HIUS 360
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STOCK MARKET SIMULATION REPORT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This assignment will provide the student with a cursory understanding of the stock market, the
causes of fluctuations in it, and how those can affect a business and the economic stability in an
economy. It will provide them with the knowledge of locating, using, and analyzing stock market
data and financial news reports.
INSTRUCTIONS
You will conduct a stock market simulation by “mock purchasing” 1 share of at least 2 “blue-
chip” and 3 “growth” stocks, then monitoring their value over 1 week. After that period, you will
document each step of the process, taking care to explain reasons for choosing the stocks,
fluctuations in stock price, and key economic pressures that reflect historic trends and issues.
This report must be 2–3 pages and include a specific list of the stocks in table format with their
names, symbols, purchase prices, and closing prices at the end of the week.
Choosing stocks to monitor for this assignment is up to you, except for two conditions. First, 2 of
the stocks must be large capitalization, blue-chip stocks from the New York Stock Exchange.
Second, 3 of the stocks must be targeted “growth” stocks with the potential for wide swings in
stock value—the more volatile the stock price, the better for this part of the assignment. You will
monitor the daily stock prices via a stock app, computer program, or financial
publication/website.
The most important part of the assignment involves the analysis, which must address the
following:
A well-organized and well-written explanation for the choices of stocks
An explanation of each stock price fluctuation based on research in the financial press
A bibliography of the research.
Research in the financial press is required for this assignment. Valuable research tools include
Bloomberg, Fox Business, the Wall Street Journal, Business Weekly, the Financial Times, or
widely consulted financial news networks and wire services. You MUST properly cite the
sources for your market research using the current Turabian style.
The best submissions will involve you researching key companies headlining the financial news
the previous week. Review existing commentary on the company following the suggestions
above and note the starting price on Monday. Then, each night, conduct a quick search of that
company in financial news services or cable financial news shows. Take notes on the analysis,
but understand this reflects the views of financial journalists, not historians. Be sure to record
and cite where you find each day’s information. (You may have to really dig through the
Turabian manual to determine the proper citations.) Then, at the end of the week, record the
stock’s closing price on Friday, and write an analysis of all 5 stocks’ fluctuations for the week.
Be sure to cover long-term trends of economic history when explaining the change. On a few
occasions, one or more of your stocks may fluctuate very little. This may be normal, but you
must still explain the stability of the company’s value based on long-term economic and
historical evidence.
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Finally, as you address questions 2 and 3 (below) in your summary, you may footnote citations
for the financial publications or videos you consulted.
Use the Turabian template with the following guidelines to compose your report:
1. Stocks are in a table with names, symbols, starting price and ending price.
2. Why was each stock chosen? Be sure to explain what impressed you enough about the
company to monitor its price. Do not merely state that you chose Apple because you have an
iPhone or Walmart because you shop there. You must provide well-grounded, well-
researched reasons using commentary and analysis found in financial publications, networks,
and websites. If you use cable financial news shows, you must use the proper Turabian
citation for that specific episode/date of your research.
3. To what extent did the stock’s price fluctuate? Why did this occur? Again, base your
explanation on your research in financial sources. What economic pressures caused the
fluctuation?
4. Include a title page and bibliography in the current Turabian style (not included in the 2–3-
page length requirement).
Stock Market Simulation
Student Name:
Course Name:
Professor Name:
Date of Submission:
Selected Stock
Stock Name, Symbol, Opening and Closing Prices
Stock Name
Symbol
Opening Price
Closing Price
Type
Tesla
TSLA
$861.62
$816.12
Blue-Chip
Chevron
CVX
$92.03
$92.55
Blue-Chip
Etsy Inc.
ETSY
$230.37
$233.86
Growth
Netflix
NFLX
$547.23
$556.52
Growth
Shopify
SHOP
$1,327.00
$1,455.49
Growth
Reason for the selection of stocks
The primary reason behind the choice of the TSLA stock is due to the interest in the
assessment of the ongoing surge. In 2020 alone, automakers’ shares surged more than 660% amidst
the rise in earnings, advancement of the financial analysis approaches and the ongoing investor
optimism that is gaining a vast adoption in the general market (Deagon, 2021). Besides, the
selection of the TSLA was also influenced by its ongoing projections regarding the expectation of
sale of more units compared to other auto manufacturers such as Toyota.
Besides, the reason behind the selection of the Chevron stock is attributed to its ongoing
projection of the rise of oil prices in 2021. Over the past few months, the world has witnessed
strong moves from the crude oil benchmarks following the promising end point of COVID 19
pandemic. As such, this stock was selected to assess how such ongoing growth can affect the share
prices.
The deterioration of Etsy following the rise of COVI 19 in 2020 is no secret. By July 2020,
Etsy was carving out of its niche and its stock was projected to triple over the next three years.
Since July, the stock has soared 80% which was influenced by the continuous adoption of the
market and active selling during the COVID 19 pandemic (Sergei, 2020). As such, this stock was
selected to assess the stability of its prices following the expected downward trajectory of the virus.
Moreover, Netflix and Shopify Inc. are other growth stocks that were selected for the stock
market simulation research. The primary reason behind the selection of NFLX stock is due to its
increase in the standard prices from $12.99 to $13.99. Ideally, the changes in the prices is also
expected to contribute to the increase in the stock prices. Besides, Shopify is undergoing strong
competition from Amazon Inc. which is the biggest merchant in the ecommerce market. However,
the boom of the online shopping following the corona virus pandemic is a key reason behind the
selection of the SHOP stock. As such, the rise of online shopping can be used to explore the change
in the company’s stock prices.
Stock Price Performances
The stock prices reveal an increasing trend for all the stocks except that of Tesla Inc. While
Tesla is encountering a transformative year, its stock encountered a slight decrease compared to
the past week. As such, this slight drop may be attributed to the stakeholder sales of the shares in
the market. On the other hand, the slight increase in the Chevron prices is attributed to the ongoing
rise of oil prices. Besides, the rise in the ETSY and the SHOP stock is attributed to the rise in
online shopping. While online shopping has been difficult in some countries over the past years,
the rise of COVID 19 resulted in the change of this trend as more people are opting for online
shopping. Also, the rise of NFLX stock prices is attributed to the increased in the subscription
prices. Besides, Netflix is increasingly providing strong competition in the video streaming
industry hence gaining more users and improving its sales during the financial year. With such an
enhancement, the stock prices of this company are further expected to increase over the next few
years.
References
Deagon, B. (2021). Is Tesla Stock A Buy After A Giant Run And Transformative, Robust Year? Investors
Business Daily. From:https://www.investors.com/news/technology/tesla-stock-is-it-a-buy-now/.
Sergei. (2020). Is Etsy Stock A Buy Right Now? Here's What Earnings, Charts Show. Business Investors
Daily. From:https://www.investors.com/news/technology/etsy-stock-buy-now/.
1
Stock Market Simulation
Student Name:
Course Name:
Professor Name:
Date of Submission:
2
Selected Stock
Stock Name, Symbol, Opening, and Closing Prices
Stock Name
Symbol
Opening Price
Closing Price
Type
Tesla
TSLA
$861.62
$816.12
Blue-Chip
Chevron
CVX
$92.03
$92.55
Blue-Chip
Etsy Inc.
ETSY
$230.37
$233.86
Growth
Netflix
NFLX
$547.23
$556.52
Growth
Shopify
SHOP
$1,327.00
$1,455.49
Growth
Reason for the selection of stocks
The primary reason behind the choice of the TSLA stock is due to the interest in the
assessment of the ongoing surge. In 2020 alone, automakers' shares surged more than 660% amidst
the rise in earnings, the advancement of the financial analysis approaches, and the ongoing investor
optimism that is gaining a vast adoption in the general market (Deagon 2021). Besides, the
selection of the TSLA was also influenced by its ongoing projections regarding the expectation of
sale of more units compared to other auto manufacturers such as Toyota.
Besides, the reason behind the selection of the Chevron stock is attributed to its ongoing
projection of the rise of oil prices in 2021. Over the past few months, the world has witnessed
strong moves from the crude oil benchmarks following the promising endpoint of the COVID 19
pandemic. As such, this stock was selected to assess how such ongoing growth can affect the share
prices.
3
The deterioration of Etsy following the rise of COVI 19 in 2020 is no secret. By July 2020,
Etsy was carving out of its niche and its stock was projected to triple over the next three years.
Since July, the stock has soared 80% which was influenced by the continuous adoption of the
market and active selling during the COVID 19 pandemic (Sergei 2020). As such, this stock was
selected to assess the stability of its prices following the expected downward trajectory of the virus.
Moreover, Netflix and Shopify Inc. are other growth stocks that were selected for the stock
market simulation research. The primary reason behind the selection of NFLX stock is due to its
increase in the standard prices from $12.99 to $13.99 (Alexander 2020). Ideally, the changes in
the prices are also expected to contribute to the increase in the stock prices. Besides, Shopify is
undergoing strong competition from Amazon Inc. which is the biggest merchant in the eCommerce
market. However, the boom of online shopping following the coronavirus pandemic is a key reason
behind the selection of the SHOP stock. As such, the rise of online shopping can be used to explore
the change in the company's stock prices.
Stock Price Performances
The stock prices reveal an increasing trend for all the stocks except that of Tesla Inc. While
Tesla is encountering a transformative year, its stock encountered a slight decrease compared to
the past week. As such, this slight drop may be attributed to the stakeholder sales of the shares in
the market. On the other hand, the slight increase in Chevron prices is attributed to the ongoing
rise of oil prices (Messler 2021). Besides, the rise in the ETSY and the SHOP stock is attributed
to the rise in online shopping. While online shopping has been difficult in some countries over the
past years, the rise of COVID 19 resulted in the change of this trend as more people are opting for
online shopping. Also, the rise of NFLX stock prices is attributed to the increase in subscription
prices. Besides, Netflix is increasingly providing strong competition in the video streaming
4
industry hence gaining more users and improving its sales during the financial year. With such an
enhancement, the stock prices of this company are further expected to increase over the next few
years.
5
References
Alexander, Julia. "Netflix is raising the price of its most popular plan to $14 today, premium tier
increasing to $18." The Verge.
From:https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/29/21540346/netflix-price-increase-united-
states-standard-premium-content-product-features, 2020.
Deagon, Brian. "Is Tesla Stock A Buy After A Giant Run And Transformative, Robust Year?"
Investors Business Daily. From:https://www.investors.com/news/technology/tesla-stock-
is-it-a-buy-now/, 2021.
Messler, David. "Why Oil Will Keep Rising In 2021." Oil Price.
From:https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Why-Oil-Will-Keep-Rising-In-2021.html,
2021.
Sergei. "Is Etsy Stock A Buy Right Now? Here's What Earnings, Charts Show." Business
Investors Daily. From:https://www.investors.com/news/technology/etsy-stock-buy-now/,
2020.
