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Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.
Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index, it shows how the price swings around its mean. The volatility here is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year. In most cases, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.
Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. It’s often measured as standard deviation or variance of historical returns over a certain period. The volatility here is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year.
Volatility reflects the uncertainty or risk of a security’s value. Generally speaking, a higher volatility suggests a higher risk, because it implies a wider fluctuation around average price. This means the price of the security can change dramatically in either direction within a short period. Conversely, a lower volatility means that the security's price is more steady, which suggests a lower risk.
Another measurement of relative volatility is Beta. Beta is a measure of systematic risk of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole. Beta is usually compared to 1. A beta of greater than 1 indicates that the security's price will be more volatile than the market.
Barnes & Noble Education Volatility Related Terms
BNED vs BBW, FLWS, ONEW: Volatility Comparison
For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility, along with its competitors' market caps and Volatility data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Barnes & Noble Education Volatility vs Retail - Cyclical Industry
For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility falls into.
The annualized volatility is calculated as following:
σA
=
σM
*
√12
=
√ 1/(n-1) ∑(Ri - R')^2
*
√12
Where: σM is the monthly volatility, n is the number of months in the period, Ri is the security's historical monthly returns and R' is the arithmetic mean of monthly returns.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) has a Volatility of 29.95% as of Aug. 20, 2026. Volatility is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year. View historical data on Barnes & Noble Education and its competitors.
Is Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility too high?
Barnes & Noble Education's current Volatility is 29.95%. Overall, Barnes & Noble Education has a GF Score™ of 51/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility compare to BBW and FLWS?
Barnes & Noble Education's Volatility of 29.95% can be compared against companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Volatility for a Retail - Cyclical company?
A good Volatility depends on the Retail - Cyclical industry context. However, Volatility should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Volatility mean?
A high Volatility can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Volatility is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year. View historical data on Barnes & Noble Education and its competitors. Barnes & Noble Education's current Volatility is 29.95%. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Barnes & Noble Education stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $2.40, compared to a current price of $11.95 — trading 397.9% above its estimated fair value. The current Volatility is 29.95%. Barnes & Noble Education's overall GF Score™ is 51/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Volatility calculated?
Volatility is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Barnes & Noble Education (BNED), the current Volatility is 29.95% as of Aug. 20, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Barnes & Noble Education stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $11.95 is trading 397.9% above its estimated GF Value™ of $2.40.
GuruFocus considers Barnes & Noble Education to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for BNED:
Volatility: 29.95%
GF Value™: $2.40 vs. price of $11.95 (397.9% above fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the BNED stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Barnes & Noble Education Inc is a contract operator of physical and virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions across the United States. The company is also a textbook wholesaler and inventory management hardware and software provider. It offers course materials through physical and online bookstores, including new and used print textbooks, rental options, digital textbooks, and publisher-hosted digital courseware. Products are also offered directly to students through Textbooks.com. The majority of the company's revenue is derived from the sale of products through its bookstore locations, including virtual bookstores, and the bookstore affiliated e-commerce websites.
51GF Score
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