1. Earnings. Pay attention to the company's quarterly and annual earnings statements, which include comparisons with the recent past, and quite often, reviews of what management expects for the next quarter and year. Look for the stock's earnings trend and how the company performs compared to analysts' estimates. Watch out for earnings "surprises," which can cause rapid price changes.

2. Price and dividends. Follow the stock's price compared to its 52-week highs and lows. Examine its trailing total returns year to date and over the last one-, three-, five-, and 10-year periods. Look for changes in the absolute dollar amount of dividends and the current yield (the annual dividend divided by the current price).

3. P/E and PEG ratios. Price to earnings (P/E) and price/earning growth (PEG) ratios are often better indications than the price of the stock as to how relatively expensive or cheap a stock is. The P/E ratio is useful for comparing the stock to other stocks and to the market in general; the PEG ratio is a strong indicator of whether the stock is overpriced or underpriced compared to its projected earnings growth rate over the next five years.

4. Insider transactions and stock buybacks. A company buying back its own stock or whose senior executives and directors are accumulating more shares is a bullish sign. On the other hand, when insiders are selling off major holdings of their own stock, it's quite often an indication that the stock price has already peaked.

5. Sudden and large price changes on high volume. When a stock makes a sudden, high-volume move -- particularly when it opens much higher or lower than the previous day's high or low -- it can be the start of a new, long-term trend in the direction of that move.