You are a business analyst evaluating a publicly traded company that your organization is considering for acquisition or partnership. Your supervisor has tasked you with conducting a comprehensive 10-year stock

Marcus

09 Apr 2026 • 4 min read

Scenario/Your Role

You are a business analyst evaluating a publicly traded company that your organization is considering for acquisition or partnership. Your supervisor has tasked you with conducting a comprehensive 10-year stock performance analysis, including comparison against key competitors, to inform this strategic decision.

You will analyze historical stock data using descriptive statistics and professional data visualizations, then synthesize your findings with market analyst commentary to develop an evidence-based investment recommendation. Your business report will be presented at a company-wide leadership meeting where executives will use your analysis to make final decisions about pursuing this opportunity.

Choose a publicly traded company for your organization to invest in. Begin by doing some research on companies that interest you and have been in the news recently for something positive. Choose a company that meets the following criteria:

It has been in the news within the last 6–10 months for something positive (that is, an innovation, a new product, customer service, stock values, et cetera).
It plays in only one business platform. Do not pick Apple, Amazon, Disney, Tesla, or other companies that work in multiple industries; that will make your competitor analysis too challenging. Choose a company that does all of its business in a single industry.

Also identify:

At least two direct competitors in the same single industry
Confirm all companies (your chosen company + competitors) have 10 years of publicly available stock data

Once you have chosen a company to invest in, develop a detailed, well-supported report (at least eight pages), outlined as follows:

Report Structure and Requirements (8–10 Pages)

Your comprehensive business analytics report must include the following sections:

Section 1: Business Context and Introduction (1.5–2 pages)

Note: You can find the information via the Capella library. For example, Hoover’s Company Profiles and Industry Publications. See the Capella library’s MBA Program Guide – Data page for help building a search.

Provide comprehensive context for your analysis:

Company Overview:
- Company history, mission, and values.
- Core products and business platform.
- Geographic reach and market presence.
- Industry position and competitive landscape.
Current Relevance:
- Explain why this company has been in the news recently (within the last 6–10 months).
- Describe the positive development/innovation that drew attention.
- Connect this news to the company's strategic direction.
Competitor Comparison Table:
- Using the most recent year of available data, create a professional table including the following metrics for your company and at least two competitors:
  - Market share.
  - Total sales.
  - Number of employees.
  - Total assets.

Section 2: Stock Data Collection and Analysis (3–4 pages)

Step 1: Collect Stock Data
- Access historical stock data from Macrotrends.com, Nasdaq.com, Yahoo Finance, or similar reputable financial data sources.
  - Download Parameters:
    - Time Period: Last 10 years from today.
    - Frequency: Daily.
    - Required data columns: Date, Open, High, Low, Close, Volume.
    - Important: Save your Excel file - you will use it for all graphics and statistics.
Step 2: Create Required Graphics (Five Graphics Total)
- Create the following five graphics with professional formatting:
  - Graphic 1: High Stock Price Scatter Plot.
    - X-axis: Date (labeled clearly with appropriate date format).
    - Y-axis: Highest Daily Stock Price in USD.
    - Include:
      - 60-day moving average line (use distinct color).
      - Trend line (use distinct color different from moving average).
      - Legend identifying each line type (data points, moving average, trend line).
      - Title: "[Company Name] Highest Daily Stock Price with 60-Day Moving Average (YYYY–YYYY)."
    - Interpretation Paragraph Required
      - Write at least one well-supported paragraph addressing:
      - What does this graphic represent?
      - What does the shape tell you about price movement over time?
      - What trends, patterns, or significant events are visible?
      - What does the moving average reveal about overall direction vs. daily volatility?
      - What does the trend line indicate about long-term trajectory?
  - Graphic 2: Low Stock Price Scatter Plot.
    - Same specifications as Graphic 1, but tracking lowest daily stock price. Include 60-day moving average, trend line, and legend.
    - Interpretation Paragraph Required
      - Address the same analytical questions as Graphic 1.
  - Graphic 3: Competitor Comparison Scatter Plot.
    - X-axis: Date.
    - Y-axis: Stock Price in USD.
    - Plot: Your company + at least 2 competitors (each in different color).
    - Include:
      - Legend identifying each company.
      - Title: "Stock Price Comparison: [Your Company] vs. Competitors (YYYY–YYYY)."
    - Interpretation Paragraph Required
      - Write at least one well-supported paragraph addressing:
      - How does your company's stock performance compare to competitors over 10 years?
      - Which company has been most/least volatile?
      - Are there periods where performance diverges? What might explain this?
      - What competitive advantages or disadvantages does this suggest?
  - Graphic 4: Closing Price Histogram.
    - X-axis: Price ranges (adjust bin size for meaningful distribution shape).
    - Y-axis: Frequency.
    - Include:
      - Legend.
      - Title: “[Company Name] Closing Price Distribution (YYYY–YYYY).”
    - Interpretation Paragraph Required
      - Write at least one well-supported paragraph addressing:
      - What does the shape of the distribution tell you?
      - Is the data normally distributed, skewed, bimodal?
      - What price ranges are most common?
      - What does this tell you about the stock's typical trading range?
  - Graphic 5: Trading Volume Histogram.
    - X-axis: Volume ranges (adjust bin size for meaningful distribution shape).
    - Y-axis: Frequency.
    - Include:
      - Legend.
      - Title: "[Company Name] Trading Volume Distribution (YYYY–YYYY)."
    - Interpretation Paragraph Required
      - Address:
      - What does the shape tell you about typical trading activity?
      - Are there outliers suggesting unusual trading days?
      - What does volume distribution tell you about liquidity and investor interest?

Section 3: Descriptive Statistics and Interpretation (2–2.5 pages)

Use Excel's Descriptive Statistics function to create two comprehensive tables:
- Table 1: Daily Closing Price Statistics (10 years).
  - Calculate:
    - Mean.
    - Median.
    - Mode.
    - Standard Deviation.
    - Variance.
    - Range.
    - Minimum.
    - Maximum.
    - Count.
- Table 2: Daily Trading Volume Statistics (10 years).
  - Calculate:
    - Mean.
    - Median.
    - Mode.
    - Standard Deviation.
    - Variance.
    - Range.
    - Minimum.
    - Maximum.
    - Count.
- Interpretation Requirements for Statistics.
  - For the first five statistics in EACH table, provide several well-supported sentences explaining:
    - Explains what each statistic means (mean, median, mode, SD, variance).
  - Then for each table, provides 2–3 paragraphs on what the SPECIFIC VALUES tell you about THIS company.
    - Focuses on business interpretation, not statistical definitions.

Section 4: Conclusions and Recommendations (1.5–2 pages)

Your conclusion (1.5–2 pages) should synthesize findings into a cohesive narrative that:
- Opens with 3–5 key findings from your analysis.
- Connects these findings to strategic implications.
- Integrates analyst perspectives to validate or challenge your findings.
- Concludes with a clear recommendation (invest/partner/avoid) supported by specific evidence.
- Acknowledges limitations and suggests future research.
Your conclusion should read as a cohesive executive summary.

Additional Requirements

Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:

Format: Use the MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines [PDF] to prepare a professional report of at 8–10 (single-spaced) pages.
Written communication: Ensure your written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
References: Provide an APA-formatted references page (remember to cite the source of your financial data, analyst comments and support for your interpretations). Use a minimum of six sources, though typically such a report would have at least 10 sources.

View the Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data Walkthrough tutorial to help with creating scatterplots and histograms.

Scenario/Your Role

Report Structure and Requirements (8–10 Pages)

Additional Requirements

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