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Margin allows investors to buy securities using borrowed money from a broker. The investor is charged interest for the loan. Margin requirements differ depending upon the type of transaction being made or the type of stock being purchased, e.g., selling puts, buying stock, credit spreads. Options are not generally marginable.

This is a company’s market capitalization. To calculate the market cap, simply multiply the issued and outstanding shares by the current selling price.

Profits a company can be expected to achieve taking out cyclical effects and unusual events such as one-time write-offs caused by late product releases, customer bankruptcies and the like. 

A set pattern of months when a class of options expires.

The difference between a company’s or individual’s total assets and its total liabilities. Also known as shareholders’ equity for a company.

Latest stock price multiplied by number of shares outstanding (shares issued).

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.

This is a demand for a client to deposit money or securities into a margin account. This can occur when a purchase is made in excess of the value of the margin account or when the value of an account decreases because the value of the securities held decreases regardless of whether a new purchase is made or not.

The buyer of an option contract who has the right to exercise the option during its lifetime.

Occurs concurrently with the posting of the new issuer’s securities for trading. The preconditions for listing include the acceptance by the Exchange that all listing requirements and conditions have been satisfied. The effective listing date is the date when the listed securities open for trading.