Skip to Content
Damodaran on Valuation
book

Damodaran on Valuation

by Aswath Damodaran
August 2006
Intermediate to advanced
696 pages
23h 12m
English
Wiley
Content preview from Damodaran on Valuation

1.4. ROLE OF VALUATION

Valuation is useful in a wide range of tasks. The role it plays, however, is different in different arenas. The following section lays out the relevance of valuation in portfolio management, in acquisition analysis, in corporate finance, and for legal and tax purposes.

1.4.1. Valuation in Portfolio Management

The role that valuation plays in portfolio management is determined in large part by the investment philosophy of the investor. Valuation plays a minimal role in portfolio management for a passive investor, whereas it plays a larger role for an active investor. Even among active investors, the nature and the role of valuation is different for different types of active investment. Market timers use valuation much less than investors who pick stocks, and the focus is on market valuation rather than on firm-specific valuation. Among stock pickers, valuation plays a central role in portfolio management for fundamental analysts, and a peripheral role for technical analysts.

The following subsections describe, in broad terms, different investment philosophies and the roles played by valuation in each one.

1.4.1.1. Fundamental Analysts

The underlying theme in fundamental analysis is that the true value of the firm can be related to its financial characteristics—its growth prospects, risk profile, and cash flows. Any deviation from this true value is a sign that a stock is undervalued or overvalued. It is a long-term investment strategy, and the assumptions ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Valuation, 7th Edition

Valuation, 7th Edition

McKinsey & Company Inc., Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart, David Wessels
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Fifth Edition

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Fifth Edition

David Wessels, McKinsey & Company, Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780471751212Purchase book