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Teradata and More Big Movers in Technology on October 5, 2012
The market is doing well so far today. The Nasdaq is up 0.2%; the S&P 500 has risen 0.5%; and the Dow has climbed 0.5%. The technology sector is a category of stocks relating to the research, development and/or distribution of technologically based goods and services. This sector contains businesses revolving around the manufacturing of electronics, creation of software, computers or products and services relating to information technology. The technology sector offers a wide arrange of products and services for both customers and other businesses. Consumer goods like personal computers, stereos and televisions are continually improved and upgraded, offering the latest technology to all users. Businesses receive information and services from software and database systems, which allow the companies to make strategic business decisions.
Underperforming the market overall, the Technology sector (XLK) is up 0.1%, and these are its current biggest movers:
Forex Broker Summary: UFXMarkets
Taking a 10.6% hit, First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) is currently trading at $20.17 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 6.9 million shares. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. 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. FSLR has a fairly low capitalization ratio of 12.3%. Investors generally consider a company with low debt and high equity levels is a good quality investment. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY) is at $31.62 per share after an increase of 6.9%. At five million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the current daily average. 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 estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. There are generally two price/earnings ratios calculated: the first, called the trailing Price/Earnings ratio, is calculated using the previous years actual earnings; the second, called forward Price/Earnings ratio, is calculated using the next year's estimated earnings. The P/E ratio for PAY is 12.5, above the industry average of 5.3. Generally speaking, the higher the P/E ratio, the higher the market expectations for a company's future performance. 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
After an increase of 5.8%, Informatica (Nasdaq:INFA) has reached a current price of $27.55. So far today, 4.3 million shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio can reveal value what price/earnings (P/E) ratios alone may not so that if a company has a high P/E ratio (an indication that its stock is overpriced) but its earnings are growing very quickly, the PEG ratio may reveal that the company is actually fairly valued, or perhaps even a bargain. INFA has a PEG ratio of 1.44, which is consistent with the industry average. 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.
Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS) has moved up 3.1% and is currently trading at $63.94 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 210,690 shares, 0.3 times its average over the past three months. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. A company's investment value can be 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. If the price/book value ratio of a stock is high, it may indicate that the stock is expensive, while a lower ratio may indicate that the stock is a bargain. SSYS' stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 7.03. 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. 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: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
Teradata (NYSE:TDC) is up 3% to reach a current price of $76.55 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 716,656 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. Valuation ratios include 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. While measuring a price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is a popular valuation technique, the measure cannot be calculated for companies without earnings, so some investors analyze the price/sales ratio. The P/S ratio for TDC is a high 4.75. 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.
F5 Networks (Nasdaq:FFIV) has fallen 2.8% and is currently trading at $104.47 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 866,200 shares, in line with the current daily average. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. It is important for an investor to estimate the value of any potential or existing investment; valuation ratios make this easier. The debt ratio shows the proportion of assets that a company is financing through debt. FFIV's debt ratio of 30.2% is on the low side. This indicates that the company engages in conservative financing with opportunities to borrow in the future at no significant risk. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
SPS Commerce (Nasdaq:SPSC) is trading at $39.33 per share, down 2.6%. So far today, the company's volume is 24,680 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. 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 price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). SPSC has a P/E ratio of 36.7, high compared to the industry average of 22.16. This could mean that the market is expecting big things over the next few months or years. To determine the P/E ratio, an investor divides the market price of the stock by the earnings-per-share (EPS) of the stock. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Earnings 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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.
Underperforming the market overall, the Technology sector (XLK) is up 0.1%, and these are its current biggest movers:
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) | $1.96 billion | -10.6% |
| VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY) | $3.19 billion | +6.9% |
| Informatica (Nasdaq:INFA) | $2.83 billion | +5.8% |
| Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS) | $1.32 billion | +3.1% |
| Teradata (NYSE:TDC) | $12.53 billion | +3% |
| F5 Networks (Nasdaq:FFIV) | $8.49 billion | -2.8% |
| SPS Commerce (Nasdaq:SPSC) | $501 million | -2.6% |
Taking a 10.6% hit, First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) is currently trading at $20.17 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 6.9 million shares. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. 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. FSLR has a fairly low capitalization ratio of 12.3%. Investors generally consider a company with low debt and high equity levels is a good quality investment. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
VeriFone Systems (NYSE:PAY) is at $31.62 per share after an increase of 6.9%. At five million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the current daily average. 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 estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. There are generally two price/earnings ratios calculated: the first, called the trailing Price/Earnings ratio, is calculated using the previous years actual earnings; the second, called forward Price/Earnings ratio, is calculated using the next year's estimated earnings. The P/E ratio for PAY is 12.5, above the industry average of 5.3. Generally speaking, the higher the P/E ratio, the higher the market expectations for a company's future performance. 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
After an increase of 5.8%, Informatica (Nasdaq:INFA) has reached a current price of $27.55. So far today, 4.3 million shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite. Understanding investment valuation ratios allows an investor to assess the true value of an individual stock. The price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio can reveal value what price/earnings (P/E) ratios alone may not so that if a company has a high P/E ratio (an indication that its stock is overpriced) but its earnings are growing very quickly, the PEG ratio may reveal that the company is actually fairly valued, or perhaps even a bargain. INFA has a PEG ratio of 1.44, which is consistent with the industry average. 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.
Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS) has moved up 3.1% and is currently trading at $63.94 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 210,690 shares, 0.3 times its average over the past three months. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. A company's investment value can be 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. If the price/book value ratio of a stock is high, it may indicate that the stock is expensive, while a lower ratio may indicate that the stock is a bargain. SSYS' stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 7.03. 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. 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: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
Teradata (NYSE:TDC) is up 3% to reach a current price of $76.55 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 716,656 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. Valuation ratios include 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. While measuring a price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is a popular valuation technique, the measure cannot be calculated for companies without earnings, so some investors analyze the price/sales ratio. The P/S ratio for TDC is a high 4.75. 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.
F5 Networks (Nasdaq:FFIV) has fallen 2.8% and is currently trading at $104.47 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 866,200 shares, in line with the current daily average. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price. It is important for an investor to estimate the value of any potential or existing investment; valuation ratios make this easier. The debt ratio shows the proportion of assets that a company is financing through debt. FFIV's debt ratio of 30.2% is on the low side. This indicates that the company engages in conservative financing with opportunities to borrow in the future at no significant risk. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
SPS Commerce (Nasdaq:SPSC) is trading at $39.33 per share, down 2.6%. So far today, the company's volume is 24,680 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator. 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 price/earnings ratio is calculated by taking a stock price and dividing it by the earnings-per-share (EPS). SPSC has a P/E ratio of 36.7, high compared to the industry average of 22.16. This could mean that the market is expecting big things over the next few months or years. To determine the P/E ratio, an investor divides the market price of the stock by the earnings-per-share (EPS) of the stock. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Earnings 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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.
by
Investopedia Staff
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