Beta is the measure of systematic risk, or volatility of stock price, relative to the overall market index. Systematic risk is undiversifiable risk, meaning risk that cannot be removed by adding more stocks into a portfolio, so this risk is basically the inherent risk that you must take on if you invest. Basically, if the stock has a beta of 1, this means that it's stock price moves exactly as the market -- if market is up by 1%, stock price goes up 1%.
Alpha on the other hand, is the return that you get above a particular index or benchmark. This means that it is representative of the value that a portfolio manager adds via his skill of sector or stock selection that allows for better returns than just passively indexing the market. So this excess return is thought to be not based on general movement of the market, but by your skill in selecting winners.
Generally, Alpha is used to evaluate portfolio managers' performances, like if they have an alph of +5 means they got an excess return of 5% above the benchmark market index. Beta is generally used to indicate the inherent volatility of the stock relative to the market, so if it is 1.5, it will be a good investment during a boom since you will get much higher returns above the market, but in a downturn, a firm with lower beta is preferred since the market is going to drop, and a low sensitivity to market prices means that it won't be so affected by what happens to the market. E.g: Utilities, healthcare, food producers
Beta is the measure of systematic risk, or volatility of stock price, relative to the overall market index. Systematic risk is undiversifiable risk, meaning risk that cannot be removed by adding more stocks into a portfolio, so this risk is basically the inherent risk that you must take on if you invest. Basically, if the stock has a beta of 1, this means that it's stock price moves exactly as the market -- if market is up by 1%, stock price goes up 1%.
Alpha on the other hand, is the return that you get above a particular index or benchmark. This means that it is representative of the value that a portfolio manager adds via his skill of sector or stock selection that allows for better returns than just passively indexing the market. So this excess return is thought to be not based on general movement of the market, but by your skill in selecting winners.
Generally, Alpha is used to evaluate portfolio managers' performances, like if they have an alph of +5 means they got an excess return of 5% above the benchmark market index. Beta is generally used to indicate the inherent volatility of the stock relative to the market, so if it is 1.5, it will be a good investment during a boom since you will get much higher returns above the market, but in a downturn, a firm with lower beta is preferred since the market is going to drop, and a low sensitivity to market prices means that it won't be so affected by what happens to the market. E.g: Utilities, healthcare, food producers