Sunday 11 March 2012

The Relationship of Intrinsic Value to Market Price - tracing the various steps culminating in market price.

In Security Analysis by Graham and Dodd, 1934 edition on page 23: "The Relationship of Intrinsic Value to Market Price.--The general question of the relation of intrinsic value to the market quotation may be made clearer by the appended chart [see table below], which traces the various steps culminating in market price. 


It will be evident from the chart that the influence of what we call analytical factors over the market price is both partial and indirect--
  • partial, because it frequently competes with purely speculative factors which influence the price in the opposite direction; and 
  • indirect, because it acts through the intermediary of people's sentiments and decisions. 
In other words, the market is not a weighing machine, on which the value of each issue is recorded by an exact and impersonal mechanism, in accordance with its specific qualities. Rather should we say that the market is a voting machine, whereon countless individuals register choices which are the product partly of reason and partly of emotion.



Relationship of Intrinsic Value Factors to Market Price
I.General market factors

Attitude of public toward the issue (leads to)

} Bids and offers (lead to)

} Market price
II.Individual factors
A.Speculative
1.Market factors
a.Technical

b.Manipulative

c.Psychological

A.Speculative
B.Investment
2.Future value factors
a.Management and reputation

b.Competitive conditions and prospects

c.Possible and probably changes in volume, price, and costs

B.Investment
3.Intrinsic value
a.Earnings

b.Dividends

c.Assets

d.Capital structure

e.Terms of the issue

f.Others



The radical difference between value and price is explained by John Burr Williams in The Theory of Investment Value as indicated in the following quotations: (1938: 33): 
  • "If opinion were not founded in part on current dividends and changes therein, there would be nothing to prevent price and value from drifting miles apart." (1938: 191): 
  • "Since market price depends on popular opinion, and since the public is more emotional than logical, it is foolish to expect a relentless convergence of market price toward investment value. Corroboration of estimates [of intrinsic economic value] by subsequent market action, therefore, ought not to be expected. After all, investment value and market price are two quite different things."

Thus:
Price is not value.
Pricing is 
not valuation.
Pricing models are 
not valuation models.

Pricing models include:
capital asset 
pricing model (CAPM),
arbitrage 
pricing theory (APT), and
option 
pricing.


 http://www.numeraire.com/margin.htm

Value versus Price - Two Perspectives on Worth

Value versus Price
Two Perspectives on Worth



VALUATIONPRICING
Endtruth -- intrinsic valueillusion -- marginal opinion
Meansmethod of appraisal *auction mechanism
Termscase-by-casestandardized
Institutionprivate contractspublic exchanges
Approachrational, logicalarational, emotional
Knowledgeeconomicspsychology, sociology
Principletheory of investmentad hoc, empirical
Resultvalue rangesingle price
Precisionhighly imprecisehighly precise
Accuracywithin value rangeoutside value range
Investmentreal assetsclaims on assets
Unitsoperating enterprisecommon stock issue
Data Sourcecompany reportsmarket-generated
Measurementabsoluterelative, comparative
Analysis Typeinvestmentportfolio of stocks
Analysis-Unitsone companycompare two stocks
Analysis-Timeone point in timecompare two times
Horizonlong-term (years)short-term (minutes)
Frequencysporadic, on demandcontinuous supply
Stabilityslow, small changesquick, large changes
Applicationindividual stock selectionstock trading
* In contrast, the method of anticipation emphasizes earnings growth for the sake of growth rather than the sake of value. Thus, it is not recommended for purposes of estimating value.

Margin of Safety

Intrinsic value is independent of the market and current quoted price. 


It is the absolute standard against which all market prices are compared. 
  • Thus with the method of valuation, companies are considered neither under-valued nor over-valued relative to the stock market. 
This would be bringing truth to error for correction, a backward approach. 

  • Rather, common stock issues are considered either under-priced or over-priced in the market relative to the intrinsic value of their companies. 
This brings error to truth for correction. 

  • To identify mispriced stocks, the value of a company is compared to its stock market price.

The concept of price is not without ambiguity. 


  • We can choose among closing price, opening price, asking price, bidding price, actual price of latest trade for any number of shares, or actual price of latest trade for the same number of shares in the contemplated transaction.

Thus we
focus on the important concept of safety margin rather than emphasize price with its potential quick and large changes from one transaction to the next. 

  • The variability of the price of a stock in part represents mispricing by the market. 
  • Such lack of convergence of market price to intrinsic value, however transient, represents market inefficiency. 
  • The irrationality of the stock market has been observed by de la Vega, John Maynard Keynes, Kindleberger, Lefèvre, Mackay, and others.

John Maynard Keynes in his General Theory (Book IV "The Inducement to Invest", Chapter 12 "The State of Long-Term Expectation", Section V, pages 156-157) introduced the metaphor of newspaper photograph competitions to explain the working of the stock market. 

  • His explanation emphasized anticipation of the opinions of other market participants and the resulting infinite regress, i.e., I think that he thinks that I think that he thinks, ad infinitum
  • This stresses that market prices are determined by opinion.

Safety margin represents an excess of intrinsic value over market price, or alternately, a discount of price below intrinsic value. 

  • A safety margin of at least twenty percent is desirable. 
  • Intrinsic value is what a company would be worth to a private owner independent of the stock market and its daily quotations. 
  • The concept of a margin of safety was introduced by Graham and Dodd in Security Analysis

It is more important to wait for a favorable buy price than to be dependent on fortuitous timing to realize a profitable sell price. 


  • A buy and hold approach involves more than the platitudinous adage to "buy low and sell high." 
  • The margin of safety requires knowing when the buying price is low in absolute terms rather than merely relative to the market as a whole.

Warrants trading: What you need to know


Parameters & Variables of Structured Warrants
To figure out the relationship between share price and the associated warrant price, the investor has to break down the premium factor that he/she pays for. 
Premium, Intrinsic & Time Values: The premium measures the extra cost incurred when buying a warrant and “exercising” the warrant into share over direct share purchase. 
Premium = [(Warrant Price + Exercise Price) - Share Price) / Share Price] x 100% 
Example (Diagram 1): if a warrant priced at RM0.50, has an exercise price of RM1.00, while the underlying share price is RM1.20, the premium on the warrant is 25%. 
Premium (%) = [(0.50+1.00)-1.20]/1.20 x 100% = 25% 
Besides premium, there is another dimension of valuing structured warrants, based on intrinsic and time value. 
Warrant Price = Intrinsic Value + Time Value 
The intrinsic value of a warrant is the difference between share and exercise price. In our example, the warrant’s intrinsic value of RM0.20 represents the possibility of buying shares for RM1.00, even though the market share price is RM1.20 (Diagram 2). 
The additional RM0.30 is known as the time value. It reflects the payment for profit opportunity if the underlying share moves in the warrant buyer’s favour. In our example, if the warrant was to expire tomorrow, it would be priced around RM0.20. But if the warrant has 9 months before expiry, there's a high chance of the share price increasing. At a time value of RM0.30, this tells us that investors are willing to pay RM0.30 for the potential future gains before warrant expiry. The downside is that time value will fall closer to zero as the expiry date approaches. This is known as time decay. 
If a warrant is out-of-the-money, by definition the warrant has no intrinsic value. In this case, the time value component accounts wholly for warrant price. 
The price will not be lower than its intrinsic value due to the possibility of a risk-less arbitrage – where one buys the warrants and exercises them into shares, for a lower market share price. If a warrant is deep in-the-money, or expires shortly, the price may trade at a small discount to its intrinsic value. 
Valuing Premium & Time Value: A warrant with a time value of RM0.20 is not necessarily “cheaper” than one at RM0.30. Both premium and time value parameters must be used in comparisons. 
Deep out-of-the-money warrants have high premiums, which get lower when becoming more in-the-money. Premiums are regarded as measures of warrant price. While intrinsic value is directly related to share and fixed exercise price, the unpredictable nature of time value makes analysis difficult. 
Implied Volatility: In determining “fair value” of warrants, the most adopted pricing model is the Black-Scholes one. It takes into account the inter-relationship between share and exercise price, expiry date, risk-free interest rate and volatility. 
Volatility represents absolute price movements, of the underlying share over a time period. Traders need to understand that huge volatility is actually beneficial due to “limited loss, unlimited upside” characteristics of structured warrants. 
There are two volatility types – historical, which calculates past variations of underlying share price, and implied, which represents market expectations of future volatility in underlying share price. 
Examining historical volatility requires care, since short-term can differ from longer term. Besides underlying share direction, investors need to question if current volatility is likely to continue. 
Implied volatility is derived from working backwards the current warrant price through the Black-Scholes equation. A warrant is expensive if implied volatility outweighs historical volatility assuming full market efficiency. In reality, implied volatility takes into account maturity length, nature of warrants, and spot/strike levels. Implied volatility is generally higher for longer-dated warrants and put warrants and at-the-money warrants. 


http://bursaedge.blogspot.com/2012/02/warrants-education-2.html

Saturday 10 March 2012

Types of Growth and DCF models

Models of Investment Valuation





Declining DDM  



Constant DDM   


                
Slow Growth DDM  


             
Fast Growth DDM




Forecasts of Dividends or Free Cash Flow



Logit Growth DDM 
                     

2-Stage Growth DDM           



FCF Constant D/E                 



FCF Rising D/E




http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm

Some of the most common types of intrinsic economic valuation model.


Instead of estimating each cash flow for each time period using a general-purpose DCF model that can be used for any investment asset, we can make reasonable simplifying assumptions for different kinds of specific investments in order to develop formulas by which these estimates can be made.

  • These formulas provide shortcuts to operationalize the theory, and represent different types of the dividend discount model (DDM). 
  • In each model type, dividends or free-cash-flow continue forever, but a terminal price may be assumed to simplify the analysis. 
  • These model types can be given names so as to emphasize their specific simplifying assumptions.


Some of the most common types of intrinsic economic valuation model are
  • constant dividend in perpetuity,
  • constant dividend growth rate in perpetuity, e.g., decline (negative growth), slow growth, and fast growth,
  • constant multistage dividend growth rates, e.g., two-stage and three-stage,
  • variable logistic (LOGIT) dividend growth rates,
  • free-cash-flow (FCF) used to estimate the cash distributions to equity owners, e.g., free-cash-flow with constant financial leverage (debt/equity ratio) and free-cash-flow with increasing financial leverage (rising debt/equity ratio), which in turn can be used either in a general DCF model or in a specific DDM model,
  • special situations handled by a general-purpose DCF model that is customized to fit the circumstances of each investment case, e.g., rapid growth by external merger or acquisition (M&A) or by internal sudden expansion. Relatively complex M&A models are available elsewhere. In such cases the capital gains component of total return can greatly dominate the dividend component, especially when the number of years of dividends in the analysis is small.
Following the example of John Burr Williams (1938), four types of models of investment valuation and four types of dividend forecasts are illustrated below.

  • The vertical axis is cash flow, and the scale is log-linear except for FCF forecasts which is linear. 
  • The horizontal axis is time in years, and it continues to infinity. 
  • A company lives forever, but its estimate of dividends or cash flow can have a finite life with a capital gain at the end of the forecast period.

Types of Growth
 
Models of Investment Valuation
Declining DDMConstant DDMSlow Growth DDMFast Growth DDM
 
Forecasts of Dividends or Free Cash Flow
Logit Growth DDM2-Stage Growth DDMFCF Constant D/EFCF Rising D/E

  • Slow and fast growth are relative to current average growth rates, historical precedents and the discount rate used in the model.
  • Fast growth includes speculative growth. 
  • LOGIT growth is a special case of S-curve growth for rapid followed by slower growth phases. 
  • These growth patterns may be used in multi-stage models with different patterns for different stages of growth. See theory for the mathematics behind these models.


These models have been implemented in DCF Valuator, a free online web-based application that estimates intrinsic value per share, goal implied value, range of value with Monte Carlo simulation scenarios, and rate of return on investment for any common stock in any currency. For a walk-through tour of the DCF Valuatorclick here and invoke any of the model types in the table.

 http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm

DCF Valuation: The classic work of John Burr Williams

The valuation model for estimating the investment value of an operating enterprise in the private market, independent of the stock market price quotations, is based on the discounted cash flow (DCF) method using the time value of money. 


The classic work of John Burr Williams (see the models section at theory ) is the basis for the development of most equity valuation models, and his work is here referred to as the DCF Model rather than the narrower misleading name of Dividend Discount Model or DDM


For academic models of equity valuation, see Investments by Brodie, Kane and Marcus in General Books, or go to textbook models. For less academic approaches to firm valuation, see Damodaran on Valuation in Special Books, or go to his practical modelsof equity valuation. For a practical firm valuation model, see the McKinsey model tutorial with an example company valuation and downloads in a working paper at the Stockholm School of Economics. The McKinsey approach is the subject of the book titled Valuation by Tom Copeland et al in General Books.

The general model can be expressed verbally, mathematically, and graphically. 


Thus, in words:

1. If you commit your cash to a particular investment opportunity, then what cash can you expect to get out of it in return? What is your reward for abstinence and risk-taking?

2. What are the estimated net cash flows attributable to this proposed investment; i.e., what are the expected dividend distributions and the future terminal selling price?

3. What is the present value of these net cash flows, discounted at an appropriate rate of interest? This is the intrinsic economic value of the equity investment.

4. What is the margin of safety, both in dollars and in percentage? Is the intrinsic value per share of common stock greater than the stock market asking-price quotation by an amount sufficiently compelling to justify a long-term commitment to this particular investment?


Mathematically, the DCF model can be expressed both in an abstract standard form for the general case and in many concrete forms for simplifying special cases. Conceptually, the DCF Model is like an ideal of Plato which manifests itself in different empirical forms. We refer to these empirical forms types of the DCF Model. In all forms, the net present value of the investment, i.e., its intrinsic economic value, is equated with the sum of the products of each net cash flow and its discount rate. After intrinsic value has been estimated from fundamental data, it can be expressed in terms of earnings, book value, dividends, sales, cash flow, or other accounting measures, but this is not necessary. 

Graphically, the model can be expressed in two dimensions as a horizontal time line with vertical bars showing positive and negative net cash flows, above and below the line respectively, from the date of your investment at time zero to the date of your future sale at the end of your horizon for this investment.


http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm

PE/G ratio

Some investment strategies seek growth for its own sake or growth for the sake of growth rather than growth for the sake of value. 


Wall Street wisdom (pardon the oxymoron) adheres to the KISS principle as its highest virtue: Keep It Short and Simple. Most highly prized by brokers are slogans that fit easily on t-shirts and bumper stickers. 


As an example, one popular investment rule of thumb is that for a fully and fairly valued growth stock, the stock's price-to-earnings ratio should be equal to the percentage of the growth rate of the earnings per share of the associated company, i.e. PE = G. As with any such rule of thumb, this is not only superficial but also arbitrary and capricious. 


A common screen based on this heuristic is the ratio of the PE ratio to the EPS growth rate, or the PE/G. In an effort to better fit the historical performance of cyclical stocks and large-cap stocks, ad hoc variations on the PE/G ratio include 

  • (1) using an estimated future growth rate instead of an historical growth rate or PE/FG, 
  • (2) adding the dividend yield percentage to the EPS growth rate percentage or PE/DG, and 
  • (3) adding two time the dividend yield percentage to the EPS growth rate percentage or PE/2DG.

A rapidly growing company presents special problems in valuation.

A rapidly growing company presents special problems in valuation. John Burr Williams (1938:560) succinctly writes "They had high hopes for their business, but no logical evaluation of these hopes in terms of stock prices. The very fact that [the company] was one of the hardest of all stocks to appraise rationally was the reason why it sold at the most extravagant prices, for speculation ever feeds on mystery, as we have seen before."

The problem with estimating an approximate appraisal value for rapidly growing companies is presented most clearly in the St. Petersburg Paradox. As David Durand wrote: "With growth stocks, the uncritical use of conventional discount formulas is particularly likely to be hazardous; for, as we have seen, growth stocks represent the ultimate in investments of long duration. Likewise, they seem to represent the ultimate in difficulty of evaluation." 

For practical purposes, it is sometimes sufficient to estimate either the upper bound or the lower bound of the investment value range of a stock.

The investment value of a stock is conceptually a single point value, the mean of the distribution of investment value. Operationally, investment value is estimated as a range of values. 


For practical purposes, it is sometimes sufficient to estimate either the upper bound of the investment value range to deselect a stock or the lower bound of the investment value range to select a stock. 

  • As an example, if the upper bound of investment value of a given stock is confidently estimated to be no higher than $50 per share and the current quoted market price for this stock is $75 per share, then this particular stock can be deselected. 
  • Similarly, if the lower bound of investment value of another stock is confidently estimated to be at least $50 per share and the current quoted market price for this stock is $25 per share, then this particular stock can be selected.

Concerning the range of estimated appraisal values, Williams (1954:32-33) explained: 
"Scholar: Yes, economics supplies the answer to many questions of great practical importance. 
Skeptic: How can it possibly do so if it lacks the mathematical precision of astronomy? 
Scholar: Economics is more like chemistry than it is like astronomy. Or rather, it is like that branch of chemistry known as qualitative analysis, in contrast to quantitative analysis. In economics, just as in qualitative analysis, you don't always have to have an exact answer to have a useful one. For instance, if a chemist testifies in court that a dead man was found to have enough arsenic in his system to kill an ox, let alone a human being, then it really doesn't matter whether the amount of arsenic involved is two grams or ten, so long as the chemist is absolutely sure that what he found was really arsenic and not a related substance like tin or antimony. Precise measurement is unnecessary. The same is true in economics.

The four basic factors needed to appraise the intrinsic value of an operating enterprise and thus its common stock equity


An important distinction is the difference between reported accounting value (book value or net worth per share) and intrinsic economic value (discounted future dividends per share).

  • Book value does not reflect inflation and obsolescence, nor does it include intangible assets such as "franchises" and technological prowess resulting from R&D expenditures. 
  • In addition, book value per share is merely a mechanical screening ratio set at an arbitrary cutoff point which does not reflect judgment and does not reliably distinguish between underpriced bargain stocks and fairly-priced junk stocks.


Intrinsic economic value of an operating enterprise is appraised by use of discounted cash flow techniques in the so-called dividend discount model originated by John Burr Williams.

  • He made allowance for both dividends and future selling price. 
  • He also explains how the transposed dividend discount model can be used to determine what the market as a whole is expecting, and this can be compared with the investor's expectation.


As John Burr Williams (1938: page 466) wrote: "in other words, Investment Analysis usually measures the relative rather than the absolute value of any stock, and leaves to the economist the broad question of whether stocks in general are selling too high or too low. ... From the point of view of this book, which is concerned with absolute rather than relative value, ... "

According to Williams (1938), the four basic factors needed to appraise the intrinsic value of an operating enterprise and thus its common stock equity, two economy-wide factors and two company-specific factors. The economy-wide factors are general price level inflation and the real interest rate. The company-specific factors are the estimated future net cash distributions to the stockholders and the discount rate or rates applied to those cash receipts. For foreign companies, a fifth factor may be required: the currency exchange rate, which is discussed at length by Williams (1954). This is important enough to justify a table to repeat it for emphasis.
Factors of Intrinsic Economic Value
Number
Description
1
general price level inflation rate
2
real interest rate
3
dividends or free cash flows to equity
4
discount rate or rates
5
currency exchange rate, where applicable

Is faith in speculation about future earnings more, or less, reasonable than faith in appraisal of today's value?

Reliance on the earnings estimates of experts can range from blind faith at one end of the spectrum to reasoned faith at the other end.. 


Even if an investor knows the difference between either cash flow or "free" cash flow, however defined, and true long-term economic earnings, and even if an investor accepts the operating definition of earnings used by experts, the acceptance of their estimates of earnings and growth in earnings constitutes an act of faith. 


Is faith in speculation about future earnings more, or less, reasonable than faith in appraisal of today's value?


Forward-looking statements about capital spending plans, R&D projects, share (re)purchase programs, and other uncommitted contingent activities find their public forum in press releases that are carefully worded to avoid class action lawsuits by disgruntled shareholders.

The important point is that growth per se does not always create value for the common stock owners. As John Burr Williams wrote (1938: 419): "That a non-growing industry can be profitable is shown ... , and that a fast-growing industry can be unprofitable is shown ... "

Statements about future earnings growth rates are opinions, not facts.

There are three main types of estimates of the future. In order of increasing sophistication, they can be referred to as the naive, the gullible, and the expert. 
  • The naive forecast is based on linear trend extrapolations. 
  • The gullible forecast is based on analysts' estimates, such as provided by S&P Compustat's Analysts' Consensus Estimates, ACE, or by Institutional Brokers Estimate System, I/B/E/S. 
  • The expert prediction is based on rigorous systematic study of a company, its industry, and the economy.
John Neville Keynes in his Scope and Method originated the use of the term "positive" to refer to "what is" and the term "normative" to refer to "what should be."   These terms make the distinction between 
  • facts about the present, on one hand, and 
  • opinions about either the speculative future or an ideal state on the other hand, respectively. 
The important point here is that statements about future earnings growth rates are normative, not positive. They are opinions, not facts. 
  • No one's crystal ball is any more reliable than any one else's. 
  • Therefore, if not self-reliant, then one must rely on the expert opinion of others who have different agendas and conflicting interests. 
Similarly, statements about efficient and rational markets where all prices instantly converge to intrinsic value are normative, not positive. 
  • They are not reality, but rather utopian ideals approached by stock markets as complex aggregates but not by individual stocks. 
  • Perfectly efficient markets are necessary as a fixed standard for comparison, and thus serve a useful methodological function.

The valuation method considers no daily quotes, no charts, no breaking headlines, and no hot tips.

The method of valuation contrasts with both the method of forecasting growth for the sake of growth and the method of technical analysis. 


The valuation method considers no daily quotes, no charts, no breaking headlines, and no hot tips. 

  • Also, it does not take at face value any broker opinions or brokerage house research: neither fresh, bullish-sales biased, investment-banking compromised, buy/sell/hold recommendations with occasional self-contradictions and internal inconsistency for presentation to the larger institutional customers, nor stale versions of these same recommendations repackaged for smaller individual customers. 


  • Most importantly, no forecasts: neither those for official public consumption, nor the private "whispered" versions shared among colleagues. 
In short, no distractions, just the relevant facts. This, of course, does not greatly increase the demand for such information services.

There is no intrinsic value of gold or other commodities. They are inert, non-earning assets.

There is no intrinsic value of gold or other commodities. They are inert, non-earning assets. 

  • As an investment, gold is a pure speculation because there is no internal creation of value. 
  • Industrial metals, such as copper, are less speculative than precious metals because their prices more generally reflect demand and supply. 
Nevertheless, extrinsic factors operating through buyers and sellers determine the price of every commodity. 


In contrast, for equities and other claims on assets, their value is intrinsic because it is generated by the underlying operating enterprise in the form of earnings, dividends, and cash flows. 


There are no intrinsic prices, only intrinsic values.


http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm

Economic value refers to intrinsic, long-term, ultimate value of an operating enterprise as determined by net cash flow analysis.

The term value can refer to either accounting value, market value, or economic value. 


Measures of accounting value include book value per share, net worth per share, net asset value per share, and net tangible asset value per share. 


Market value refers to common stock equity capitalization or financial "size", and is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding. Publicly-traded market value includes only those shares that are not held in private accounts. 


Measures of accounting value and market value can be used for quick mechanical screening criteria for filtering out common stocks for further investigation. 


In contrast, economic value refers to intrinsic, long-term, ultimate value of an operating enterprise as determined by net cash flow analysis using spreadsheets and formulas. 

Intrinsic value is independent of quoted market prices. Accounting value is commonly confused with economic value. 

Economic value can refer to either value in use or value in exchange.


Economic value can refer to either value in use or value in exchange.
  • For example, water has high value in use but due to an excess supply may have a low price or be free for the taking. 
  • Diamonds, in contrast, have high value in exchange due to their real or artificially-managed low supply relative to demand. 

The great 'paradox of value' was obvious when contrasting the useless dearness of the diamond to the cheapness of the water without which we cannot live.   A start is supposed to have been made at connecting value to a general theory of utility.  The apparent paradox between the value of water and diamonds is resolved by the difference between total utility and marginal utility.

Price is not value, pricing is not valuation, and pricing models are not valuation models.

A valuation model is an effective method for estimating economic value.


Another term that is used to refer to economic value is "fundamental value", which derives the quantity of value from so-called fundamental economic metrics generated by a firm at the firm-level, in contrast to pricing metrics generated by a securities market at the security-level. 


Price is not value, pricing is not valuation, and pricing models are not valuation models. 


The conventional academic capital asset pricing model has one factor, the beta coefficient. 

  • Models that include beta are pricing models, not valuation models. 
  • This is not merely a matter of semantics. 
The difference between price and value, referred to as the margin of safety, is the raison d'etre of investment valuation independent of market pricing.


http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm

The quantity of value is an estimate or approximation. Intrinsic value can be quantified as Net Present Value (NPV) based on Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis.

The quantity of value is an estimate or approximation. The estimated quantity of value is based on an appraisal or a valuation. It can be expressed either as 

  • an interval estimate or 
  • a range of quantitative values, or 
  • as a single-point estimate or 
  • a single quantity of varying precision. 
Either way, intrinsic value can be quantified as Net Present Value (NPV) based on Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis.

Price is not value, neither in concept nor in quantity. Price is a market-generated quantity. 

  • The confusing term "market value" is really market price. 
  • The confusing term "fair market value" is really fair market price. 
  • The fair market price is the price that equals the single quantity that best approximates investment value. 
The best point estimate of investment value is the mean of the distribution of values rather than the median of the distribution of values or the midpoint of the range of values.

    A distinction between deep value and surface value. Deep value is independent of market price.

    The term "investment value" refers to the concept of pure, true, intrinsic, economic value. 

    • The phrase "expected investment value" refers to investment value adjusted for risk and uncertainty
    • Economic valuation is the estimation of economic value.

    Even with all these qualifying adjectives to clarify the meaning, the phrase is awkward and remains ambiguous. A less ambiguous distinction is between deep value and surface value. 


    Deep value is investment value based primarily on intrinsic economic value estimated from expected future discounted cash flows and buttressed by accounting book value, quality and other aspects of value independent of market price. 
    • Deep intrinsic value can include qualitative factors such as brand recognition, franchise, corporate governance, labor relations, government contracts and assets that are not usually marked to market. 
    • A corporate governance score such as Standard & Poor's CGS [PDF or HTML] use criteria that may be indicators of long-term value creation, including both a Corporate Governance Score for a company and a separate Country Governance Classification for its country of origin. 
    • The criteria are fairness, transparency, accountability and responsibility, as elaborated in Standard & Poor's Corporate Governance Scores: Criteria, Methodology and Definitions, July, 2002. 
    Surface value is a misnomer -- it is not really value but rather market price, usually expressed as a ratio either with accounting items such as earnings, dividends, net worth, and sales, or with growth rate. 

    • Surface value is analogous to unit pricing of fungible commodities by number, by volume, and by weight, for comparison shopping without regard to quality.


    http://www.numeraire.com/value.htm