There are two basic methodologies investors rely upon when the objective of the analysis is to determine what stock to buy and at what price, :
1. Fundamental analysis maintains that
markets may incorrectly price a security in the short run but that the
"correct" price will eventually be reached. Profits can be
made by purchasing the wrongly priced security and then waiting for the market
to recognize its "mistake" and re price the security.
Ø Fundamental analysis includes:
·
Economic analysis
·
Industry analysis
·
Company analysis
2. Technical analysis maintains that
all information is reflected already in the price of a security. Technical
analysts look at trends and believe that sentiment changes predate and predict
trend changes. Investors' emotional responses to price movements lead to recognizable
price chart patterns. Technical analysts also evaluate historical trends to
predict future price movement.
Investors can use one or both of these complementary methods for stock picking. For example, many fundamental investors use technical for deciding entry and exit points. Similarly, a large proportion of technical investors use fundamentals to limit their universe of possible stock to "good" companies.