While fundamental analysis may tell you when you’ve found a solid company, its weakness is getting you into that stock on a timely basis as far as when to enter and exit the stock. This is where technical analysis comes in. Its great asset is that it’s a better timing tool. So the fundamentals tell you “what” to buy and technical analysis tells you “when” it might be a higher probable time to buy and sell that stock. As you can see from this, they both can be complimentary to one another. After all, if you can trade a stock with horrible earnings or a stock with favorable earnings projections, of course you should trade the one that’s more fundamentally sound. Someone who strictly uses fundamental analysis may need to hold on to that stock for 3-10 years for the true valuations to be reflected in the stock. These tend to be long term investors. The trader, on the other hand, tends to lean more heavily on technical analysis because the trader has to be right within hours to weeks, not 3 to 10 years. To the technician, timing is of the essence.
What is Technical Analysis?
A method of evaluating securities by analyzing statistics generated by market activity, such as past prices and volume. Technical analysts do not attempt to measure a security's intrinsic value, but instead use charts and other tools to identify patterns that can suggest future.
Technical analysts believe that the historical performance of stocks and markets are indications of future performance.
In a shopping mall, a fundamental analyst would go to each store, study the product that was being sold, and then decide whether to buy it or not. By contrast, a technical analyst would sit on a bench in the mall and watch people go into the stores. Disregarding the intrinsic value of the products in the store, his or her decision would be based on the patterns or activity of people going into each store.
What is Fundamental Analysis?
A method of evaluating a security by attempting to measure its intrinsic value by examining related economic, financial and other qualitative and quantitative factors. Fundamental analysts attempt to study everything that can affect the security's value, including macroeconomic factors (like the overall economy and industry conditions) and individually specific factors (like the financial condition and management of companies).
The end goal of performing fundamental analysis is to produce a value that an investor can compare with the security's current price in hopes of figuring out what sort of position to take with that security (underpriced = buy, overpriced = sell or short).
This method of security analysis is considered to be the opposite of technical analysis.
Fundamental analysis is about using real data to evaluate a security's value. Although most analysts use fundamental analysis to value stocks, this method of valuation can be used for just about any type of security.
For example, an investor can perform fundamental analysis on a bond's value by looking at economic factors, such as interest rates and the overall state of the economy, and information about the bond issuer, such as potential changes in credit ratings. For assessing stocks, this method uses revenues, earnings, future growth, return on equity, profit margins and other data to determine a company's underlying value and potential for future growth. In terms of stocks, fundamental analysis focuses on the financial statements of a the company being evaluated.
One of the most famous and successful users of fundamental analysis is the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, who has been well known for successfully employing fundamental analysis to pick securities. His abilities have turned him into a billionaire.
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