Public Company Market Data

The following guide provides sources for public company profiles and market data, stock quotes, analysts forecasts, and investment research reports.

Select from the following page sections:

• Finding Companies by Industry
• Public Company Information
• Current and Historical Quotes
• Earnings Growth Forecasts

• Investment Research Reports
• Closed-End Funds
• Real Estate Investment Trusts

For more information on selecting and using public company market data for business valuation purposes, see the "Selecting and Using Public Company Market Data" section below.

Finding Public Companies by Industry

All resources in this section are searchable by industry code and/or description.

• SEC Info
• EDGAR Company Search

• Alacra Company Index
• SEDAR  (Canadian companies)

Public Company Information

• WSJ Company Research
• Yahoo! Finance
• Zacks Investment Research
• SEC Info
• EDGAR Company Search
• SEDAR

• Company profiles and market data
• Company profiles and market data
• Company profiles and market data
• Formatted SEC filings
• SEC filings on a real-time basis
• Canadian public company filings

Current and Historical Price Quotes

• Yahoo! Finance
• BigCharts
• OTC Pink® Marketplace

• Current and historical quotes
• Current and historical quotes
• Pink Sheet OTC quotes

Analysts' Earnings Growth Forecasts

• Yahoo! Finance
• Zacks Investment Research

• Analyst estimates for specific stock quote
• Analyst estimates for specific stock quote

Investment Research Reports

• Thomson Research

• Research reports on public companies and industries

Closed-End Funds

• Closed End Fund Center

• Closed-end fund profiles and market data

Real Estate Investment Trusts

• REIT.com

• Market and financial data on REITs

Selecting and Using Public Company Market Data

The following publications provide guidance on selecting and using public company market data for business valuation purposes:

The Market Approach to Valuing Businesses, 2nd Edition
Pratt, Wiley, 2005

Publication provides a step-by-step guide to using public and private market transaction data in valuing a business interest, with topics covered in the guide including finding guideline company data, sample cases, example applications in court cases, and common errors in implementing the market approach. Table of contents and selected text can be previewed online via Amazon.com's "Look Inside" feature.

Valuing a Business: The Analysis and Appraisal of Closely Held Companies, 5th Edition
Pratt, McGraw-Hill, 2008

Topics addressed in Chapter 11 include an overview of the guideline publicly traded company method; selection criteria for guideline public companies; analyzing, adjusting, and applying public company data; and common errors in applying the guideline public company method. Table of contents, index, and selected chapter contents can be previewed free online via Amazon.com's "Look Inside" feature.

PPC Guide to Business Valuations
Practitioners Publishing Company, annual updates

Three-volume set includes a section on the guideline public companies method covering topics such as identifying and obtaining information for potential guideline public companies; selecting guideline companies and analyzing and adjusting their data; determining appropriate valuation multiples; and applying final adjustments and "sanity checks". Detailed table of contents is available free online.

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