When stocks go up, investors celebrate. And when stocks are down, investors commiserate. But what is more important is to find out what is happening to the business behind the ticker symbol. Periodic checks are therefore necessary to ensure your investments are chugging along nicely and are not running into trouble. Much like a regular health check, it pays to examine whether our original investment thesis still stands. Here are some methods and metrics you can use to monitor the financial health of the stocks in your portfolio.

Gross Profit Margin

The gross profit margin, or GPM, is an important financial ratio that signals if a company has pricing power. The level of GPM may differ by industry. At the company level, you can compare the year on year change in GPM and determine if the business may be losing or gaining ground when it comes to pricing....