Which stock should you buy?

Which stock should you buy?

In the equity market, stock tips are aplenty. Everyone believes themselves to be an expert just because they have a Trading and Demat account and have made some investment in the equity market! Therefore it is very important to have some basic knowledge about share market before you start investing in stocks according to share tips.
There are more than 6000 shares listed in India. But, broadly they can be categorized into four types:
Growth stocks: They are companies which grow faster than its industry or the market. Growth shares do not believe in paying dividends but reinvest profits for expansion and growth. They are marked by high P/E ratio and are always in demand due to potential price appreciation.
Value stocks: They are companies which have good fundamentals but are underpriced as they are temporarily out of favour. Value shares are great picks as they have a greater potential of growth. They have a low P/E ratio and low PBV ratio.
Income stocks: They are companies which regularly pay high dividends. These shares are often less volatile and may limited growth options. Profit from these stocks is in the form of regular dividends declared by the company. They are marked with higher dividend paying ratio.
Penny stocks: They are stocks with low price and low market capitalization. These shares are easy to manipulate because of low volumes. Investing in penny shares is extremely risky as these are extremely speculative in nature, illiquid and marked with volatile movements.