Dallas N. answered 09/15/13
Tutor
New to Wyzant
Texas Aggie with Biochem degree, focus on math and sciences
Since you're looking for the percentage increase, the stock price is irrelevant. We just need to focus on the percent changes each day.
A 30% change, as seen from Day 1 to Day 2, can be calculated by multiplying the initial price by 1.3. (As you may recall, 30% can be displayed in decimal form as 0.3, and 1 + 0.3 = 1.3)
For the second increase, mutliply by 1.2 for a 20% change.
For the third, we multiple by 0.95 (a 5% decrease is the same as 1 - 0.05 which equals 0.95). You'll notice that all the increases are calculated by calculating a number higher than 1, and a decrease is calculated by multiplying by a number less than 1.
To get the total change, we simoly multiply all three factors together.
1.3 * 1.2 * 0.95 = 1.482, or a 48.2% change.