Why Stocks Go Up

1. growing sales and profits
2. a great new president hired to run the company
3. an exciting new product or service is introduced
4. more exciting new products or services are expected
5. the company lands a big new contract
6. a great review of a new product in the press or on TV
7. the company is going to split its stock
8. scientists discover the product is good for something else
9. some famous investor is buying shares
10. lots of people are buying shares
11. an analyst upgrades the company, changing her recommendation from, for instance, "buy" to "strong buy"
12. other stocks in the same industry go up
13. a competitor's factory burns down
14. the company wins a lawsuit
15. more people are buying the product or service
16. the company expands globally and starts selling in other countries
17. the industry is "hot" -- people expect big things for good reasons
18. the industry is "hot" -- people don't understand much about it, but they're buying anyway
19. the company is bought by another company
20. the company might be bought by another company
21. the company is going to spin-off part of itself as a new company
22. rumors
23. for no reason at all

Why Stocks Go Down
1. profits slipping, sales slipping
2. top executives leave the company
3. a famous investor sells shares of the company
4. an analyst downgrades his recommendation of the stock, maybe from "buy" to "hold"
5. the company loses a major customer
6. lots of people are selling shares
7. a factory burns down
8. other stocks in the same industry go down
9. another company introduces a better product
10. there's a supply shortage, so not enough of the product can be made
11. a big lawsuit is filed against the company
12. scientists discover the product is not safe
13. fewer people are buying the product
14. the industry used to be "hot," but now another industry is more popular
15. some new law might hurt sales or profits
16. a powerful company enters the business
17. rumors
18. no reason at all