Does The Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCLI) Share Price Tend To Follow The Market?

If you own shares in Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BCLI) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market.

Some stocks are more sensitive to general market forces than others. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta below one is either less volatile than the market, or more volatile but not corellated with the overall market. In comparison a stock with a beta of over one tends to be move in a similar direction to the market in the long term, but with greater changes in price.

See our latest analysis for Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics

What does BCLI's beta value mean to investors?

Given this level of beta, if the future looks like the past, we could therefore consider it likely that the stock price will experience share price volatility that is roughly similar to the overall market. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

NasdaqCM:BCLI Income Statement May 18th 2020
NasdaqCM:BCLI Income Statement May 18th 2020

Could BCLI's size cause it to be more volatile?

With a market capitalisation of US$155m, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics is a very small company by global standards. It is quite likely to be unknown to most investors. Companies this small are usually more volatile than the market, whether or not that volatility is correlated. Therefore, it's a bit surprising to see that this stock has a beta value so close to the overall market.

What this means for you:

It is probable that there is a link between the share price of Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics and the broader market, since it has a beta value quite close to one. However, long term investors are generally well served by looking past market volatility and focussing on the underlying development of the business. If that's your game, metrics such as revenue, earnings and cash flow will be more useful. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BCLI’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BCLI’s outlook.

  2. Past Track Record: Has BCLI been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of BCLI's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how BCLI measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.