Stocks in Focus: ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) Valuation Review & QI Update

The Q.i. Value ranks companies using four ratios. These ratios consist of EBITDA Yield, FCF Yield, Liquidity, and Earnings Yield. The purpose of the Q.i. Value is to help identify companies that are the most undervalued. Typically, the lower the value, the more undervalued the company tends to be. ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) currently has a Q.i. Value of 54.00000.

For investors just starting out, having clear investment goals can be a big asset when approaching the stock market. If individuals can’t see clearly where they want to go, they may end up somewhere that they don’t necessarily want to be. Taking the time to actually develop a plan and goals can help get the ball rolling. Keeping these goals in mind as the investment process progresses may help the investor stay on track when the ride gets rough. The stock market can be an intimidating place for those who are new to the investing world. Accumulating knowledge and staying focused can help the investor slowly peel away the layers of uncertainty.

We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) presently has a 10 month price index of 0.61147. The price index is calculated by dividing the current share price by the share price ten months ago. A ratio over one indicates an increase in share price over the period. A ratio lower than one shows that the price has decreased over that time period.

Looking at some alternate time periods, the 12 month price index is 0.68697, the 24 month is 1.93766, and the 36 month is 2.73154. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 0.87958, the 3 month is 0.72482, and the 1 month is currently 0.99828.

ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) has a current ERP5 Rank of 7478. The ERP5 Rank may assist investors with spotting companies that are undervalued. This ranking uses four ratios. These ratios are Earnings Yield, ROIC, Price to Book, and 5 year average ROIC. When looking at the ERP5 ranking, it is generally considered the lower the value, the better.

Checking in on some valuation rankings, ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) has a Value Composite score of 75. Developed by James O’Shaughnessy, the VC score uses five valuation ratios. These ratios are price to earnings, price to cash flow, EBITDA to EV, price to book value, and price to sales. The VC is displayed as a number between 1 and 100. In general, a company with a score closer to 0 would be seen as undervalued, and a score closer to 100 would indicate an overvalued company. Adding a sixth ratio, shareholder yield, we can view the Value Composite 2 score which is currently sitting at 76.

Watching some historical volatility numbers on shares of ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD), we can see that the 12 month volatility is presently 52.059800. The 6 month volatility is 43.720100, and the 3 month is spotted at 36.930700. Following volatility data can help measure how much the stock price has fluctuated over the specified time period. Although past volatility action may help project future stock volatility, it may also be vastly different when taking into account other factors that may be driving price action during the measured time period.

Current Ratio

The Current Ratio of ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) is 6.39. The Current Ratio is used by investors to determine whether a company can pay short term and long term debts. The current ratio looks at all the liquid and non-liquid assets compared to the company’s total current liabilities. A high current ratio indicates that the company might have trouble managing their working capital. A low current ratio (when the current liabilities are higher than the current assets) indicates that the company may have trouble paying their short term obligations.

Gross Margin Score

The Gross Margin Score is calculated by looking at the Gross Margin and the overall stability of the company over the course of 8 years. The score is a number between one and one hundred (1 being best and 100 being the worst). The Gross Margin Score of ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) is 8.00000. The more stable the company, the lower the score. If a company is less stable over the course of time, they will have a higher score.

M-Score (Beneish)

The M-Score, conceived by accounting professor Messod Beneish, is a model for detecting whether a company has manipulated their earnings numbers or not. ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) has an M-Score of -999.000000. The M-Score is based on 8 different variables: Days’ sales in receivables index, Gross Margin Index, Asset Quality Index, Sales Growth Index, Depreciation Index, Sales, General and Administrative expenses Index, Leverage Index and Total Accruals to Total Assets. A score higher than -1.78 is an indicator that the company might be manipulating their numbers.

Piotroski F-Score

The Piotroski F-Score is a scoring system between 1-9 that determines a firm’s financial strength. The score helps determine if a company’s stock is valuable or not. The Piotroski F-Score of ABIOMED, Inc. (NasdaqGS:ABMD) is 3. A score of nine indicates a high value stock, while a score of one indicates a low value stock. The score is calculated by the return on assets (ROA), Cash flow return on assets (CFROA), change in return of assets, and quality of earnings. It is also calculated by a change in gearing or leverage, liquidity, and change in shares in issue. The score is also determined by change in gross margin and change in asset turnover.

Creating a diversified stock portfolio is one way that investors may combat the unknown. Appropriate levels of risk that include different market scenarios might vary from one individual investor to the next. Investors may need to careful that they do not become too reliant on one big position. When that position is producing returns, it can be easy to assume that the holding will continue to produce positive results. If the portfolio is weighted too heavily on one or two big positions, an overall market downturn may send the investor reeling. Finding that proper portfolio balance is typically what dedicated investors strive for.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) has a Q.i. Value of 36.00000. The purpose of the Q.i. Value is to help identify companies that are the most undervalued. Typically, the lower the value, the more undervalued the company tends to be. The Q.i. Value ranks companies using four ratios. These ratios consist of EBITDA Yield, FCF Yield, Liquidity, and Earnings Yield. 

Active traders are typically striving to spot winning entry and exit points for trades. Following technical indicators may help traders gain some insight on how best to do this. There are plenty of indicators that have helped traders make winning trades. Because there are so many to choose from, beginning traders may want to start by focusing on a few different combinations to start with. Professional chartists may have ultra complex charts set up to spot perfect trade entries. Others may use one or two simple indicators to aide with setting up the trade. Keeping track of all the data may be a challenge at first, but there are many platforms out there that have made the process much simpler than ever before. Setting up a winning strategy may take some time and perseverance, but taking the time to acquire the proper knowledge may mean the difference between winning and losing trades in the future.  

Checking in on some valuation rankings, Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) has a Value Composite score of 62. Developed by James O’Shaughnessy, the VC score uses five valuation ratios. These ratios are price to earnings, price to cash flow, EBITDA to EV, price to book value, and price to sales.

The VC is displayed as a number between 1 and 100. In general, a company with a score closer to 0 would be seen as undervalued, and a score closer to 100 would indicate an overvalued company. Adding a sixth ratio, shareholder yield, we can view the Value Composite 2 score which is currently sitting at 52.

Investors who have stayed on the sidelines may be considering if the markets will continue to rally higher. Staying vigilant and watching for signs of the next bear may prove to be a crucial element for helping to guide certain portfolio moves. Keeping an eye on historical corrections as well as sentiment and technicals, may help provide the proper insight needed. Investors may be mindful of any meaningful pullback or correction, and they may have a certain percentage in mind for when things seem to be getting out of hand. Cautious optimism may prove to be a profit saver when the bearish winds start to blow. Investors may need to figure out a plan for when to take some profit off the table. Conducting thorough fundamental research on stocks even after they have broken out may help the investor understand the reason behind the move, and whether it is likely to continue or if it is just a temporary spike. 

We can now take a quick look at some historical stock price index data. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) presently has a 10 month price index of 1.11392. The price index is calculated by dividing the current share price by the share price ten months ago. A ratio over one indicates an increase in share price over the period. A ratio lower than one shows that the price has decreased over that time period.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) has a current ERP5 Rank of 6106. The ERP5 Rank may assist investors with spotting companies that are undervalued. This ranking uses four ratios. These ratios are Earnings Yield, ROIC, Price to Book, and 5 year average ROIC. When looking at the ERP5 ranking, it is generally considered the lower the value, the better.

Looking at some alternate time periods, the 12 month price index is 1.18329, the 24 month is 1.00615, and the 36 month is 1.09115. Narrowing in a bit closer, the 5 month price index is 1.17679, the 3 month is 1.08513, and the 1 month is currently 1.04023.

Watching some historical volatility numbers on shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), we can see that the 12 month volatility is presently 19.402900. The 6 month volatility is 15.737100, and the 3 month is spotted at 14.141700.

Key Ratios

Turning to some key ratios, Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)’s Leverage Ratio was recently noted as 0.511853. This ratio is calculated by dividing total debt by total assets plus total assets previous year, divided by two. The leverage of a company is relative to the amount of debt on the balance sheet. This ratio is often viewed as one measure of the financial health of a firm.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) presently has a current ratio of 1.07. The current ratio, also known as the working capital ratio, is a liquidity ratio that displays the proportion of current assets of a business relative to the current liabilities. The ratio is simply calculated by dividing current liabilities by current assets. The ratio may be used to provide an idea of the ability of a certain company to pay back its liabilities with assets. Typically, the higher the current ratio the better, as the company may be more capable of paying back its obligations.

The price to book ratio or market to book ratio for Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) currently stands at -111.933547.  The ratio is calculated by dividing the stock price per share by the book value per share.  This ratio is used to determine how the market values the equity.  A ratio of under 1 typically indicates that the shares are undervalued.  A ratio over 1 indicates that the market is willing to pay more for the shares.  There are often many underlying factors that come into play with the Price to Book ratio so all additional metrics should be considered as well. 

Ever wonder how investors predict positive share price momentum?  The Cross SMA 50/200, also known as the “Golden Cross” is the fifty day moving average divided by the two hundred day moving average.  The SMA 50/200 for Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) is currently 1.05937.  If the Golden Cross is greater than 1, then the 50 day moving average is above the 200 day moving average – indicating a positive share price momentum.  If the Golden Cross is less than 1, then the 50 day moving average is below the 200 day moving average, indicating that the price might drop.

C Score (Montier)

The C-Score is a system developed by James Montier that helps determine whether a company is involved in falsifying their financial statements. The C-Score is calculated by a variety of items, including a growing difference in net income verse cash flow, increasing days outstanding, growing days sales of inventory, increasing assets to sales, declines in depreciation, and high total asset growth. The C-Score of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) is 1.00000. The score ranges on a scale of -1 to 6. If the score is -1, then there is not enough information to determine the C-Score. If the number is at zero (0) then there is no evidence of fraudulent book cooking, whereas a number of 6 indicates a high likelihood of fraudulent activity. The C-Score assists investors in assessing the likelihood of a company cheating in the books.

Successful investors have typically created a diversified portfolio that has included proper risk analysis and is designed to withstand various market environments. Once the portfolio is set up, investors can work on managing the portfolio for the long-term. Every investor may have a different set of personal goals and expectations for what they intend to get from the market in terms of returns. Expecting too much from the market can often times leave the investor disappointed. Although many people will try to predict returns with pinpoint accuracy, nobody can say for sure what the market will provide. Keeping expectations realistic can help the individual investor better set themselves up for achieving those goals in the future.