Zacks.com Highlights: Athenahealth, Commercial Vehicle Group, Pioneer Natural Resources And Shutterfly

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – Feb 28, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article include: athenahealth Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHN) , Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGI) , Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE:PXD) and Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY) .

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

Bet on These 4 Top Liquid Stocks for Solid Returns

Liquidity is an important yardstick that many investors tend to ignore. It primarily indicates a company’s capability to meet debt obligations by converting assets into liquid cash and equivalents. These stocks have always been in demand due to their potential to provide maximum returns.

However, one should be cautious before investing in liquid stocks. While a high liquidity level may mean that the company is meeting its obligations at a faster rate compared to others in its domain, it may also indicate that the company is failing to use its assets efficiently.

Hence, one should consider the efficiency level of a company in addition to its liquidity to identify potential winners as this combination is indicative of underlying financial strength.

Measures to Identify Liquid Stocks

Current Ratio: It measures current assets relative to current liabilities. This ratio is used for measuring a company’s potential to meet both short- and long-term debt obligations. Thus, a current ratio — also known as working capital ratio — below 1 indicates that the company has more liabilities than assets. However, a high current ratio does not always indicate that the company is in good financial shape. It may also mean that the company has failed to utilize its assets significantly. Hence, a range of 1 to 3 is considered ideal.

Quick Ratio: Unlike current ratio, quick ratio – also called “acid-test ratio" or "quick assets ratio" – indicates a company’s ability to pay short-term obligations. It considers inventory excluding current assets relative to current liabilities. Like the current ratio, a quick ratio of greater than 1 is desirable.

Cash Ratio: This is the most conservative ratio among the three, as it takes into account only cash and cash equivalents, and invested funds relative to current liabilities. It measures a company’s ability to meet its current debt obligations using the most liquid of assets. Though a cash ratio higher than 1 may point to sound financials, a high number may indicate inefficiency in cash utilization.

So, a ratio greater than 1 is desirable at all times but may not always appropriately represent a company’s financial condition.

And that's what we're screening for today…

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/293874/bet-on-these-4-top-liquid-stocks-for-solid-returns

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

About Screen of the Week

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