Financial Statement Analysis Fundamentals

What are the shares really worth? They attempt to answer these questions while a discordant background chorus—the printed press, “talking heads” on television financial networks, and Internet chatrooms—voices opinions about what the price should be. They turn to investment advisers who provide an almost endless stream of information and recommendations to sort out. A lot of notions and rumours are often heard in the market that are said to drive share prices away from their appropriate values.

They assume that the market price is a fair price for the risk taken, that market forces have driven the price to the appropriate point. These investment styles are simple and don’t require much effort. But both types of investors run risks beyond those inherent in the firms they buy: Paying too much or selling for too little damages investment returns. The passive investor is in danger if stocks are mispriced. It is tempting to trust, as a matter of faith, that the market is efficient, and much economic theory says it should be. But it is good practice to check. Both types of investors run the risk of trading with someone who has “done his homework,” someone who has analyzed the information thoroughly.