Financial Investment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial Investment - Research Paper Example Ratio analysis and share price analyses are 2 most important and commonly used tools to analyze the financial position of a particular stock. A proper fundamental and technical analysis generally provides a basic idea regarding these aspects and helps investors make informed investment decisions. Generally the intrinsic value of the stock is determined from the financial facts given the annual report of the company using free-cash flows and it is compared to the current market price of the stock. When the stock is found to be undervalued then it provides an opportunity for the investor to buy the stocks at lower current price and then sell it in future when stock prices approaches target price. This strategy will help the investor make profits by buying stocks at lower price and then selling it when stock prices appreciates and ceteris paribus. Options for Investment Decision While there are many options available to an investor for investment, it is important to note that not all in vestment destinations are equally safe for investment when risk of investment is considered. The safest investment destination is government securities because there are very limited chances that the government will default. Another most commonly preferred investment avenue is common stocks of publicly traded companies. Companies whose stocks are listed in stock exchanges (like NASDAQ, NYSE, etc.) may be traded in secondary markets. But whenever the investor considers investment in equity oriented securities and stocks the risk of investment significantly increases. This is because when the investor buys equity shares of any company the investor actually subscribes to paid-up equity capital of the owners of the company. This automatically makes the investor the new stocks holder and assumes that the investor will bear the risk associated with business. Purchasing equity shares provides the investor the opportunity to earn dividends and residual profits proportionate to respective su bscription or investment. Equity stocks are risky because the shareholders are entitled to earn from investment only after all liabilities of the business entity has been paid-off. This means that in case the business has no profits left for distribution to shareholders after honoring business liability then no dividends will be paid to shareholders. Thus, investment in company stocks is both risky and rewarding in the sense that higher the risk the higher would be the expected return. It is advised that before making any investment decisions for investment in particular stocks the financial managers must gather all necessary information related to business regarding financial position, outstanding financial liabilities and the ability of the business to honor such liabilities. Company Overview The company chosen for financial analysis is Apple Inc. (Ticker Symbol AAPL) which is a Fortune 500 company whose shares are publicly traded. Apple Inc. is a leading hardware and software com pany which has headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. The company has over 400 global retail stores spread in over 14 countries and it is listed in NASDAQ as a publicly traded company. Apple also forms a component of S&P 500 composite index and NASDAQ-100 component. The financials of the company is very strong and for the year ending 2012, the company reported a net profit of over UD$ 41