Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

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 (107.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 412% of Palo Alto Networks is greater, thus better.
• Compared with SPY (38.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the total return of 112.7% is higher, thus better.

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 compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.7% in the last 5 years of Palo Alto Networks, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (15.7%)
• During the last 3 years, the annual performance (CAGR) is 28.7%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 11.4% from the benchmark.

Volatility:

'Volatility is a rate at which the price of a security increases or decreases for a given set of returns. Volatility is measured by calculating the standard deviation of the annualized returns over a given period of time. It shows the range to which the price of a security may increase or decrease. Volatility measures the risk of a security. It is used in option pricing formula to gauge the fluctuations in the returns of the underlying assets. Volatility indicates the pricing behavior of the security and helps estimate the fluctuations that may happen in a short period of time.'

• The 30 days standard deviation over 5 years of Palo Alto Networks is 41.8%, which is greater, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (20.9%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (17.5%) in the period of the last 3 years, the volatility of 43.8% is higher, 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.'

• The downside deviation over 5 years of Palo Alto Networks is 28.9%, which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (14.9%) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (12.2%) in the period of the last 3 years, the downside volatility of 30.7% is greater, thus worse.

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.'

• The risk / return profile (Sharpe) over 5 years of Palo Alto Networks is 0.87, which is higher, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.63) in the same period.
• Looking at ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) in of 0.6 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.51).

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 Palo Alto Networks is 1.25, which is greater, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (0.88) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (0.73) in the period of the last 3 years, the ratio of annual return and downside deviation of 0.85 is greater, thus better.

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 Ratio over 5 years of Palo Alto Networks is 14 , which is higher, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (9.32 ) in the same period.
• Compared with SPY (10 ) in the period of the last 3 years, the Ulcer Index of 15 is larger, thus worse.

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown is defined as the peak-to-trough decline of an investment during a specific period. It is usually quoted as a percentage of the peak value. The maximum drawdown can be calculated based on absolute returns, in order to identify strategies that suffer less during market downturns, such as low-volatility strategies. However, the maximum drawdown can also be calculated based on returns relative to a benchmark index, for identifying strategies that show steady outperformance over time.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the period of the last 5 years, the maximum reduction from previous high of -46.8 days of Palo Alto Networks is smaller, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the maximum drop from peak to valley is -36 days, which is smaller, thus worse than the value of -24.5 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 below previous high of 280 days in the last 5 years of Palo Alto Networks, we see it is relatively smaller, thus better in comparison to the benchmark SPY (488 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days under water is 280 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 488 days from the benchmark.

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.'

• The average days under water over 5 years of Palo Alto Networks is 64 days, which is lower, thus better compared to the benchmark SPY (123 days) in the same period.
• During the last 3 years, the average time in days below previous high water mark is 85 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 178 days from the benchmark.