Glossary

The maximum you'd expect to lose on 95% of trading days. Only 5% of days would be worse.

The maximum you'd expect to lose on 99% of trading days. Extreme worst-case scenario.

Trading outside regular market hours (9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET). Often has wider spreads and less liquidity.

Returns above what's expected given the risk taken. Positive alpha means you're beating the market.

Tools that help you understand market data and make better investment decisions.

Technical access to pull TickerTrust data into your own programs or spreadsheets.

The lowest price sellers are willing to accept. You buy at the ask price.

How your portfolio is divided across different types of investments (stocks, ETFs, crypto, etc.).

The weighted average price you paid per share across all your purchases of that stock.

Testing how a trading strategy would have performed using historical data.

Extended period of falling prices, typically 20% or more decline from highs.

Measures how much a stock moves compared to the market. Beta of 1 = moves with market, >1 = more volatile, <1 = less volatile.

The highest price buyers are currently willing to pay. You sell at the bid price.

The difference between bid and ask price. Smaller spread = lower trading costs and better liquidity.

Volatility bands around a moving average. Price near upper band may be overbought, near lower may be oversold.

A loan to a company or government. They pay you interest and return principal at maturity.

Assets minus liabilities. What shareholders would get if the company liquidated today.

Price moving above resistance or below support with increased volume. Often signals a new trend.

Extended period of rising prices and optimism. Generally prices up 20% or more from lows.

Cash available for trading minus any pending orders. This is what you can actually spend right now.

Physical goods like gold, oil, or agricultural products. Often used as inflation hedge.

Percentage of your portfolio in a single position. High concentration = higher risk if that stock drops.

Risk from having too much money in one stock. If it drops, your whole portfolio suffers.

How sure we are about our recommendation. High confidence means our analysis is based on clear, consistent signals.

Stock purchases and sales reported by members of Congress. Research shows they often outperform.

How closely two investments move together. -1 to +1 scale. Low correlation = better diversification.

The original purchase price of your investment. Used to calculate profit/loss and taxes.

Digital currency using blockchain technology. Highly volatile with potential for big gains or losses.

Current assets divided by current liabilities. Above 1 means company can pay short-term bills.

Buying and selling the same stock within the same trading day. Subject to PDT rules for accounts under $25K.

When short-term moving average crosses below long-term. Bearish signal suggesting downtrend.

Total debt divided by shareholder equity. Higher ratio = more leverage and financial risk.

Market data that is 15+ minutes behind live prices. Free plans typically have delayed data.

Spreading investments across different assets to reduce risk. Don't put all eggs in one basket.

Cash payment to shareholders from company profits. Passive income from holding stock.

Annual dividend payment divided by stock price. Shows income return on your investment.

Potential for losses. Focuses specifically on negative returns, not all volatility.

Exponential Moving Average: gives more weight to recent prices. Reacts faster to changes.

Market cap plus debt minus cash. The total cost to buy and take over the company.

Earnings Per Share: company profit divided by shares outstanding. Higher EPS = more profitable per share.

Exchange-Traded Fund: a basket of stocks trading like a single security. Easy way to diversify.

When your order is executed and you own the shares. Can be full or partial fill.

Foreign exchange: trading currency pairs like USD/EUR. The largest financial market in the world.

Owning less than one full share of a stock. Allows investing smaller amounts in expensive stocks.

Cash left after paying for operations and investments. Can be used for dividends or growth.

Analyzing a company's financial health, earnings, and growth to determine its true value.

When short-term moving average crosses above long-term. Bullish signal suggesting uptrend.

Evaluates revenue and earnings growth trends plus analyst expectations.

The stocks and assets you currently own in your portfolio.

A benchmark tracking a group of stocks like the S&P 500 (500 largest US companies).

Connecting TickerTrust to other services like your brokerage (view-only, we never trade for you).

Price movements during a single trading day from market open to close.

Companies worth over $10 billion. Generally more stable, less risky, slower growth.

How old the data is. "Near real-time" means seconds old, "Delayed" means 15+ minutes old.

Buy or sell only at your specified price or better. More control but may not execute if price doesn't reach your limit.

How easily you can buy or sell without affecting the price. High liquidity = easier trading.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence: shows momentum changes. Crossovers signal potential trend changes.

Total market value of the company (price x shares). Large cap = $10B+, Small cap = under $2B.

How closely your portfolio moves with the overall market. High correlation means less diversification benefit.

Regular US stock trading: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

Buy or sell immediately at the current market price. Fastest execution but price may vary slightly.

The largest drop from peak to bottom in your portfolio value. Shows your worst historical loss.

Companies worth $2-10 billion. Balance of stability and growth potential.

Rate of price change. Strong momentum suggests the current trend will continue.

Analyzes price trends and technical strength indicators.

Average price over a period (e.g., 50 days). Price above MA = uptrend, below = downtrend.

Market data that is less than 1 minute old. Available on paid plans.

Profit after all expenses and taxes. Also called "bottom line." This is real profit.

How your trade executes. Market orders fill immediately, limit orders only at your price or better.

Price has risen too fast and may be due for a pullback. RSI above 70 indicates this.

Price has fallen too fast and may be due for a bounce. RSI below 30 indicates this.

Price divided by book value. Below 1 may indicate the stock is undervalued.

Price divided by earnings per share. Shows how much you pay for $1 of profit. Lower often means better value.

Total gains or losses from your investments. Green = profit, Red = loss.

Price divided by revenue (sales). Useful for comparing companies with no profits yet.

Practice trading with virtual money to try strategies without risking real cash.

Percentage of earnings paid as dividends. High ratio may not be sustainable long-term.

Pattern Day Trader rule: accounts under $25,000 are limited to 3 day trades per 5 business days.

P/E divided by growth rate. Under 1 suggests you're getting growth at a reasonable price.

The five main factors we analyze: Quality, Value, Growth, Momentum, and Risk.

Total worth of all your holdings plus available cash.

Your ownership stake in a particular stock, including number of shares and average cost.

Deciding how much money to put in a single trade based on your risk tolerance. Larger positions = more risk.

Current market value of your shares (number of shares x current price).

Trading session before regular hours (4:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET). Lower volume and wider spreads.

Percentage of revenue that becomes profit. Higher margin = more efficient business.

Measures financial health: profitability, balance sheet strength, and cash flow quality.

You can view and analyze data, but TickerTrust won't place trades for you. You're always in control.

Actual profit or loss from positions you've sold. This is taxable income.

Adjusting your portfolio to maintain your target mix of investments.

Real Estate Investment Trust: company that owns income-producing real estate. Often pays high dividends.

Price ceiling where selling pressure historically stops rallies. Stocks tend to reverse here.

Total income from sales before any expenses. Also called "top line." Growing revenue is positive.

The chance of losing money. Higher potential returns usually come with higher risk.

Considers volatility, beta, and downside protection factors.

A 0-100 rating of overall portfolio risk. Higher score = riskier portfolio.

Return on Assets: profit divided by total assets. Measures efficiency of using all resources.

Return on Equity: profit divided by shareholder equity. Measures how well the company uses your investment.

Relative Strength Index: 0-100 momentum indicator. Above 70 = overbought (may drop), below 30 = oversold (may rise).

A tool to filter thousands of stocks down to ones matching your criteria.

Industry grouping like Technology, Healthcare, Finance, Energy. Different sectors have different risk profiles.

How investors feel about a stock based on news, social media, and analyst opinions.

Selling, General & Administrative expenses cover employee salaries, office costs, and overhead. The SGA-to-revenue ratio shows how efficiently a company manages its workforce spending.

Measures return vs risk. Higher is better. Above 1 is good, above 2 is excellent. Shows reward per unit of risk.

The difference between the price you expected and the price you actually got. Common with market orders.

Simple Moving Average: equal weight to all prices in the period.

Companies worth under $2 billion. Higher growth potential but also higher risk.

A picture of market conditions at a specific moment in time.

Like Sharpe ratio but only penalizes downside volatility. Better for measuring bad risk specifically.

Data that's too old to be reliable for making decisions. We warn you when this happens.

A measure of how much returns vary from the average. Higher = more unpredictable.

An ownership share in a company. You profit if the company grows and stock price rises.

Like a stop loss, but converts to a limit order instead of market order when triggered.

An automatic sell order triggered when price drops to a set level. Limits your maximum loss on a trade.

Your monthly or yearly payment plan. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime.

Price floor where buying interest historically prevents further drops. Stocks tend to bounce here.

Market-wide risk that can't be diversified away. Affects all stocks (recessions, rate hikes, etc.).

Trades settle 1 business day after execution. Cash from sales isn't available immediately.

Analyzing price charts and patterns to predict future price movements.

Your subscription level (Free, Starter, Pro, or Elite). Higher tiers unlock more features.

Your complete percentage gain or loss including dividends and price changes.

A buy, sell, or hold recommendation generated from analyzing multiple data points.

General direction of price movement. Uptrend = higher highs, downtrend = lower lows, sideways = range-bound.

A rating from 0 to 100 that shows how strong a stock looks right now. Higher scores mean stronger buy signals.

Paper profit or loss on positions you still hold. Only becomes real when you sell.

Company-specific risk that CAN be reduced through diversification. Single stock problems.

Assesses if the price is attractive relative to fundamentals like P/E, P/B, and earnings.

Maximum expected loss over a time period at a confidence level. Example: 95% VaR of $1,000 means 95% chance you won't lose more than $1,000 in a day.

How much a stock's price swings up and down. High volatility = bigger price swings and more risk.

Number of shares traded. High volume confirms price moves. Low volume may signal weak trends.

Your personal list of stocks to track. We monitor them and alert you to important changes.

A 0-100 composite score combining employee growth trends, SGA efficiency, workforce news sentiment, and executive stability. Higher scores indicate a stable, growing workforce.

Tracks a company's employee headcount changes, hiring/layoff signals, and workforce spending efficiency over time. Mass layoffs or rapid hiring can signal strategic shifts that impact stock price.