Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T16:53:22.130Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Size, Seasonality, and Stock Market Overreaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Abstract

Recent research finds that the prior period's worst stock return performers (losers) outperform the prior period's best return performers (winners) in the subsequent period. This potential violation of the efficient markets hypothesis is labeled the “overreaction” phenomenon. This paper shows that the tendency for losers to outperform winners is not due to investor overreaction, but to the tendency for losers to be smaller-sized firms than winners. When losers are compared to winners of equal size, there is little evidence of any return discrepancy, and in periods when winners are smaller than losers, winners outperform losers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © School of Business Administration, University of Washington 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bremer, M., and Sweeney, R.. “The Information Content of Extreme Daily Rates of Return.” Working Paper, Claremont McKenna College (1987).Google Scholar
Camerer, C.Bubbles and Fads in Asset Prices: A Review of Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Economic Surveys, 3 (1989), 341.Google Scholar
Chan, K. C.Can Tax-Loss Selling Explain the January Seasonal in Stock Returns?Journal of Finance, 41 (12 1986), 11151128.Google Scholar
Chan, K. C.On the Contrarian Investment Strategy.” Journal of Business, 61 (04 1988), 147163.Google Scholar
Chan, K. C.On the Return of the Contrarian Investment Strategy.” Working Paper, Ohio State Univ. (1987).Google Scholar
DeBondt, W. F. M. “Stock Price Reversals and Overreaction to News Events: A Survey of Theory and Evidence.” In A Reappraisal of the Efficiency of Financial Markets, Taylor, Stephen, Kingsman, Brian G., and Guimaraes, R. M. C., eds. Heidelberg, W. G.: Springer-Verlag (1989).Google Scholar
DeBondt, W. F. M., and Thaler, R. H.. “Does the Stock Market Overreact?Journal of Finance, 40 (07 1985), 793805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeBondt, W. F. M., and Thaler, R. H.Further Evidence on Investor Overreaction and Stock Market Seasonality.’ Journal of Finance, 42 (07 1987), 557580.Google Scholar
Fama, E. F., and French, K. R.. “Common Factors in the Serial Correlation of Stock Returns.” Working Paper, Graduate School of Business, Univ. of Chicago (10 1986).Google Scholar
Fama, E., and MacBeth, J. D.. “Risk, Return, and Equilibrium: Empirical Tests.” Journal of Political Economy, 71 (05/06 1973), 607636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jegadeesh, N.Evidence of Predictable Behavior of Security Returns.” Working Paper, Anderson Graduate School of Management, UCLA (1987).Google Scholar
Jensen, M.Some Anomalous Evidence Regarding Market Efficiency.” Journal of Financial Economics, 6 (06/09 1978), 95101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, S. L.Reaction to the Overreaction Hypothesis.” Working Paper, Purdue Univ. (09 1987).Google Scholar
Lehmann, B.Fads, Martingales, and Market Efficiency.” Quarterly Journal of Economics (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinganum, M.A Direct Test of Roll's Conjecture on the Firm Size Effect.” Journal of Finance, 37 (03 1982), 2735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinganum, M.The Anomalous Stock Market Behavior of Small Firms in January: Empirical Tests for Tax Loss Selling.” Journal of Financial Economi, 12 (06 1983), 89104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roll, R.Vas ist das? The Turn of the Year Effect and the Return Premia of Small Firms.” Journal of Portfolio Management, 9 (Winter 1983), 1828.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, B., and Rudd, A.. “Factor-Related and Specific Returns of Common Stocks: Serial Correlation and Market Inefficiency.” Journal of Finance, 37 (05 1982), 543554.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, B.; Reid, K., and Lanstein, R.. “Persuasive Evidence of Market Inefficiency.” Journal of Portfolio Management, 11 (Spring 1985), 916.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwert, G. W.Size and Stock Returns, and Other Empirical Regularities.” Journal of Financial Economics, 12 (06 1983), 312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zarowin, P.Does the Stock Market Overreact to Corporate Earnings Information?Journal of Finance, 44 (12 1989), 13851399.Google Scholar
Zellner, A.An Efficient Method of Estimating Seemingly Unrelated Regressions and Tests for Aggregation Bias.” Journal of the American Statistical Association, 57 (1962), 348368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar