Align Technology (ALGN)

TotalReturn:

'Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income investments, distributions or dividends and capital appreciation, representing the change in the market price of an asset.'

• The total return, or increase in value over 5 years of Align Technology is 413.8%, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (66.2%) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 285.9%, which is higher, thus better than the value of 45.7% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a useful measure of growth over multiple time periods. It can be thought of as the growth rate that gets you from the initial investment value to the ending investment value if you assume that the investment has been compounding over the time period.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 38.8% in the last 5 years of Align Technology, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (10.7%)
• Looking at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in of 57% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (13.4%).

Volatility:

'Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index. Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. In the securities markets, volatility is often associated with big swings in either direction. For example, when the stock market rises and falls more than one percent over a sustained period of time, it is called a 'volatile' market.'

• The historical 30 days volatility over 5 years of Align Technology is 35.1%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (13.3%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 37.4% is larger, thus worse.

DownVol:

'Downside risk is the financial risk associated with losses. That is, it is the risk of the actual return being below the expected return, or the uncertainty about the magnitude of that difference. Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

• Looking at the downside volatility of 38.5% in the last 5 years of Align Technology, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (14.6%)
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 43.1%, which is greater, thus worse than the value of 14.1% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio is the measure of risk-adjusted return of a financial portfolio. Sharpe ratio is a measure of excess portfolio return over the risk-free rate relative to its standard deviation. Normally, the 90-day Treasury bill rate is taken as the proxy for risk-free rate. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe ratio is considered superior relative to its peers. The measure was named after William F Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor of finance, emeritus at Stanford University.'

• Looking at the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 1.03 in the last 5 years of Align Technology, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (0.62)
• Looking at risk / return profile (Sharpe) in of 1.46 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.87).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio improves upon the Sharpe ratio by isolating downside volatility from total volatility by dividing excess return by the downside deviation. The Sortino ratio is a variation of the Sharpe ratio that differentiates harmful volatility from total overall volatility by using the asset's standard deviation of negative asset returns, called downside deviation. The Sortino ratio takes the asset's return and subtracts the risk-free rate, and then divides that amount by the asset's downside deviation. The ratio was named after Frank A. Sortino.'

• The ratio of annual return and downside deviation over 5 years of Align Technology is 0.94, which is larger, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.56) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of annual return and downside deviation in of 1.27 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.77).

Ulcer:

'The Ulcer Index is a technical indicator that measures downside risk, in terms of both the depth and duration of price declines. The index increases in value as the price moves farther away from a recent high and falls as the price rises to new highs. The indicator is usually calculated over a 14-day period, with the Ulcer Index showing the percentage drawdown a trader can expect from the high over that period. The greater the value of the Ulcer Index, the longer it takes for a stock to get back to the former high.'

• Looking at the Downside risk index of 14 in the last 5 years of Align Technology, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (3.96 )
• During the last 3 years, the Downside risk index is 16 , which is larger, thus better than the value of 4.01 from the benchmark.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-19.3 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley of -53 days of Align Technology is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -53 days, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of -19.3 days from the benchmark.

MaxDuration:

'The Maximum Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. It is the length of time the account was in the Max Drawdown. A Max Drawdown measures a retrenchment from when an equity curve reaches a new high. It’s the maximum an account lost during that retrenchment. This method is applied because a valley can’t be measured until a new high occurs. Once the new high is reached, the percentage change from the old high to the bottom of the largest trough is recorded.'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 123 days in the last 5 years of Align Technology, we see it is relatively lower, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (187 days)
• Compared with SPY (131 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the maximum days below previous high of 123 days is lower, thus better.

AveDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (39 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days below previous high of 30 days of Align Technology is lower, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (34 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 24 days is smaller, thus better.