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Is 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) A Volatile Stock?

Anyone researching 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) might want to consider the historical volatility of the share price. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the 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 greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one.

Check out our latest analysis for 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

What FLWS's beta value tells investors

Zooming in on 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, we see it has a five year beta of 1.50. This is above 1, so historically its share price has been influenced by the broader volatility of the stock market. If this beta value holds true in the future, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM shares are likely to rise more than the market when the market is going up, but fall faster when the market is going down. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether 1-800-FLOWERS.COM is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

NasdaqGS:FLWS Income Statement, January 14th 2020
NasdaqGS:FLWS Income Statement, January 14th 2020

Does FLWS's size influence the expected beta?

1-800-FLOWERS.COM is a small company, but not tiny and little known. It has a market capitalisation of US$909m, which means it would be on the radar of intstitutional investors. It's not particularly surprising that it has a higher beta than the overall market. That's because it takes less money to influence the share price of a smaller company, than a bigger company.

What this means for you:

Beta only tells us that the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM share price is sensitive to broader market movements. This could indicate that it is a high growth company, or is heavily influenced by sentiment because it is speculative. Alternatively, it could have operating leverage in its business model. Ultimately, beta is an interesting metric, but there's plenty more to learn. In order to fully understand whether FLWS is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as 1-800-FLOWERS.COM’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

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

  2. Past Track Record: Has FLWS 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 FLWS's historicals for more clarity.

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

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.