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A block of stock consisting of less than 100 shares. When odd lots trade, a premium is usually tacked on by the specialist or market maker. These receive the least favorable price and trade last.

Percentage of earnings paid out in dividends.

A brisk rise in the general price level of the market or price of a stock.

Latest share price divided by 12-month sales per share.

The average closing price of a stock over a specified period. For instance, the 10-day MA is the average closing price for the past 10 days. Stocks are said to be in an uptrend when above their MA and in a downtrend when below. The most widely followed MAs are 50 days and 200 days. Long-term investors tend to look at the 200-day MA while active traders are more likely to pay attention to the 50-day MA. Many investors look at both. As a general rule, it’s best to avoid stocks trading below both their 50- and 200-day MAs.

Orders placed before the market opens to buy or sell shares of stocks when their options expire. These orders are guaranteed a complete fill at the opening price to offset expiring options. They must be ordered between 4:15 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday before the third Friday of each month.

Market prices that have declined too steeply and too quickly.

A common stock’s last closing market price per share divided by the latest reported 12-month earnings per share. This ratio shows you how many times the actual or anticipated annual earnings a stock is trading at.

Sales minus all expenses except income taxes and other items not related to basic business.

This is a technical indicator that measures moving average convergence/divergence and provides a measurement of the intensity of the trading of a specific stock. It can provide early clues to trend continuation or reversal. The MACD indicator uses three exponential moving averages: a short or fast average, a long or slow average, and an average of the difference between the short and long averages. When the MACD line is rising, the implications are positive for prices: If the indicator is less than zero, the price is potentially bullish. If the indicator is greater than zero, the price is actually bullish. When the MACD line is falling, the implications are negative for prices: If the indicator is less than zero, the price is actually bearish. If the indicator is greater than zero, the price is potentially bearish.The signal line can be used to determine the entry or exit point. The signal line is a moving average of the MACD line. When signal line crosses MACD line and both lines are up, it is a buy signal. When signal line crosses MACD line and both lines are down, it is a sell signal.