12. Weighted Alpha - The NASDAQ Dozen

Weighted Alpha is the last metric in your stock analysis, and this one takes a few more clicks to get to. First, go to the main menu and hover over the Market Activity tab. Once the sub-tab appears, click on the Sector Analysis link (see Figure 20).

Figure 20—Sector Analysis Link

On the Sectoring by Industry Groups page, enter the ticker symbol of the stock you are interested in and click on the GO button (see Figure 21).

Once the results appear from your search, click on the link for the industry which the stock belongs to---it is typically the second link down (see Figure 21).

Weighted Alpha is a measure of one year growth with an emphasis on the most recent price activity. A positive Weighted Alpha indicates the stock price is moving higher and a negative Weighted Alpha indicates the stock price is moving lower. Naturally, when you are looking at buying a stock, you want to see a stock that is increasing in value, not decreasing in value.

• Pass—Give Weighted Alpha a passing score if the number is positive.
• Fail—Give Weighted Alpha a failing score if the number is negative.

Looking at Weighted Alpha for WMT in Figure 22, WMT should receive a failing score. You can see that number is negative.

Weighted Alpha: FAIL

1. Revenue	PASS
2. Earnings Per Share (EPS)	PASS
3. Return on Equity (ROE)	PASS
4. Analyst Recommendations	PASS
5. Earnings Surprises	PASS
6. Earnings Forecast	PASS
7. Earnings Growth	PASS
8. PEG Ratio	FAIL
9. Industry Earnings	FAIL
10. Days to Cover	FAIL
11. Insider Trading	FAIL
12. Weighted Alpha	FAIL
TOTAL	7:5

Figure 22—Weighted Alpha

This is a negative score. But now that you’ve done all of this, what does it really mean? Is it a guarantee the stock will go up? Certainly not. Investing is an exercise of analyzing information and putting your money where you have the most confidence and the greatest likelihood of success. There are no guarantees.

Typically, stocks with NASDAQ Dozen ratios of 12:0 to 9:3 are strong candidates for growth, stocks with ratios of 8:4 to 6:6 are moderate candidates for growth and stocks with ratios below 6:6 are poor candidates for growth.

Using the NASDAQ Dozen arms you with the data you need to make an informed decision and to put the odds of success in your favor. To get started, check the stocks you currently have in your portfolio and see how they stack up. You may be surprised.