Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN)

TotalReturn:

'The total return on a portfolio of investments takes into account not only the capital appreciation on the portfolio, but also the income received on the portfolio. The income typically consists of interest, dividends, and securities lending fees. This contrasts with the price return, which takes into account only the capital gain on an investment.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (80%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or performance of 43.4% of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at total return in of 35% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (31.8%).

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate isn't a true return rate, but rather a representational figure. It is essentially a number that describes the rate at which an investment would have grown if it had grown the same rate every year and the profits were reinvested at the end of each year. In reality, this sort of performance is unlikely. However, CAGR can be used to smooth returns so that they may be more easily understood when compared to alternative investments.'

• Looking at the annual performance (CAGR) of 7.5% in the last 5 years of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (12.5%)
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 10.5% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (9.7%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (21.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the historical 30 days volatility of 38.3% of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at volatility in of 39% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (17.6%).

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.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 25.2% of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is greater, thus worse.
• Looking at downside volatility in of 24.9% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to SPY (12.3%).

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio was developed by Nobel laureate William F. Sharpe, and is used to help investors understand the return of an investment compared to its risk. The ratio is the average return earned in excess of the risk-free rate per unit of volatility or total risk. Subtracting the risk-free rate from the mean return allows an investor to better isolate the profits associated with risk-taking activities. One intuition of this calculation is that a portfolio engaging in 'zero risk' investments, such as the purchase of U.S. Treasury bills (for which the expected return is the risk-free rate), has a Sharpe ratio of exactly zero. Generally, the greater the value of the Sharpe ratio, the more attractive the risk-adjusted return.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.47) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.13 of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is lower, thus worse.
• Looking at Sharpe Ratio in of 0.21 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to SPY (0.41).

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio measures the risk-adjusted return of an investment asset, portfolio, or strategy. It is a modification of the Sharpe ratio but penalizes only those returns falling below a user-specified target or required rate of return, while the Sharpe ratio penalizes both upside and downside volatility equally. Though both ratios measure an investment's risk-adjusted return, they do so in significantly different ways that will frequently lead to differing conclusions as to the true nature of the investment's return-generating efficiency. The Sortino ratio is used as a way to compare the risk-adjusted performance of programs with differing risk and return profiles. In general, risk-adjusted returns seek to normalize the risk across programs and then see which has the higher return unit per risk.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.66) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.2 of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside risk / excess return profile is 0.32, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of 0.58 from the benchmark.

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.'

• The Ulcer Index over 5 years of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is 19 , which is larger, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (9.43 ) in the same period.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 19 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10 ).

MaxDD:

'A maximum drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained. Maximum Drawdown is an indicator of downside risk over a specified time period. It can be used both as a stand-alone measure or as an input into other metrics such as 'Return over Maximum Drawdown' and the Calmar Ratio. Maximum Drawdown is expressed in percentage terms.'

• Looking at the maximum drop from peak to valley of -48.5 days in the last 5 years of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, we see it is relatively smaller, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum reduction from previous high is -46.5 days, which is lower, thus worse than the value of -24.5 days from the benchmark.

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• Looking at the maximum days under water of 816 days in the last 5 years of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, we see it is relatively greater, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (480 days)
• Looking at maximum days below previous high in of 423 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to SPY (480 days).

AveDuration:

'The Average 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. 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 (119 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the average days under water of 292 days of Alexion Pharmaceuticals is greater, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the average days under water is 140 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 174 days from the benchmark.