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Tickers in this Article: AZZ, ADTN, ALLT, SSYS, CAJ, CERN, CRUS
This morning's trading has marked a bad day for the market so far. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.8%; the S&P 500 has slipped 0.7%; and the Dow has declined 0.7%. 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.

CompanyMarket CapPercentage Change
AZZ (NYSE:AZZ)$878.6 million+16.2%
ADTRAN (Nasdaq:ADTN)$1.21 billion-8.6%
Allot (Nasdaq:ALLT)$813.5 million+4.6%
Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS)$1.21 billion-4.2%
Canon Inc (NYSE:CAJ)$38.92 billion-3.9%
Cerner (Nasdaq:CERN)$12.75 billion+3.1%
Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq:CRUS)$2.56 billion-3%
Broker Summary: OptionsXpress Online Trading Platform

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) is trading at $40.40 per share, a significant rise of 16.2%. So far today, the company's volume is 554,767 shares. This is 4.7 times its current daily average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is. Investment valuation ratios provide investors with an estimation, albeit a simplistic one, of the value of a stock. The debt ratio shows the proportion of assets that a company is financing through debt. AZZ has a debt ratio of 50.5%. As with all financial ratios, a company's debt ratio should be compared with the industry average or similar companies.

ADTRAN (Nasdaq:ADTN) is trading at $17.52 per share, down 8.6%. With 3.9 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 3.1 times the average volume over the last three months. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. Valuation ratios like 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 are useful in determining how attractive a potential or existing investment is. The P/E ratio has been used for ages by analysts and still remains one of the most relevant pieces of stock valuation. ADTN's P/E ratio is 12.1. High P/E stocks could be "growth" stocks, while low PE stocks may be "value" stocks. SEE: Profit With The Power Of Price-To-Earnings

Allot (Nasdaq:ALLT) is up 4.6% to reach a current price of $26.48 per share. So far today, 145,686 shares have changed hands. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. 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. 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. ALLT's PEG ratio is 2.96. Because of the adjustment for earnings growth rate, the PEG ratio is somewhat more useful than many formulas for comparing companies in different industries.

Stratasys (Nasdaq:SSYS) is currently trading at a share price of $54.37, a 4.2% decline. At 198,199 shares, the company's volume so far today is lighter than yesterday's volume of 792,472 shares. When a stock price moves up or down, watching the volume is a good way of identifying how significant that shift is. Investors can make use of valuation ratios to estimate whether a stock is fairly valued. The price/book value ratio is one of the more common methods of determining whether a stock is fairly valued. The P/B ratio for SSYS is 5.98, indicating that the stock is trading for more than its book value. This may be a sign that the company is overvalued. One problem with the P/B value ratio is that it can be difficult to calculate the true book value of a company, so investors should be aware that many measures of book value may provide only a rough estimate, and should be taken with a grain of salt. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio

At $31.94, Canon Inc (NYSE:CAJ) has slipped 3.9%. This morning, the company's volume is 694,620 shares. This is 1.2 times its average daily volume. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. 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. For investors primarily interested in the income a stock can generate, the dividend yield is an important determinant of how attractive a stock is. Dividend yield for CAJ is 4.6%. Simply comparing the level of dividends that two stocks pay does not give a true reflection of which security is more attractive, so investors calculate the dividend yield in order to standardize dividend payments. SEE: Dividend Yield For The Downturn

Cerner (Nasdaq:CERN) is up 3.1% to reach a current price of $76.79 per share. The company's volume is currently one million shares for the day, 0.7 times its average over the past three months. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. 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. 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 CERN is 5.74, which is relatively high. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. It is important to keep in mind when looking at the P/S ratio that just because a company is generating revenues, this does not mean that the company is profitable, and in the long run, profits drive stock prices.

After a decline of 3%, Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq:CRUS) has hit a share price of $38.50. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 705,178 shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. The easy-to-calculate debt ratio is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on the leverage for a company. CRUS has a debt ratio of 18.3%, which is fairly low. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. 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.


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