Through our ongoing data research, which began back in 1963, we have developed powerful
statistics, ratings, and rankings that help reveal leading and lagging stocks before
they make their big moves. These are key tools we use in our method, which include
but are not limited to:
Accumulation/Distribution Rating
The A/D Rating tracks the relative degree of institutional buying (accumulation)
and selling (distribution) in a particular stock over the past 13 weeks, which shows
where money is flowing. The A/D Rating is a technical rating based on price and
volume statistics. The numerical values range from +100 to −100. Positive ratings
from +100 to 0 mean a stock has been showing accumulation. Negative ratings from
−1 to −10 are neutral, and ratings below −10 mean a stock has been under distribution.
A letter rating is also provided for quick interpretation, with A being best and
E being worst.
Datagraph Rating
By looking at historical weekly trends, the Datagraph Rating is the easiest way
to get an overall picture of a stock, as it incorporates multiple fundamental and
technical characteristics that influence stock prices. The rating is based on a
proprietary formula that assigns certain weights to reported earnings capitalization,
sponsorship, relative strength, price/volume characteristics, industry group rank,
and other factors. Each stock is assigned a rank from 1 to 99, the best being 99.
The Datagraph Rating is available as a country-specific rating, comparing all stocks
in a trading country, or as a global rating, comparing all stocks in the O'Neil
universe.
EPS Rank
This rank is a single earnings measure that gives insight into one of the most important
factors of evaluating a stock – earnings per share. Four different fundamental factors
are calculated: the percent increase in the most recent quarter versus a year ago;
the percent increase in the prior period versus the same quarter a year ago; the
five year earnings growth rate (three-year earnings growth rate if five-year earnings
growth rate is unavailable); and the earnings stability factor. These factors are
ranked separately and weighted. The result is then ranked on a scale from 1 to 99,
with 99 being the highest.
Industry Group Rank
The Industry Group Rank is a technical tool for identifying both group strength
and rotation. It looks at above-average stocks in each group, as well as performance
of the entire group against all other groups in the database. Separate weightings
are used for different time periods, and groups are ranked from 1 to 197, (depending
on trading country), the best group being 1. Industry Group Rank is available as
a trading country rank or as a global rank, comparing all industries across all
countries.
Institutional Sponsorship
Increasing sponsorship drives increased performance. This rating provides the daily
portfolio holdings of more than 680,000 institutional owners in nearly 200 countries—covering
120,000 unique holdings.
Relative Strength Rating
This technical tool is one of the most popular ways for clients to see the market's
top performers. The Relative Strength Rating is the result of calculating a stock's
percentage price change over the last 12 months. A 40% weight is assigned to the
latest three-month period; the remaining three quarters each receive 20% weight.
All stocks are arranged in order of greatest price percentage change and assigned
a percentile rank from 99 (highest) to 1 (lowest).
SMR Rating
Our SMR Rating identifies companies with superior sales growth, profit margins,
and return on equity ratios. This data item combines four fundamental factors into
one simple “A” to “E” rating system, with A being best and E being worst. The SMR
Rating combines a company's sales growth rate over the last three quarters, pretax
profit margins, after-tax profit margins, and ROE. Sales growth and after-tax margins
are calculated using quarterly figures, while ROE and pretax margins are calculated
using annual figures. All four factors take into account acceleration.