Getting Familiar with Market Related Concepts

Once you enter the Stock market, you will frequently come across terms like Market Capitalization, Small-Cap Stocks, Mid-Cap Stocks and Large-Cap Stocks. In this section you will get an understanding of what these terms mean in the context of stock markets.

Let us first understand MARKET CAPITALIZATION

MARKET CAPITALIZATION
"Cap" is short for capitalization, the market value of a stock, indicating the size of the stock available.

Calculating a stock's capitalization
Market Capitalization = Market Price of the stock x The number of the stock's outstanding* shares

*Outstanding means the shares held by the public

For example, if Stock A has a Current Market Price of Rs 20 per share, and there are 1,00,000 shares in the hands of public investors, then Stock A has a capitalization of 20,00,000.

The company's capitalization is an effective parameter to group corporate stocks.

In the US, mid-cap shares are those stocks that have a market capitalization ranging from Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 45,000 crore. In India, these shares would be classified as large-cap shares. Thus, classification of shares into large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap is made on the basis of the relative size of the market in that particular country. The total market capitalization of US markets is $15 trillion. In India, the market capitalization of listed companies is around $600bn.

SMALL-CAP STOCKS
The stocks of small companies that have the potential to grow rapidly are classified as small-cap stocks. These stocks are the best option for an investor who wishes to generate significant gains in the long run; as long he does not require current dividends and can withstand price volatility. Generally companies that have a market Capitalization in the range of up to 250 Corores are small cap stocks

As many of these companies are relatively new, it is difficult to predict how they will perform in the market. Being small enterprises, growth spurts dramatically affect their values and revenues, sending prices soaring.

On the other hand, the stocks of these companies tend to be volatile and may decline dramatically.

Most Initial Public Offerings are for small-cap companies, although these days large companies do tend to source the capital markets for expansion plans. Aggressive mutual funds are also enthusiastic about adding small-cap stocks in their portfolios. Because they have the advantage of being highly growth oriented, small-cap stocks can forego paying dividends to investors, which enables the profits earned to be reinvested for future growth.
MID-CAP STOCKS
Mid-cap stocks are typically stocks of medium-sized companies. These are stocks of well-known companies, recognized as seasoned players in the market. They offer you the twin advantages of acquiring stocks with good growth potential as well as the stability of a larger company. Generally companies that have a market Capitalization in the range of 250-4000 crores are mid cap stocks

Mid-cap stocks also include baby blue chips; companies that show steady growth backed by a good track record. They are like blue-chip stocks (which are large-cap stocks) but lack their size. These stocks tend to grow well over the long term.
LARGE-CAP STOCKS
Stocks of the largest companies (many being blue chip firms) in the market such as Tata, Reliance, ICICI are classified as large-cap stocks. Being established enterprises, they have at their disposal large reserves of cash to exploit new business opportunities.

The sheer volume of large-cap stocks does not let them grow as rapidly as smaller capitalized companies and the smaller stocks tend to outperform them over time. Investors, however gain the advantages of reaping relatively higher dividends compared to small- and mid-cap stocks while also ensuring the long-term preservation of their capital.