What is Fair Value: Definition & Meaning Explained

Definition of Fair Value

The fair value of a stock, product, or service is the price at which the buyer and seller willingly agree on without being on the losing end of the deal. Think of fair value as a win-win situation for both parties, assuming that all conditions are normal.

Say Mr. Apple is offered to buy shares of Mr. Orange’s company at Rs. 1000 per share. Mr. Apple evaluates the business and figures out that he can sell the same shares for Rs. 1200, even though Mr. Orange is content to sell the shares at Rs. 200 lower. Both parties agree on the deal at Rs. 1000 because both view it as a good deal.

The formula for the fair value of a stock or index is:

Fair Value = Cash * { 1 + r (X / 360)} - D

Where,

Cash = Latest stock or index value

r = interest rate on purchase

x = number of days to contract expiry

Dividend = Dividends

The definition of fair value is slightly different in the futures market. In the futures market, the fair value is reached when the supply meets the demand, which simply means that the spot price is equal to the futures contractprice.

However, due to inherent volatility of the markets, the price of a futures contract is known to fluctuate around the fair value of a stock or index. Thus, in the fair value in the context of futures is what the price of the contract should be, given the value of the stock or index, dividends, and others.

Anaume Pattern

An Anaume Pattern can be seen when a gap is filled after a change in the direction of a security or market’s price.

Anaume Patterns are gap-filling patterns that can signal the reversal of a bearish trend, which is nothing but a potential onset of a bullish trend, when used in conjunction with other patterns.

Anaume Patterns are also known as exception exhaustion patterns.

Free Cash Flow

In accounting and earnings reports, free cash flow refers to the amount of money a company has after paying its maintenance expenses, salaries, utility expenses, and other operating expenses as well as capital expenditures.

The formula to calculate free cash flow: Operating Cash Flow − Capital Expenditures

Free cash flow is an important metric, especially for investors because it is a direct indicator of the financial competence of a company. For example, the amount of FCF a company has can decide whether it has enough cash to offer dividends, expand business, buy back shares, etc.

Direct Public Offerings

A Direct Public Offering or DPO allows a company to issue shares directly to the public without an intermediary like investment banks. In the process, the company becomes publicly traded.

The cost of a DPO is known to be relatively low compared to an IPO.

Furthermore, the issuer of the DPO has control over the issue price while the paperwork and effort involved is also comparatively low. That said, the company must go through proper regulatory procedures during the process.

Identifiable Asset

An identifiable asset is a tangible or intangible asset that be assigned a fair value at any point in time. This concept is important during acquisitions and mergers as not all assets on a company’s balance sheet can easily be valued.

Simple examlpeps of identifiable assets include machinery. You can easily identify machinery as a separate entity and assign it a value based on various factors.

Fair Value