I would consider the dividend, the history, what they are selling, how the company is doing,the competition, how they are different from competitors, if they are reinvesting their money, and I would read the latest news about the company. A fluctuation in price can be from news articles about companies that either scare people away from a stock or towards. For example you may notice a fluctuation in Netflix because of all of these news articles online about their competition. Higher priced stocks don't necessarily mean they are better than lower priced stocks as well. It just depends how much money you want to invest into which company you believe is doing well. For example, a person might make more money buying a large amount of smaller stocks rather than a bigger stock...it just depends on how well the company/stock is doing, if they are reinvesting their money, and their revenue is growing, and if they have good customers that buy what the company sells. All companies start off somewhere and a person never knows if a new company will take off and make more than other big name stocks.

Just remember to buy the stock at a low price don't buy the stock when it's high. (buy low, sell high) You'll make more money that way.

I would consider doing more research than just looking at a fluctuating price.

What do you consider fluctuating - a few cents, a few dollars, tens of dollars?

A higher priced stock is not necessarily better than a lower priced one, however you want to avoid penny stocks. Anything under $5 is considered a penny stock. They are that low for a reason.

Start to think in terms of percentages and not in terms of dollar amounts. Will a $10 stock go up 10% (to $11) or will a $100 stock only go up 3% (to $103.) If you invest $500 in the $10 stock you've made $50 and with $500 in the $100 stock you've made $15.

Go to your local library and start to read some of the books in their investing section. You might consider books by Jim Cramer (Mad Money.)

Patty - investing in the stock market is a hard job. You have to pay your dues, take your losses and learn a lot before you get good at it. And there are people out there who will scam your money and not even think twice about it.

Here's a suggestion - start with mutual funds. Find a low-cost provider and buy and hold a variety of their funds (stocks, bonds, real estate, international, etc) and get comfortable with the ups and downs of the markets. Then as you learn more about the markets and individual companies and sectors, open a brokerage account and buy and sell shares of individual companies or ETFs. You'll have to determine what kind of investor you want to be, buy and hold investor, or short-term trader.

Read as much as you can about the markets and investing, but stay away from any book with the words "Rich" or "Quick" or "Wealthy" in the title. Find an experienced person and ask them lots of questions until you're comfortable with the answers.

Here's some cliched advice that has some truth to it:

Buy low, sell high.

The trend is your friend.

Cut your losses, let your winners ride. This is the hardest rule to learn and follow.

Good luck. You can make some money in the stock market, but do it over a long period of time. Be careful of anybody who wants to help you get rich overnight - they are usually in it for themselves.

The stock market creates a buyer/seller relationship. This bid/ask scenarios drive the price change.

A share of stock is an equity ownership in the company. Price is determined by expected future values.

After researching several stocks online, I noticed that they have continually fluctuated in price. What might be the reason for this? Is a higher-priced stock a better investment than a lower-priced stock? What factors would you consider in purchasing stocks?