Last week's epic rally pole-vaulted the Nasdaq Composite out of a bear market and the Dow Jones Industrial Average out of a correction. A bear market is typically defined as a decline of at least 20% from a high, while a correction is a loss of at least 10%. For now anyway, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 indexes are out of their bear markets and merely in correction territory.

What's even more impressive is that the Nasdaq Composite is up nearly 25% from its 52-week low set about two months ago in mid-June. The rebound has provided a much-needed reprieve for investors who endured the painful sell-off. But for the same reasons investors shouldn't sell a stock just because it goes down, they also shouldn't buy it just because it goes up.

Instead of worrying if the market will reenter bear territory, it's better to focus on your individual holdings while thinking big picture in the process. One of the most practical ways to do that is by digesting quarterly earnings within the context of a company's longer-term investment thesis. Let's use Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) as an example of a well-known company that has been particularly affected by the recent bear market.

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Source Fool.com