less. Inversely, these companies do well when the cost of fuel decreases.

The Transportation sector (IYT) is unchanged so far today and here are its biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE:GWR)	$3.59 billion	+3.8%
Ryanair Holdings plc (Nasdaq:RYAAY)	$9.36 billion	+3.6%
China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd (NYSE:CEA)	$4.06 billion	+3.1%
Capital Product Partners (Nasdaq:CPLP)	$690.5 million	-2.8%
GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF)	$844.9 million	+2%
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII)	$2.14 billion	+1.9%
American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq:ARII)	$612.6 million	+1.5%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

After an increase of 3.8%, Genesee & Wyoming (NYSE:GWR) has reached a current price of $74.24. The company's volume for the morning is 143,867 shares. This is in line with its current daily average.

Ryanair Holdings plc (Nasdaq:RYAAY) is up 3.6% to reach a current price of $33.67 per share. At 382,141 shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the average volume over the last three months.

China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd (NYSE:CEA) has risen 3.1% to hit a current price of $18.54 per share. So far today, 10,770 shares have changed hands.

Capital Product Partners (Nasdaq:CPLP) is trading at $7.90 per share, down 2.8%. So far today, the company's volume is 123,513 shares,.

GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) is currently trading at $31.98 per share, a 2% increase. This morning, the company's volume is 25,628 shares. This is 0.2 times the current daily average.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) has increased to a share price of $43.97, a 1.9% rise. With 95,059 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is consistent with its current three-month average.

Rising 1.5%, American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq:ARII) is currently trading at $29.13 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 11,590 shares.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. 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.