Glossary

Lowest price a seller will accept

When you buy at market, you normally pay the ask.

Example: Bid $2.40 / ask $2.46 — buying costs you $2.46.

Highest price a buyer will pay

When you sell at market, you normally receive the bid.

Example: Selling into a $2.40 bid gets you $2.40 per share.

Gap between bid and ask

A round trip costs you the spread before anything else happens.

Example: A $0.06 spread on 500 shares is $30.

Shares traded

A count of actual transactions, not an opinion about them.

Example: 4 million shares traded by 10am.

Relative volume

Today's volume compared with normal volume for this time of day.

Example: 3x RVOL means three times the usual pace.

Volume-weighted average price

The average price paid per share today, weighted by volume.

Example: Price $3.10 against VWAP $2.95 means today's average buyer is up.

Shares available to trade

Excludes locked-up and insider-held shares.

Example: A 6 million float can move violently on modest volume.

Share price × total shares

The market's current valuation of the whole company.

Example: 100m shares at $5 is a $500m market cap.

Level where buying has previously appeared

A reference point, not a floor.

Example: Price bounced at $2.80 three times this week.

Level where selling has previously appeared

A reference point, not a ceiling.

Example: Repeated failures at $3.00.

Price moving through a level

Describes movement, not outcome.

Example: Clearing $3.00 on rising volume.

A breakout that immediately reverses

Extremely common and worth studying deliberately.

Example: Through $3.00, back to $2.90 in ten minutes.

Open materially different from prior close

Usually caused by overnight news.

Example: Closed $2.80, opened $3.60.

How far price has travelled from its average

Highly extended means the move has largely happened already.

Example: 25% above VWAP.

Average true range

Typical daily movement in dollars — useful for sizing stops.

Example: An ATR of $0.38 means a $0.05 stop is unrealistically tight.

Rate of price change

Describes speed, not direction of the next move.

Example: Accelerating upward momentum into the open.

How easily you can enter and exit

Low liquidity means wide spreads and difficult exits.

Example: A 40,000-share pre-market move is thin.

Fills immediately at available price

Fast, but you do not control the price.

Example: Intended $3.00, filled $3.18.

Fills only at your price or better

You control price, not whether you fill.

Example: Limit $3.02 never fills if price runs to $3.20.

Becomes an order at a trigger price

A risk tool, not a guarantee.

Example: Stop at $2.80 can fill at $2.55 in a gap.

Stop that becomes a limit order

Protects your price but may leave you unfilled.

Example: Stop $2.80, limit $2.78 — no fill below $2.78.

Entry with attached stop and target

Your exit exists before your entry does.

Example: Buy $3.00, stop $2.85, target $3.35.

One cancels other

Two linked orders where filling one cancels the other.

Example: Target and stop as an OCO pair.

How long an order lives

Day orders expire at the close; GTC persist.

Example: A forgotten GTC order can fill weeks later.

Difference between intended and actual price

A real, recurring cost, worst in fast or thin markets.

Example: Wanted $3.00, filled $3.09 — $0.09 slippage.

Maximum acceptable loss on one trade

Not the amount invested — the amount you can lose.

Example: 1% of a $2,000 account is $20.

Number of shares, derived from risk

Risk ÷ stop distance.

Example: $20 risk, $0.20 stop distance = 100 shares.

Risk compared with potential gain

Only meaningful with a realistic target.

Example: Risk $0.20 to make $0.60 is 3:1.

Fall from your account's peak

Recovering requires a larger percentage gain than the loss.

Example: -50% needs +100% to recover.

Average expected result per trade

Combines win rate with average win and loss sizes.

Example: A 40% win rate can be profitable with large wins.

Trading before 9:30am Eastern

Thin liquidity, wide spreads, restricted order types.

Example: A 20% pre-market move on 40,000 shares.

Trading after 4:00pm Eastern

Same risks as pre-market; not all securities trade.

Example: Earnings reactions often occur here.

Exchange pause in trading

You cannot exit while halted; reopen prices can differ sharply.

Example: Halted $4.10, reopened $3.20.

Automatic volatility pause

Triggered by rapid moves, market-wide or single stock.

Example: A limit-up/limit-down pause.

New shares issued

Each existing share represents a smaller slice afterwards.

Example: An offering priced below market.

Shares sold short and not yet covered

Describes positioning, not a forecast.

Example: 18% of float short.

AlphaRadar event marker

A record that defined, observable conditions changed. Not a signal or recommendation.

Example: Five of six conditions met at 10:04.