Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6491
    -0.0045 (-0.69%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    82.41
    +1.06 (+1.30%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,230.00
    +17.30 (+0.78%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,960.97
    +625.77 (+0.58%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

Before You Buy Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR), Consider Its Volatility

If you own shares in Radware Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDWR) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market.

Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one.

View our latest analysis for Radware

What does RDWR's beta value mean to investors?

Given this level of beta, if the future looks like the past, we could therefore consider it likely that the stock price will experience share price volatility that is roughly similar to the overall market. Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Radware fares in that regard, below.

NasdaqGS:RDWR Income Statement, February 5th 2020
NasdaqGS:RDWR Income Statement, February 5th 2020

How does RDWR's size impact its beta?

Radware is a small cap stock with a market capitalisation of US$1.2b. Most companies this size are actively traded.

What this means for you:

It is probable that there is a link between the share price of Radware and the broader market, since it has a beta value quite close to one. However, long term investors are generally well served by looking past market volatility and focussing on the underlying development of the business. If that's your game, metrics such as revenue, earnings and cash flow will be more useful. In order to fully understand whether RDWR is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Radware’s financial health and performance track record. I urge you to continue your research by taking a look at the following:

ADVERTISEMENT
  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RDWR’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for RDWR’s outlook.

  2. Past Track Record: Has RDWR been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of RDWR's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how RDWR measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.