Publications

January 2008
Background Note

Valuing Risky Debt

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Investment; Price; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

2012
Article

Mutual Fund Trading Pressure: Firm-Level Stock Price Impact and Timing of SEOs

By: Mozaffar N. Khan, Leonid Kogan and George Serafeim

In tests of the equity market timing theory of external finance, the prior literature has used overvaluation identifiers such as high market-to-book and high prior returns that are likely correlated with other determinants of SEOs. We use price pressure resulting from... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Market Transactions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Market Timing; Mathematical Methods; Acquisition

Fourth Quarter 2007
Article

Contingent Claims Approach to Measuring and Managing Sovereign Credit Risk

By: Dale . F. Gray, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

This paper proposes a new approach to measure, analyze, and manage sovereign risk based on the theory and practice of modern contingent claims analysis (CCA). The paper provides a new framework for adapting the CCA model to the sovereign balance sheet in a way that can... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Investment; Sovereign Finance; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

Find at Harvard

February 2004
Case

Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC

By: Ananth Raman and Vishal Gaur

An investment firm is trying to project inventory turns for Radio Shack, a chain of consumer electronics stores. The investment firm has access to public financial data but not to internal operational metrics. It needs to project inventory turns because inventory... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

School Case 209-105 Most large companies operate in more than one business. Valuing a diversified company requires separate valuations for each of its businesses and for the corporate headquarters. This View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Uber Is Worth Saving and How To Do It

the app and the company’s rising market valuation as proof that its business methods were justified. “Many people argued that this startup sharp elbow style—in which the thing that the company was doing was... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Transportation

July 1996 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Atlantic Corporation-Abridged

By: Thomas R. Piper

A major paper company is considering acquiring the assets of a company that is threatened by a hostile takeover. The acquisition can be evaluated in terms of industry attractiveness, comparative advantage, and cash-flow analysis. View Details

Keywords: Projects; Cash Flow; Interest Rates; Valuation; Mathematical Methods; Horizontal Integration; Acquisition; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry

02 Dec 2002
What Do You Think?

How Will We Respond to the “Moment of Truth” in Option Plans?

Summing Up Are We Getting More Sensible About Management Incentives? Respondents to this month's column suggest ways of fixing or selectively using various methods of providing incentives to management. They join the chorus of voices... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

09 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 9

the Panama Canal to make use of both conventional historical methods and the tools of quantitative analysis, The Big Ditch examines the impact of the Panama Canal on the Republic of Panama, the United States, and the world. Noel Maurer... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2015
First Look

First Look -- September 1, 2015

currency), the asset valuation effects occasioned by currency depreciation (or appreciation) act to absorb global shocks and render consumption smoother. In this setting, countries do not accumulate high levels of reserves to be depleted... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

PublicationsBlending Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research Authors:Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul Publication:In Encyclopedia of Strategic Management, edited by D. Teece and M. Augier. London: Palgrave,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

sales force on track to achieve their annual sales quotas. The paper also introduces two main methodological innovations to the marketing literature: first, we implement empirically the method proposed by Arcidiacono and Miller (2011) to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 15

performance to provide quantitative insight into the link between a firm's business model choices and its profit consequences. The method is applied to Walmart by building a qualitative representation of its business model and mapping... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

utilize such data are of considerable interest. Unfortunately, existing methods for analyzing the data in such systems ignore the open-ended exploratory nature of such systems that requires the assessment of multiple possible adverse... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2010
Supplement

Compass Maritime Services, LLC: Valuing Ships (CW)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Albert W. Sheen

Tom Roberts, a founding partner of Compass Maritime Services, a New Jersey-based shipping research and consulting firm, has been asked by a new potential customer in May 2008 for advice on purchasing a capesize bulk carrier. After identifying a suitable ship with his... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decisions; Microeconomics; Finance; Price; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Market Transactions; Partners and Partnerships; Mathematical Methods; Valuation; Consulting Industry; New Jersey

January 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Matrix Capital Management (A)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Stock Shares; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry