An event or condition that alerts investors to dispose of a particular investment. Sell signals may be observed by attentive analysts and investors with a good understanding of the stock market, while some investors prefer to rely on trading software or charts to tell them when to sell. Some investors tend to simply follow the crowd, selling when everyone else thinks they see a sell signal. Taobiz explains Sell Signal A poorly performing market may appear to be an obvious sell signal, but many contrarian investors see this as a strong buy signal as long as the companies underlying the stocks are still fundamentally sound. Purchasing undervalued stocks when they are selling at a "discount" like this has helped many investors achieve excellent returns.
A technical momentum indicator that compares a security's closing price to its price range over a given time period. The oscillator's sensitivity to market movements can be reduced by adjusting the time period or by taking a moving average of the result. This indicator is calculated with the following formula:%K = 100[(C - L14)/(H14 - L14)] C = the most recent closing price L14 = the low of the 14 previous trading sessions H14 = the highest price traded during the same 14-day period.%D = 3-period moving average of %K The theory behind this indicator is that in an upward-trending market, prices tend to close near their high, and during a downward-trending market, prices tend to close near their low. Transaction signals occur when the %K crosses through a three-period moving average called the "%D".
An exam administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for individuals seeking to become private securities offering representatives. A person who passes the Series 82 can only offer private placement offering on original issues. These securities are sold to private investors (often institutional funds like pensions or mutual funds) directly, rather than to the public as with an IPO. The test consists of 100 questions taken over 150 minutes. A score of 70% or better is required for passing. Taobiz explains Series 82 The creation of the Series 82 was mandated under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. It is a very limited exam and should only be taken by people who do not wish to engage in the sales or marketing of any other securities such as stocks or bonds. Also, the Series 82 only makes one eligible to participate in the primary offering of private placements, not in any secondary market trading.
A short-term trading oscillator that compares the amount of volume flowing into advancing and declining stocks. STIX is a variation of the Advance/Decline Line.
An exam administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for financial professionals seeking to become limited registered representatives for corporate equities and corporate debt securities. It tests an individual's knowledge of corporate equity and bond markets, security analysis and characteristics, industry regulations, and the handling of customer accounts. The test consists of 115 questions taken over 150 minutes. A score of 70% or better is required for passing. Taobiz explains Series 62 The Series 62 is more limited in scope than the Series 7 exam; licensed limited registered representatives can trade in equities, corporate bonds, preferred stocks and some asset-backed securities. They cannot trade in funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, such as open- and closed-end mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
A term used in technical analysis that refers to the troughs reached by an indicator or an asset's price. A swing low is created when a low is lower than any other point over a given time period. Successively lower swing lows indicate that the underlying asset is in a downtrend, while higher lows mean it is in an uptrend. Swing lows are useful for an investor who holds a long position in an asset because swing lows can be used to determine strategic positions for a stop-loss order. One main tenet of the Dow Theory is that a if a major average breaks below a previous low, this movement can be interpreted as the beginning of a downtrend. In the case of an indicator, if it fails to make a new swing low while the price continues to decline, a divergence occurs which could mean that the downtrend is coming to an end.
A securities license entitling the holder to actively participate in equity trading. Taobiz explains Series 55 The Series 55 exam is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and covers topics such as over-the-counter and New York Stock Exchange trading practices, rules and regulations, and electronic trading systems.
Any class of metrics whose value is derived from generic price activity in a stock or asset. Technical indicators look to predict the future price levels, or simply the general price direction, of a security by looking at past patterns. Examples of common technical indicators include Relative Strength Index, Money Flow Index, Stochastics, MACD and Bollinger Bands. Technical indicators, collectively called "technicals", are distinguished by the fact that they do not analyze any part of the fundamental business, like earnings, revenue and profit margins. Technical indicators are used most extensively by active traders in the market, as they are designed primarily for analyzing short-term price movements. To a long-term investor, most technical indicators are of little value, as they do nothing to shed light on the underlying business. The most effective uses of technicals for a long-term investor are to help identify good entry and exit points for the stock by analyzing the long-term trend.