Remember you are helping to inform and advise yourself and others as to the prospects of your company in an efficient, effective and compelling way. A summary of what should be provided is included below.

Use analyst reports, financial statements and business websites to generate/ discover information and use our equations covered in class as needed to complete your analyses.

Microsoft

Research their securities and capital structure, reporting on both the company and how they relate to their peers (e.g. biggest revenue company in their sector, fastest growing, largest market capitalization)

Based on your research and any analyst reports you chose to cite give a financial prognosis for the company and an outlook on their securities given their upcoming opportunities and challenges. Include dates for financial information and make sure you properly attribute/ quote sources. Please see representative questions below which cover the previous assignments.

General Questions (1-2 Pages)

What is a general description of the company?

Where are they traded?

What sector and industry are they considered to be part of? How are they similar/ different to their sector/ industry in general?

What are some recent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the company

Key stat calculations and ratios (for all try to give a current, and an appropriate historical calculation if possible, comparison with sector/industry averages a plus)

What is their overall capital structure and what is it composed of?

What is their Weighted Cost of Capital?

What are their Net and Operating Profit Margins? EBITDA?

What are their return on capital, assets ROE?

Equity (1-2 pages)

Common shares outstanding and market cap

Beta

Recent activities/ news

52 week high/ low and comment on any trends

Institutional ownership

Cost of equity, dividend yield, earnings per share, P/E ratio

Anyone shorting the stock? Option activity? Why?

How often has the stock split?

Repurchase program? Treasury shares?

Preferred shares? Outstanding?

Recent activities/ news

52 week high/ low and comment on any trends

Anything else you wish to discuss based on class discussions/ lectures

Debt instruments (1-2 pages)

Strategy and reasons/ justifications for current balances

Long-term Debt

Components

Recent activities/ news

Leverage Ratio (and any others you can determine/ calculate)

Cost of debt

Bond rating/ Risk premium (has anything changed recently? Why?

Current Liabilities

Components

Recent activities/ news

Quick/ Current/ Acid Ratios (and any others you can determine/ calculate)

Assessment of Working Capital (what is it currently, has anything changed recently? Why?

Anything else you wish to discuss based on class discussions/ lecture

Conclusions (1-2 pages)

Based on your research how do you view the financial health of your selected firm in absolute terms, over time, and as compared to sector/ industry peers/ S&P 500?

Do your views agree or disagree with the views of key analysts you have reviewed? Why or why not?

What could be some upcoming opportunities and challenges that will have to be address for your company to move successfully forward?

Based on what you know now are you more inclined or less inclined to buy any of the firms securities? Which ones?

Please use extra details and also include sources at the end of the prompt MLA format