How to Calculate Stock Gain

Compute the cost basis for the stock trade. Cost basis consists of the original (purchase) price of the stock plus all fees and commissions paid for the purchase and sale of the stock. For example, if you bought 100 shares of a stock at $10/share ($1,000) and paid fees of $10 when you bought the stock and $12 to sell it, your cost basis is $1,000 plus $10 plus $12 for a total of $1,022.
Calculate the total proceeds. Your total proceeds include the money received from selling the stock plus the cash value of dividends received while you owned the shares. For instance, if you sold the 100 shares from Step 1 for $15/share ($1,500) and received a total of $50 in dividend income during the time you held the shares, your total proceeds are $1,500 plus $50, or $1,550.
Calculate stock gain or loss. Subtract the cost basis from total proceeds. If your cost basis is $1,022 (Step 1) and total proceeds are $1,550 (Step 2) your stock gain is $1,550 minus $1,022, which equals $528. If you get a negative number (meaning the cost basis is greater than total proceeds) you had a loss rather than a gain.
Figure your percentage gain or loss. It’s usually most useful to compare percentage gain or loss to see how well different investments have done. To convert stock gain into percentage stock gain, divide the stock gain by the cost basis and multiply by 100. In the example above, you would divide $528 (stock gain) by $1,022 (cost basis) and multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage stock gain of 51.7 percent.

How to Take Over a Company by Buying Its Stock

Obtain the company's most recent quarterly balance sheet. The company's ownership structure is outlined in the section of the balance sheet entitled stockholders' equity.
Determine the number of shares outstanding. This is a line item in stockholders' equity. It tells you how many units of stocks have been issued. For instance, let's say that company XYZ has 100,000 shares outstanding.
Calculate the number of shares you need to purchase in order to take over the company. Multiply the total number of shares outstanding by .51. In this example the answer is .51 multiplied by 100,000, or 51,000.
Calculate the amount of capital you need to raise in order to purchase a 51 percent stake in the company. Determine the current price of company stock by contacting your stockbroker, the company's investor relations department or by doing your own research. Let's say the current share price is $10. In this example, the total capital needed in order to purchase a 51 percent stake in the company is 51,000 multiplied by $10, or $510,000.
Secure capital. If you don't have the full stake, you can request a bank loan or solicit the help of other investors. As leverage or collateral, look at the current cash position of the company -- the first line item on the balance sheet. This amount can be used to pay off any loans once the company is taken over.
Purchase a 51 percent stake in the company. Contact your stockbroker to do this. She will execute the order in waves in order to minimize the increase in stock price as the stock is being purchased.

How to Determine Stock Value

Choose a stock to analyze. Most online and newspaper stock quotes list both earnings per share (EPS) and P/E. Earnings are the latest quarter's net profit figures. Net profit is calculated by subtracting expenses from revenues. Earnings per share is figured by dividing total net earnings by the number of shares of that stock that are issued and outstanding.
Calculate the price/earnings ratio by dividing a company's earnings per share into the price you would pay to buy one share of its stock. If your stock quote contains P/E, use that price/earnings ratio rather than figure your own. Find industry average P/Es on Yahoo! Finance by getting a quote on a stock in your target industry and then clicking on the 'competitors' link in the left navigation bar. The link will take you to statistics of major competitors of the company you quoted and to statistics for the industry as a whole.
Compare the price/earnings ratio to those of other companies in that industry. When the marketplace is excited about a new industry, as it was by computers in 2000, the P/Es will be high. Computer industry P/Es at that time were averaging 49 times earnings (49x), while railroads traded at 16x, banking at 13x and airlines at 10x. Yahoo! Finance lists average P/Es as of November 2009 for the computer industry at 32x, railroads at 16x, banking at 18x, and airlines at 38x. Within each industry sector, prominent companies will trade higher or lower than their industry average, depending on their outlook.
Try other methods of determining the real value of a stock relative to its price. These involve analyzing that company's financial reports. You can determine whether a company is selling below its cash value by adding its cash and equivalents plus its short-term investments and then dividing by the number of shares outstanding. This will give you cash per share, which occasionally exceeds the price of the stock. Such stocks are considered bargains by value investors, who will buy them in the expectation that they will trade up in price as other investors discover them.
Use the ratio of stock price to book value to determine the value of a stock using the company's financial reports. Take shareholders' equity and divide that by the number of shares outstanding and you will have book value per share. Find the price-to-book-ratio by then dividing the offered price of the stock by the book value per share. The lower this number, the greater the value of the stock at that price. Use this in comparing companies within an industry to determine which is selling at a better price relative to value.
Calculate the return on equity (ROI) by taking total shareholders' equity and dividing it by the company's annual earnings. The larger the number, the better the ROI.

How to Calculate a 3

Understand that stock splits do not give greater ownership in a company. Stock splits simply give you more shares of a stock while the value per share declines proportionately. Stock splits do create some tax advantages when stock is sold. Consult an accountant for professional advice.
Calculate a 3-for-1 stock split by knowing the number of shares you own prior to the effective date of the split. A stock split is merely a ratio: 3-for-1 means you now own three shares for every share previously owned. If you owned 1000 shares pre-split, you would now own 3000 shares post-split. The market value of your investment remains the same, however.
Calculate the new, adjusted earnings per share, cash flow per share, and other per share calculations by multiplying the pre-split amounts by 1/3. Know that at the time of a split announcement companies usually make pre- and post- balance sheets available.
Do not confuse a 3-for-1 stock split for a 1-for-3 split. This is also referred to as a reverse stock split. In a reverse stock split the value per share rises 3-fold and the outstanding number of shares declines by 2/3s. This technique is used for companies whose share price has dropped below margin.
Use the above technique for any ratio of stock split. Remember that the assets, liabilities and net worth stay the same. Only proportionate, per share amounts, change.

How to Buy a Share of Apple Stock

Call your brokerage firm or log into your online brokerage account. Keep in mind that investing with a broker can be more expensive than performing the stock purchase on your own via an online account.
Search for the Apple, Inc. ticker (APPL) to see the most recent quote.
Calculate the number of shares you can afford to purchase and include the transactions fees that your brokerage firm will assess to complete the transaction.
Determine your brokerage account balance that can be applied to a stock purchase. If you do have the funds to cover the purchase price of the shares you want to buy, transfer the funds into your account. Follow your account's instructions for completing a fund transfer. Remember that funds may not always be available immediately.
Execute a stock purchase. To purchase using an online brokerage account, enter the ticker symbol of Apple, Inc. (APPL) and the number of shares you want to purchase.
Print out the stock purchase receipt for online accounts or have your broker send you confirmation of the purchase. Keep purchase confirmations with your financial records.