The value of the underlying asset is not related to the strategies that management are using to try and manipulate the price of their stock. Too many investors place an inordinate amount of importance on the strategic manipulation of a stock price and not the value of the asset in comparison to the price. If you buy a business, you don't care if the previous owner used value coupons in the weekly shopper to advertise or used television ads. You don't care if they paid their employees every month vs. every two weeks as a way to try and inflate their operating capital, you should only care about the cash flow that is tied to the business and your cost to acquire that cash flow. That is value investing. This is different than trading, trading is speculation based on price action or indication that the market will make a move that will allow the trader to make a profit between the price bought and the price sold. A trader owns a business and an investor is trying to leverage existing assets to earn a return. They aren't the same thing.