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What is a Stop Limit Order?
A Stop-Limit Order basically automates the preferences of an investor or trader, to reduce exposure to price uncertainty even after a trade ticket is entered, by stipulating a price at which the search for a bid/ask price is to begin, but limiting the range of prices at which an order can actually be entered or executed. A Stop-Limit Order has two parts: the Stop Price and the Limit Price. The stop price is like an amendment or contract rider on a security that is held which stipulates that if the price of the security crosses the Stop price, the search for an agreeable price begins. Continue reading...
What is a Stop Order?
A stop order is like putting a lure out on a pond but having a robot there to cut the line or reel in the lure if the conditions are not met, such as a fish too small to bother with, to stick with the metaphor, so that the fisher-person (investor) can take a nap or attend to the many other lines he may have in the water. A stop order names a price which serves as a trigger point, and once the security price has crossed this trigger point, a market order is entered to buy or sell at the next available price. It might be called a buy-stop or sell-stop depending on which action it pertains to. Continue reading...
What is buying power?
With regards to Margin Trading, ‘Buying Power’ is a term used to describe how much additional leverage you have given the excess equity in your account. When your broker or custodian authorizes buying on margin, the purchasing power of your assets can become substantial. Instead of just owning $10,000 worth of stock, you might be able to leverage that to buy $10,000 more, therefore having $20,000 of long exposure even though you only have $10,000. Continue reading...
What does “Buy the Dips” Mean?
“Buying the dips” is a bullish description of investing in stocks whose prices have gone down. We say this is a bullish sentiment because a bearish investor would be more likely to interpret the downturn as a sign of impending doom, or might prefer to play it safe. A “dip” can be loosely defined as a downtrend without much momentum or evidence to support a bearish outlook. Another way of interpreting a dip would be as an oversold condition, where investor sentiment has caused the price of a quality stock to fall. Bullish investors could maximize their gains in such a scenario by buying low and selling when the stock has recovered and pushed on to new highs. Technical analysis indicators such as Bollinger Bands can be used to identify favorable buying conditions. Continue reading...
What does “Buy to Close” Mean?
When an investor takes a short position on an option contract by selling (“writing”) a call or put option, he or she is opening a position, which creates more open interest in an underlying security which will be handled by the brokerage house, and this is called “selling to open.” If the price changes in the underlying security in an unfavorable way, the investor will seek to get out of the short position he holds on the options contract before the option’s expiration date. To do so, the investor must buy back the option (or, really, cancel out the position by buying the same kind of contract that he or she previously sold short). Continue reading...
What does “Buy to Open” Mean?
When trading options, the language is slightly different than other transactions. You might be “opening” or “closing” a position with each trade. If you buy a put or call option, your ticket with say “buy to open” since you are opening a position and increasing the open interest on the underlying. Open interest is similar to trade volume in the stock markets, but it only increases with the number of outstanding positions interested in the outcome of the movements of the underlying security, and does not increase with each trade like trading volume. Continue reading...
What does “Buy-Side” Mean?
The “buy side” refers to businesses in the financial services industry such as pensions, mutual funds, and asset managers that manage money. Since firms on this “side” of Wall Street tend to be the ones buying and selling securities for their portfolios, when a person works for one of these funds or companies they are said to be on the “buy side.” Research analysts that provide analysis and data to fund managers solely for the purpose of making investment decisions within the portfolio are “buy side analysts.” That research is typically not published for public use. Continue reading...
How to use the Broadening Wedge Ascending (Bullish) Pattern in trading
Once the price breaks out from the top pattern boundary, day traders and swing traders should trade with an UP trend. Consider buying a security or a call option at the upward breakout price/entry point. To identify an exit, compute the target price for this formation by adding the height of the pattern to the upward breakout level. Pattern height is the difference between the breakout price (the highest high within the pattern) and the highest low. Continue reading...
What is the Head-and-Shoulders Top (Bearish) Pattern?
The Head and Shoulders pattern has five points to it. There is the left shoulder, the left side visit to the neckline area, the head, the right side visit to the neckline, and the right shoulder. A head and shoulders pattern appears as a baseline with three peaks, the outside two are close in height and the middle is highest. The image below is an example of the bearish head and shoulders pattern: Continue reading...
What is the Ascending Triangle (Bearish) Pattern?
The Ascending Triangle pattern has a horizontal top line (1, 3, 5) representing a resistance level, and an upward-sloping bottom line (2, 4). The Breakout can either be up or down, and the direction of the Breakout will determine whether the Target Price is higher or lower. This pattern is commonly associated with directionless markets, since the contraction (narrowing) of the market range signals that neither bulls nor bears are in control. When the price of a security consolidates around highs it might indicate that a significant downtrend is ahead. Continue reading...
What is Stop-Loss Order?
A stop-loss order is appended to a securities position being held long or short, and stipulates that the security is to be sold or bought if the price moves beyond the stop price, at which point the investor seeks to "cut his losses," or limit his potential exposure to losses. A stop-loss order will name a price below the market price on a long position and above the market price on a short position, at which point a sell order will be triggered for the long position and a buy order will be triggered to cover the short position, with the goal being to limit the potential losses to which an investor is exposed. Continue reading...
What is a naked call?
A naked call is a type of option contract where the seller of a call does not own the underlying security, thereby exposing them to unlimited risk. Investors have the ability to “write” or sell options contracts as well as to buy them. The seller of a call option has opened a position in which the buyer is given the right to buy 100 shares of a stock at the strike price named in the contract. The seller – along with all other sellers of calls for that security – are the ones who must cover and close the open positions if the call owners exercise their options. Continue reading...
What is the Falling Wedge (Bullish) Pattern?
The Falling Wedge pattern forms when the price of a security appears to be spiraling downward, and two down-sloping lines are created with the price hitting lower lows (1, 3, 5) and lower highs (2, 4). The two pattern lines intersect to form a narrow triangle. Unlike Descending Triangle patterns, however, both lines need to have a distinct downward slope, with the top line having a steeper decline. Continue reading...
What is the Three Rising Valleys (Bullish) Pattern?
The Three Rising Valleys pattern forms when three minor Lows (1, 3, 5) arranged along an upward sloping trend line. It often appears at the end of a declining trend – an indication that buyers are overtaking sellers, which ultimately pushes the price higher. This type of formation happens when investors shift into buying mode following a consolidation period. Once the price breaks out from the top pattern boundary, day traders and swing traders should trade with an UP trend. Consider buying a security or a call option at the breakout price level. To identify an exit, compute the target price level by adding the pattern’s height (highest price minus the lowest price within the pattern) to the breakout level (the highest high). When trading, wait for the confirmation move, which is when the price rises above the breakout level. Continue reading...
How to use the Broadening Wedge Descending (Bullish) Pattern in trading
Once the price breaks out from the top pattern boundary, day traders and swing traders should trade with an UP trend. Consider buying a security or a call option at the upward breakout price level. To identify an exit, compute the target price for by adding the height of the pattern to the upward Breakout level. Pattern height is the difference between the highest high and the lowest low. The upward Breakout level is the highest high. Continue reading...
What is the Descending Triangle (Bullish) Pattern?
The Descending Triangle pattern is formed when the price of a security establishes a support level (1, 3, 5) and bounces off that level to a declining resistance level, creating a down-sloping top line (2, 4). The breakout can either be up or down, depending if the resistance or highest support level is broken first. This pattern is commonly associated with directionless markets since the contraction (narrowing) of the market range signals that neither bulls nor bears are in control. Continue reading...
What is the Inverted Cup-and-Handle (Bearish) Pattern?
The Inverted Cup-and-Handle (sometimes called Inverted Cup-and-Holder) pattern forms when prices rise then decline to create an upside-down “U”like shape (1, 2, 3, also known as the Cup), followed by a shorter relatively straight price increase that bounces from the right lip (from 3 to 4, creating the Handle). The rising handle forms as a result of mounting buying pressure created when the security retests a low at the right lip of the cup. Once the buyers give up, sellers take over and the security has the potential to decline rapidly. Continue reading...
What is the Rising Pennant (Bullish) Pattern?
The Rising Pennant (or Bullish Pennant) pattern looks like a pennant with a mast. It forms when rising prices experience a consolidation period, and the price moves within a narrow range defined by the converging lines through points (2, 4) and (3, 5). After the consolidation, the previous trend resumes. This type of formation happens when anticipation of an uptrend is high, and when the price of a security consolidates within a range. It indicates growing investor interest in a potentially explosive uptrend. Continue reading...
What is the Rising Flag (Bullish) Pattern?
The Rising Flag (or Bullish Flag) pattern looks like a flag with a mast. It forms when rising prices experience a consolidation period, and the price moves within a narrow range defined by the parallel lines through points (2, 4) and (3, 5). After the consolidation, the previous trend resumes. This type of formation happens when the price of a security is expected to move in a rising trend line, but some volatility along the way creates a consolidation period. Continue reading...
What is the Profit Rate for the Ascending Triangle (Bullish) Pattern?
The Ascending Triangle pattern forms when the price of a security tests a resistance level and creates a horizontal top line (1, 3, 5), with an upward-sloping bottom line (2, 4) formed by a rising support level. The breakout can either be up or down, and it will determine whether the target price is higher or lower. This pattern is commonly associated with directionless markets, since the contraction (narrowing) of the market range signals that neither bulls nor bears are in control. When the price of a security consolidates around a certain level, it may indicate growing investor confidence for a significant uptrend. Continue reading...