Featured MNV Articles:

Intuit Inc Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing The Gap, Inc.

Now Playing: The Importance Of Market Cap If the video does not load after a few moments, Upgrade to the Latest Flash Player.

In the latest look at the underlying components of the S&P 500 ordered by largest market capitalization, Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU) has taken over the #178 spot from The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS), according to The Online Investor.

Start slideshow:
The 20 Largest U.S. Companies By Market Capitalization »

Market capitalization is an important data point for investors to keep an eye on, for various reasons. The most basic reason is that it gives a true comparison of the value attributed by the stock market to a given company's stock. Many beginning investors look at one stock trading at $10 and another trading at $20 and mistakenly think the latter company is worth twice as much — that of course is a completely meaningless comparison without knowing how many shares of each company exist. But comparing market capitalization (factoring in those share counts) creates a true "apples-to-apples" comparison of the value of two stocks. In the case of Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU), the market cap is now $17.16 billion, versus The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GPS) at $17.18 billion.

Below is a chart of Intuit Inc versus The Gap, Inc. plotting their respective size rank within the S&P 500 over time (INTU plotted in blue; GPS plotted in green):

Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of INTU vs. GPS:

Another reason market capitalization is important is where it places a company in terms of its size tier in relation to peers — much like the way a mid-size sedan is typically compared to other mid-size sedans (and not SUV's). This can have a direct impact on which mutual funds and ETFs are willing to own the stock. For instance, a mutual fund that is focused solely on Large Cap stocks may for example only be interested in those companies sized $10 billion or larger. Another illustrative example is the S&P MidCap index which essentially takes the S&P 500 index and "tosses out" the biggest 100 companies so as to focus solely on the 400 smaller "up-and-comers" (which in the right environment can outperform their larger rivals). So a company's market cap, especially in relation to other companies, carries great importance, and for this reason we at The Online Investor find value to putting together these rankings daily.

According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, INTU and GPS collectively make up 1.84% of the iShares MSCI USA ESG Select Social Index Fund ETF (KLD) which is relatively unchanged on the day Friday.

     See what other ETFs contain both INTU and GPS »
     See what other stocks are held by KLD »

At the closing bell, INTU is up about 0.4%, while GPS is trading flat on the day Friday.

Find the right mix of model portfolios today at PortfolioChannel.com

Top Six Most Viewed Stories This Week @ Market News Video:
Daily Wrap: May 10, 2013 Channel: Large Cap Stocks Related symbols: MT,PCLN,GPS	Daily Dividend Report: MAR, LEG, ORI, OFC, RNDY Channel: Daily Dividend Report Related symbols: MAR,LEG,ORI,OFC,RNDY	Daily Dividend Report: CRI, WM, CHRW, NVDA, CBI Channel: Daily Dividend Report Related symbols: CRI,WM,CHRW,NVDA,CBI
Friday Sector Leaders: Education & Training Services, Television & Radio Stocks Channel: Market Movers Related symbols: ESI,LRN,UBNT,ROIAK	Analyst Moves: DISH, MDR, PCLN Channel: Upgrades/Downgrades Related symbols: DISH,MDR,PCLN,WFC	Increased Payouts: STR, PAG, AVX, EE, BBOX Channel: Daily Dividend Report Related symbols: STR,PAG,AVX,EE,BBOX

Intuit Inc Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing The Gap, Inc. | Market News Video | Copyright © 2008 - 2013, All Rights Reserved