Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Glossary

1y Target Est
This value is an estimate provided by analysts following this stock.
12(b)-1 Fee
Fee assessed shareholders by the mutual fund for some of its promotional expenses. A 12b-1 fee must be specifically registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the fact that such charges are levied must be disclosed.
13 Week Treasury Bill - IRX
The T-Bill index - (IRX) is based on the discount rate of the most recently auctioned 13-week U.S.Treasury Bill. The new T-bill is substituted weekly on the trading day following its auction, usually a Monday.
50 Day Avg. Daily Volume
This is the average share volume for the past 50 trading days. This field allows you to compare today's trading to the average daily volume.
Actual EPS, CPS, or DPS
Reported annual Earnings Per Share (EPS -Trailing 12 months), cash flow (CPS) or Dividends Per Share (DPS) for a company for the fiscal year indicated. For companies which report on a quarterly basis, this information will contain the sum of the actual earnings, cash flow or dividends for the previous four quarters. For companies that report semi-annually, the field will contain the sum of the previous two semi-annual actuals.
After Hours Best Ask
The price at which someone who owns a security offers to sell a NASDAQ security during the current days After Hours market; also known as the asked price. Investors may trade in the After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks). Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result, this session may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders. NASD Rule 3350 (the Short Sale Rule) will initially not apply during 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
After Hours Best Bid
The price a prospective buyer is prepared to pay at a particular time for trading a NASDAQ security during the current days After Hours market. Investors may trade in the After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks) on The NASDAQ Stock Market. Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result, this session may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders.
After Hours High
The after hours high represents the highest price a person purchased this security during the current days After Hours trading session. Investors may trade in After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks). Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders.
After Hours Last Sale
An electronic entry by an NASD Member firm representing the price involved in a transaction of a NASDAQ security during the current days After Hours session. The trade report must be submitted to NASDAQ within 90 seconds after the execution of the trade. Investors may trade in the After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks). Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders.
After Hours Low
The after hours low represents the lowest price a person purchased this security during the After Hours trading session. Investors may trade in the After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks). Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders.
After Hours Volume
An electronic entry by an NASD Member firm representing the number of shares involved in a transaction of a NASDAQ security during the current days After Hours session. The trade report must be submitted to NASDAQ within 90 seconds after the execution of the trade. Investors may trade in After Hours Market (4:00-6:30 p.m. ET for NASDAQ stocks and 4:00-8:00 p.m. ET for NYSE and Amex stocks). Participation by Market Makers and ECNs is strictly voluntary and as a result may offer less liquidity and inferior prices. Stock prices may also move more quickly in this environment. Investors who anticipate trading during these times are strongly advised to use limit orders.
After Hours % Change
After Hours Percent change represents the percent increase/decrease between the last sale and the Market Close. See
Market Close.
Weighted Alpha
The Alpha is a measure of how much a stock has risen or fallen over a one-year period. The original research was restricted to large cap stocks, so the corresponding rise in the S&P 500 index was subtracted; however, as there are a number of interesting stocks that do not fit well into any category, and others that fit into more than one category, the results are presented without subtracting any index. Barchart.com takes this Alpha (measure of how much a stock has changed in the one-year period) and weights this, assigning more weight to recent activity, and less (0.5 factor) to activity at the beginning of the period. Thus the weighted alpha is a measure of one year growth with an emphasis on the most recent price activity. A stock whose price has risen over the one-year period will have a positive Weighted Alpha. A stock whose price has not changed in the period will have a small Weighted Alpha and a stock whose price has dropped over the period will have a negative Weighted Alpha. N.B. The Weighted Alpha is limited in the amount it may change from one day to the next, thus eliminating large price jumps from the calculation .
American Depositary Receipt (ADR)
A security, created by a U.S. bank, that evidences ownership to a specified number of shares of a foreign security held in a depositary in the issuing company's country of domicile. The certificate, transfer, and settlement practices for ADRs are identical to those for U.S. securities. U.S. investors often prefer ADRs to direct purchase of foreign shares because of the ready availability of price information, lower transaction costs, and timely dividend distribution.
American Stock Exchange (AMEX)
The second-oldest U.S. stock exchange, located on Wall Street in New York City. Started as an alternative to the NYSE, the AMEX originating on the curb outside the NYSE, where brokers traded stocks that failed to meet the Big Board's listing requirements. Considerably smaller in market capitalization and trading volume than NASDAQ and the NYSE, the AMEX conducts trading through a centralized specialist system and is home primarily to small and medium-sized companies
AMEX Composite - XAX
The AMEX Composite Index - (XAX) the American Stock Exchange introduced a new AMEX Composite Index with a new ticker symbol, XAX, on January 2, 1997. The XAX is a market capitalization-weighted, price appreciation index, and replaces the AMEX Market Value Index (XAM) which, since its inception, has been calculated on a "total return basis" to include the reinvestment of dividends paid by AMEX companies. The new AMEX Composite Index is more comparable with other major indexes, which reflect only the price appreciation of their respective components.
Analyst
A person with expertise in evaluating financial investments; he or she performs investment research and makes recommendations to institutional and retail investors to buy, sell, or hold; most analysts specialize in a single industry or business sector.
International Analyst Coverage
NASDAQ.com displays US research coverage only; in many cases, non-US related research coverage can be accessed on the homepage of respective companies.
Announcement Date
The date on which the company first made news of the split public.
Annualized Dividend
This field is a calculated value and uses the last dividend paid multiplied by the frequency. It is the amount of a dividend paid to shareholders over four quarters. A quarterly dividend is therefore multiplied by four to determine its annualized value. A monthly dividend is multiplied by twelve. A one-time dividend is considered fully-annualized at its base value. One-time dividends are not multiplied. See also:
Dividend.
Ask
The price at which someone who owns a security offers to sell it; also known as the asked price. (See also "
Best Ask".)
Assets
Any possessions that has value in an exchange.
Average Daily Share Volume
The number of shares traded per day, averaged over a period of time, usually one year.
Average Maturity
The average time to maturity of securities held by a mutual fund. Changes in interest rates have greater impact on funds with longer average life.
Beginning Net Asset Value
The market value of a fund share on a predetermined start date.
Best Ask
The price at which someone who owns a security offers to sell it; also known as the asked price. Please note that the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange do not provide Ask information on a delayed basis. (See also "
Ask".)
Best Bid
The price a prospective buyer is prepared to pay at a particular time for trading a unit of a given security. Please note that the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange do not provide Bid information on a delayed basis. (See also "
Bid".)
Beta
A measure of the volatility of a stock relative to the overall market. A beta of less than one indicates lower risk than the market; a beta of more than one indicates higher risk than the market. NASDAQ.com uses the S&P 500 as the underlying index to measure the overall market for beta.
Bid
The price a prospective buyer is prepared to pay at a particular time for trading a unit of a given security. (See also "
Best Bid".)
Capital Gains Distribution
Payments to mutual fund shareholders of profits from the sale of securities in a fund's portfolio. Capital gains distributions (if any) are usually made annually.
Common Stocks
The basic form of equity ownership in a corporation.
Consensus Rating
The average of analysts recommendations for a single entity. As many brokers have different ratings systems, their recommendations must be standardized so that a consensus can be calculated. The I/B/E/S ratings are calculated using a standard set of recommendations, maintained by I/B/E/S, each with an assigned numeric value: 1. Strong Buy 2. Buy 3. Hold 4. Underperform 5. Sell Each recommendation received from the analysts is mapped to one of the I/B/E/S standard ratings. Assigning a numeric value to the broker text enables I/B/E/S to calculate a consensus recommendation. This consensus recommendation appears as the mean (average) of the assigned values.
Date of Record
The date on which a shareholder must officially own shares in order to be entitled to a dividend.