If you find yourself befuddled by stock market symbols on all those charts, don't feel bad. Stock market charts are confusing for anyone who doesn't know the stock market basics yet; it takes time to figure out what each column and symbol represents. Thanks to the free online services, a great deal of the stock market information represented on charts can be decoded with the use of simple online tools. However, you have to understand the purpose of the charts before even the decoded symbols will mean anything significant to you.
Ticker Symbol
The ticker symbol works like an acronym. It is made up from letters in the name of the corporation. Back when stock trades were done on ticker tape, these acronyms were used to identify the trades in the limited space on the tape. The ticker symbol can be made up of one to four letters, and sometimes will have an extra identifier added on, preceded by a period. If there is an extra identifier added after a period, it is distinguishing the class or grade or the stock being traded, such as B class or C class stock.
If you don't know the ticker symbol for a company, just look it up on one of the many ticker symbol decoding online tools available online.
Last Trade/Close
This is the price of the stock at the last trade reported. If this price is being reported after closing hours (for example, in a newspaper or online at night), it will be reported as "close" instead of "last trade."
Trade Time
This records the time when the last trade was reported.
Change
This reports how much the stock value has changed between the price it closed at the day prior and the current price.
Previous Close
This tells you how much the stock was valued when the stock market closed the day prior.
Open
This is how much the stock was valued when the stock market opened that day.
Bid
The bid is the highest price any traders are offering to buy this particular stock for at this time.
Ask
The ask is the lowest price the stock seller is willing to sell for.
How Bid and Ask Work Together
The bid and ask have to meet for a trade to occur. This works like a bartering session.
1y Target Est
This is an estimate that can be very accurate or completely off of what value this stock will have in one year. It is computed off financial analysis, taking into account a myriad of factors, the market being just one of many factors.
Day's Range
This is the best price and worst price from the day-depicting the range of trading pricing from the day.
52wk Range
This evaluates the past year of trades, identifying the highest and lowest prices for which this particular stock has been traded.
Volume
This tells you how many shares were traded in 24 hours.
Avg Volume (3m)
This gives you the average daily volume for the past 90 days.
Market Cap
This is the market value of the company whose stock is being traded.
P/E
This is a ratio calculated by dividing the price of a share (as listed today) by the earnings from the year prior. It is also called the price/earnings ratio.
EPS
This number is the calculation of how much money you would have made or lost if you had owned this stock for the past quarter of a year. But keep in mind that, with stocks, past performance does not indicate the future.
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