Chapter II: Risks associated with short and long period price changes can be understood through Volatility Analysis. Here the impact of the Volatility Curve on the potential profitability positions across different time spans is shown. |
| Prev. Co. | Next Co. | |
|
| ||
|
Volatility is defined as the price range for a period, divided by the average price for the period: For instance, on 2/3/2010 the average price was 40.76 with a range of 0.51, indicating a Daily Volatility of 1.2%. The Daily Volatility is obtained by dividing the daily range by the daily average. A longer Volatility period such as Weekly Volatility is obtained by dividing the weekly price range by the weekly mean price. It is important to avoid confusing this with the weekly average of the daily volatility, which is a completely different concept. For reference, the price is plotted in red. Volatility, as measured through various intervals, ( Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly) is plotted according to color. According to academic theory, Volatility is exactly equal to Risk. But investors often make a distinction between these two concepts. The different character of Volatility as seen in different time frames, lends some support to the investor's view. Average Daily Volatility over the history of ADP has been 2% in contrast to the Average Quarterly Volatility of 18%. |
| Prev. Co. | Next Co. | |
| ||
|
If you have ever seen a "yield curve" you should be able to understand the concept behind this "yield curve". These Volatility Curves each apply to a discrete time interval. From left to right, each position plots the Volatility associated with increasing intervals of time. However, as seen in this plot of the ADP Volatility Curve, the increase is not constant. |
| Prev. Co. | Next Co. | |
| ||
|
A frequency distribution of the green points on the first chart (the daily volatility) yields this histogram. |
| Prev. Co. | Next Co. | |
| ||
|
In a similar vein, the Frequency Distribution of the Quarterly Volatility is plotted here. This is the distribution of the values plotted in purple on the top chart from this page. |
Refined Volatility Risk Analysis for ADP : |
| Monday, February 08, 2010: We have news on American International Group, Inc., ticker symbol AIG. Some signs of an over-sold condition have become evident. Also, there are breaking events concerning Nicor Inc. and Wells Fargo & Company. From the News Archive: (2/5/2010 ) Favorable events happened at Pactiv Corporation, Marathon Oil Corporation, and Regions Financial Corporation. Meanwhile, bad news came from Genzyme Corporation. |