A price gap describes the situation where a stock opens at a price either higher or lower than the closing price the day before. This usually happens when some news affecting the value of the stock is announced after the market closes, e.g., positive or negative earnings, a buy-out, etc. Stocks that gap at the open often move back toward the previous close before moving again, but not always. Strong news such as projected higher earnings from the company tend to drive the stock without the pull back.
Archives
Price to Book Ratio (p/b)
Latest share price divided by book value stated in latest report.
Price to Earnings Ratio (p/e)
Latest share price divided by 12-month earnings per share (eps). Also a measure of the market’s enthusiasm for a company.
Price to Sales Ratio (p/s)
Latest share price divided by 12-month sales per share.
Price-Earnings (P/E) Ratio
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.
Principal Trade
A trade when a Participating Organization is either buying from, or selling to its client.
On-Stop (O/S) Order
A special-term order placed with the intention of trading at a later date when the price of the stock reaches the specified stop price. An on-stop order becomes a limit order once a trade at the trigger price has occurred.
One-Sided Market
A market that has only buy orders or only sell orders booked for a particular security.
Ontario Securities Commission
The government agency that administers the Securities Act (Ontario) and the Commodity Futures Act (Ontario) and regulates securities and listed futures contract transactions in Ontario.
Open
This is the price at which a security opens for the trading day. A stock can open at the previous closing price, gap up or gap down.