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...
A loss refers to reduction in the value of an investment, or in business terms, to having expenses outweigh revenues. In a company’s fiscal year, if their operating and total expenses outweigh their revenues, they are operating at a loss. If those companies are not supported by private capital and operate at a loss for too long, it can easily lead to bankruptcy or closure. Newer businesses often run at a net loss for the first few years, while they rush to build labor and capital infrastructure, with costs such as equipment, buildings, technology, employees, and rights. Continue reading...
Capital Loss refers to a loss realized when a security is sold for less than it was purchased for. In stock trading, if an investor purchases stock ABC for $30 / share, and then sells the stock a few months later for $22 / share, they have realized an $8 / share capital loss. At the end of every year, as per U.S. tax policy, capital losses can be used to offset capital gains, so as to help an investor reduce their tax burden. A common year-end strategic approach is to “harvest” capital losses in an effort to offset any capital gains made from trading that year. Continue reading...
A put option gives the owner of the option/contract the right to sell a stock at the strike price named in the contract. One kind of option is a put. A Put is a right to sell a particular asset (usually a stock) at a certain price (called the “strike price”) within a specified time-frame. The owner of the put contract doesn’t need to own the underlying stock. If the price of the stock drops below the strike price in the put, the owner of the put contract can buy the stock at the lower market price and immediately sell it at the higher strike price in the put contract. That is a speculative way to use a Put contract. Continue reading...
A Profit and Loss Statement, also referred to as an “income statement,” is a corporate statement that summarizes the revenues, costs and expenses incurred by a company during a specific time period, such as a quarter or a fiscal year. The main difference between a P&L statement and a balance sheet is that the P&L is designed to show changes in line items over the period analyzed, versus a balance sheet which simply shows a comprehensive snapshot of a company’s asset and liabilities on a set date. Continue reading...
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...
Gains on stock investments will be taxable in the current year unless they can be offset with losses. Stocks that appreciate in value do not incur any tax liability while they are held, unless they pay dividends. Dividends will generally be taxable as ordinary income. For this article we will focus on capital appreciation instead of dividends. Capital appreciation can be considered long-term gains or short-term gains by the IRS upon the sale of the shares. A stock held for less than a year will incur short-term capital gains taxes, which are taxed at ordinary income rates. Continue reading...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Rectangle Bottom pattern forms when the price of a security is stuck in a range bound motion. Two horizontal lines (1, 3, 5) and (2, 4) form the pattern as the security bounces up and down between support and resistance levels. Depending on who gives up first buyers or sellers the price can breakout in either direction. This pattern is commonly associated with directionless markets. Usually, the pattern performs better when there is a strong downtrend leading into the formation. Continue reading...
The Triple Bottom pattern appears when there are three distinct low points (1, 3, 5) that represent a consistent support level. The security tests the support level over time but eventually breaks resistance and makes a strong move to the upside. This type of formation happens when sellers can not break the support price, and market participants eventually pour in. 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 by adding the pattern’s height (highest price minus the bottom price support level) 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...
A Vertical Spread involves the strategy of buying and selling an equal number of options on the same underlying security with the same expiration date, but different strike prices. Vertical Spreads can be both bullish and bearish, depending on your view of the underlying security. If you use calls, you are constructing a Vertical Bull Spread, and if you’re using puts, you’re constructing a Vertical Bear Spread. Continue reading...