
Is there enough short volume to depress stock prices for days?
There isn’t enough short volume to depress prices for more than a few days. Shorting a stock, or “short selling” refers to making money on stock when its price is falling. The process is pretty simple. An investor borrows shares of stock, sells them, and then buys the shares back.
Why do stock prices move on the bid and offer?
If someone buys those 100 shares, or if the seller cancels their order, then that order disappears, and the offer moves to the next available price at which someone is selling—let's say $90.25. The buying was great enough that it removed all of the shares available up to $90.95. That is how prices move. The same thing happens on the bid.
What drives stock prices up or down?
There are many factors that influence people to buy and sell stocks, thus driving prices up or down. A company's earnings or its stock price relative to its earnings (price-to-earnings ratio) each play a significant role.
How are stock prices set?
Billions of shares of stock are bought and sold each day, and it's this buying and selling that sets stock prices. Stock prices go up and down when someone agrees to buy shares at a higher or lower price than the previous transaction.
Why do traders need to understand the four phases of price?
Why do institutional investors have to buy over long periods of time?
What happens during the markup phase?
What is the pattern in Figure 6?
What is distribution phase?
What does the cup and handle mean in a stock?
What is accumulation phase?
See more
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What is q in option pricing?
This "Q" is Different Probability “q” and "(1-q)" are known as risk-neutral probabilities and the valuation method is known as the risk-neutral valuation model.
What is the value of a 2 month European put option on the stock with a strike price of $49?
$2.23What is the value of a two-month European call option with a strikeprice of $49? Use no-arbitrage arguments. i.e., The value of the option is therefore $2.23.
What is U and D in binomial model?
u: The factor by which the price rises (assuming it rises). d: The factor by which the price falls (assuming it falls).
What is up Move factor?
In case of the up move, the ratio of the new price S+ to S is called the up-factor u. Similarly, in case of a down move, the ratio of the new price S- to S is called the down-factor d. The call option is in-the-money when the spot price of the underlying is higher than the exercise price of the option.
What is the price of a European put option that expires in 6 months and has a strike price of $30?
Problem 10.14. What is the price of a European put option that expires in six months and has a strike price of $30? In other words the put price is $2.51.
What is the payoff for a call option with a strike price of $50 if the underlying stock price at expiration is $85?
What is the payoff for a call option with a strike price of $50 if theunderlying stock price at expiration is $85? price is $80 on expiration, the put buyer will:get a payoff of$20.
Why is binomial tree called binomial?
In a binomial tree model, the underlying asset can only be worth exactly one of two possible values, which is not realistic, as assets can be worth any number of values within any given range. A binomial tree allows investors to assess when and if an option will be exercised.
How many steps are in a binomial tree?
In practice, the life of an option is divided into 30 or more time steps. In each step, there is a binomial stock price movement.
How do you draw a binomial tree?
0:003:11construct a binomial tree to describe stock price movement; - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe binomial tree in a binomial tree there are two possible outcomes for each period either up orMoreThe binomial tree in a binomial tree there are two possible outcomes for each period either up or down. And that's again why we call it binomial think bicycle two wheels binomial. Three two outcomes.
How do you calculate the size of up move?
9:3221:40Binomial Option Pricing Model (Calculations for CFA® and FRM ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThat gives us 0.714 probability of up move is one plus rf minus d upon u minus d rf is six percentMoreThat gives us 0.714 probability of up move is one plus rf minus d upon u minus d rf is six percent so that is one plus 0.06.
How do you find the Delta T binomial tree?
3:005:42Binomial Option Pricing: Tutorial on Delta Hedging - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipFor portfolios value at maturity of the option this calculation shows that Delta measures the changeMoreFor portfolios value at maturity of the option this calculation shows that Delta measures the change in payoffs of the option due to change in the value of the underlying.
How do you price a put option in a binomial model?
0:3810:56Binomial Option Pricing: With Examples - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThis is going to be constructed by looking with the payoffs in both the option and in the stock.MoreThis is going to be constructed by looking with the payoffs in both the option and in the stock.
What is strike price in derivatives?
A strike price is a set price at which a derivative contract can be bought or sold when it is exercised. For call options, the strike price is where the security can be bought by the option holder; for put options, the strike price is the price at which the security can be sold.
Which of these will decrease the value of a put option?
-The value of a put option decreases as the current stock price and risk-free interest rate increases.
What is put call parity theorem?
Put-call parity defines the relationship between calls, puts and the underlying futures contract. This principle requires that the puts and calls are the same strike, same expiration and have the same underlying futures contract.
How do you do call options?
How a call option works. Call options are “in the money” when the stock price is above the strike price at expiration. The call owner can exercise the option, putting up cash to buy the stock at the strike price. Or the owner can simply sell the option at its fair market value to another buyer before it expires.
Stock Market Cycles: How to Analyze and Profit
“Warren Buffett tells us, “The less prudence with which others conduct their affairs, the greater the prudence with which we should conduct our own affairs.” ― Howard Marks, Mastering The Market Cycle: Getting the odds on your side Stock market cycles, represented by the bear and bull markets, ebb and flow through time. Investing during different market …
What drives stock prices?
Stock prices are driven by a variety of factors, but ultimately the price at any given moment is due to the supply and demand at that point in time in the market. Fundamental factors drive stock prices based on a company's earnings and profitability from producing and selling goods and services. Technical factors relate to a stock's price history ...
How are stock prices determined?
Stock prices are determined in the marketplace, where seller supply meets buyer demand. But have you ever wondered about what drives the stock market—that is, what factors affect a stock's price? Unfortunately, there is no clean equation that tells us exactly how the price of a stock will behave. That said, we do know a few things about the forces that move a stock up or down. These forces fall into three categories: fundamental factors, technical factors, and market sentiment .
Why is low inflation bad for stocks?
2 Deflation, on the other hand, is generally bad for stocks because it signifies a loss in pricing power for companies.
How does news affect stock market?
The political situation, negotiations between countries or companies, product breakthroughs , mergers and acquisitions , and other unforeseen events can impact stocks and the stock market. Since securities trading happens across the world and markets and economies are interconnected, news in one country can impact investors in another, almost instantly.
What is valuation multiple?
The valuation multiple expresses expectations about the future. As we already explained, it is fundamentally based on the discounted present value of the future earnings stream. Therefore, the two key factors here are:
Why do you buy stock with a valuation multiple?
That's the reason for the valuation multiple: It is the price you are willing to pay for the future stream of earnings. 1:26.
Why do small cap stocks have a liquidity discount?
Many small-cap stocks suffer from an almost permanent "liquidity discount" because they simply are not on investors' radar screens.
Why does the stock price move so slowly?
Other times, the price moves slowly, because there are few transactions, or there are so many shares available at each bid or offer that it is very hard to move the price, even with lots of transactions going through.
Why does the price of a buy order move up?
When a buy order comes into the market that is bigger than the number of shares available at the current offer, then the offer price will move up because the buying absorbs all of those shares at the current offer.
Why do bid and ask prices move so quickly?
Prices move very quickly because they follow the speed at which transactions are occurring.
What happens when bid and ask prices match?
If the bid and ask prices match, a trade occurs. Those orders then disappear from the market, leaving the other bids and offers that haven't yet been matched.
Why does the price of a sell order drop?
When a sell order comes into the market that is bigger than the number of shares available at the current bid, then the bid price will drop because the selling absorbs all those shares at the current bid.
Why do market prices move?
Most people are aware that market prices move because of buying and selling, but not many people understand how buying and selling move market prices. It may be confusing at first glance, since every market transaction requires that there always be a buyer and a seller.
What is the ask price in the stock market?
The ask price is also referred to as the "offer" price.
Why do stock prices go up and down?
Stock prices go up and down when someone agrees to buy shares at a higher or lower price than the previous transaction.
Why is demand for a stock so high?
Ultimately, demand for a stock is driven by how confident investors are about that stock's prospects. In the short term, things like quarterly earnings reports that beat expectations, analyst upgrades, and other positive business developments can lead investors to be willing to pay a higher price to acquire shares. On the flip side, disappointing earnings reports, analyst downgrades, and negative business developments can cause investors to lose interest, thus reducing demand and forcing sellers to accept lower prices.
What affects stock price?
High demand for a stock drives the stock price higher, but what causes that high demand in the first place? It's all about how investors feel:
What is demand increase in stocks?
Sometimes demand for stocks in general increases, or demand for stocks in a particular stock market sector increases. A broad-based demand increase can drive individual stocks higher without any company-specific news. One example: The COVID-19 pandemic led to consumers increasing spending online at the expense of brick-and-mortar stores. Some investors believe this change is here to stay, which led to an increase in demand and higher prices for e-commerce stocks across the board.
Why is the value of a stock important?
In the long term, the value of a stock is ultimately tied to the profits generated by the underlying company. Investors who believe a company will be able to grow its earnings in the long run, or who believe a stock is undervalued, may be willing to pay a higher price for the stock today regardless of short-term developments. This creates a pool of demand undeterred by day-to-day news, which can push the stock price higher or prevent big declines.
Why should long term investors be laser focused on a company's potential to increase its profits over many years?
While a lot of ink is spilled about daily fluctuations in stock prices, and while many people try to profit from those short-term moves , long-term investors should be laser-focused on a company's potential to increase its profits over many years. Ultimately, it's rising profits that push stock prices higher.
How does a stock buyback affect the price?
A buyback reduces the number of shares in a company held by the public. Because every share of stock is a partial share of a company, the fraction of that company that each remaining shareholder owns increases.
What is a stock buyback?
In a buyback, a company purchases its own shares in the open market.
What is the difference between dividend and buyback?
But there are some important differences between the two methods. Dividend payments usually contain an implicit promise that the company will try to maintain or raise the dividend over time. Buybacks allow a company to reward shareholders without tacitly committing itself to repeating that largess in years to come.
How much did McDonald's buy back in 2013?
In 2013, McDonald's bought back 18.7 million shares for $1.8 billion dollars -- an average price of $96.96. Without the share buyback, McDonald's would have finished the year with 1,008.7 million shares outstanding. Each shareholder thus ended that year owning a 1.8% greater share of the company than they would have otherwise.
Is a buyback more lucrative than a dividend?
Buybacks can also be more lucrative for corporate executives than dividends. Managers who are compensated via stock options rather than company stock don't receive dividends, but they can benefit from a buyback that pushes up the near-term or long-term stock price.
Will the buyback make shareholders better off?
Will the buyback make shareholders better off or worse off? It depends upon whether the company got a good deal for its money. In other words, long-term shareholders hope the company paid a price that was lower than the stock's intrinsic value.
Does the Motley Fool have a position in any of the stocks mentioned?
The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why is it important to multiply by the stock price?
The higher the volume, the more important the action is because it shows you how much money changes hands at a specific price level.
When the bid volume is higher than the ask volume, the selling is stronger?
When the ask volume is higher than the bid volume, the buying is stronger, and the price is more likely to move up than down.
What does it mean when a trader is willing to accept a bid and ask?
But when traders are anxious to buy or sell, they are willing to accept whatever prices they can get, so when you see trades being reported on the bid or on the ask, you know the price is likely to move.
What does it mean when a stock starts trading at low volumes?
When a stock begins irregularly trading at low volumes, it's usually a warning sign: proceed with caution. Low-volume stocks may express trading volatility, market uncertainty or a liquidity risk.
How to manipulate a stock?
It is easier to manipulate a stock when its volume is low. All a manipulator needs to do is execute a few carefully timed trades to create the illusion that a stock is moving so he can get others to buy or sell. The goal is to raise the price if he wants to sell and to lower the price if he wants to buy. If you are suckered in by such a move, your position can quickly turn into a loss as the stock you just bought suddenly reverses course on increased volume.
What happens to price as volume decreases?
As volume decreases, any price fluctuations that occur may be less predictable than they were in times of higher volume.
What does volume mean in stock trading?
What Does Volume Mean When Trading Stocks? A stock's trade volume represents the total number of shares or contracts that are traded for a specific security during a specific time period. A stock's volume is high when its securities are more actively trading and, conversely, a stock's volume is low when its securities are less actively trading.
Why is shorting a stock not a good strategy?
Shorting a stock is not a commonly used strategy by the majority of investors. Firstly, because of the considerable amount of risk involved. In order to be successful, an investor needs to know what’s going to happen in the future and needs good timing. Plus, in the long run, the stock market tends to go up instead of going down.
What is shorting a stock?
There is a limit on profit, however. Since a stock can only fall to $0. To summarize, shorting a stock is the sale of shares that the seller does not own. Most of the time, these shares are borrowed from a broker. If the price of the stock falls, the shares can be bought back for less than they were sold for.
How do you tell if a stock is shorted?
Look for information such as: Shares Short, Short Ratio, Short % of Float, Short % of Shares Outstanding, Days to Cover, Short Interest, and % of Float Shorted.
What is a short sale? What does short selling involve?
Your prediction is that because of the overvaluation, the price is likely to drop. Your strategy here, when short selling, would be to borrow a certain number of such shares from your broker and then sell those shares on the open market.
What risks are involved with short selling?
As you might have sensed, short-selling comes with a significant amount of risk. When buying a stock, an investor can lose the entire amount they invested. For that to happen, things would have to go really bad. With short sales, an investor can lose an infinite amount of money because the price of the stock might keep rising indefinitely. In the worst-case scenario, investors might end up owing money to their brokerage.
What is short squeeze?
A short squeeze is when a heavily shorted stock begins to rise in price due to buyers rushing in to purchase shares. This might force the short sellers to cover their positions or face a margin call. The buying of the short sellers can exasperate the popularity of the stock and cause it to rise even further.
What is short selling?
Shorting a stock, or “short selling” refers to making money on stock when its price is falling. The process is pretty simple. An investor borrows shares of stock, sells them, and then buys the shares back. Hopefully at a lower price.
Why do traders need to understand the four phases of price?
Understanding the four phases of price will maximize returns because only one of the phases gives the investor optimum profit opportunity in the stock market.
Why do institutional investors have to buy over long periods of time?
Institutional investors must buy over long periods of time so as not to conspicuously drive up the price of the stock, giving them a long time horizon . This phase is not a lucrative time for retail investors to buy, as capital will be tied up, or the investor may experience a large drawdown of capital.
What happens during the markup phase?
During the markup phase, price breaks out of range and begins a sustained uptrend. An uptrend is defined as a series of higher pivot highs and higher pivot lows. This stage is when the price begins moving up. The big money has established a position and retail investors are now invited to join in the profit party. This is the most profitable time to own the stock – an opportunity to let your profits run . The earlier you can recognize this stage, the more you can profit.
What is the pattern in Figure 6?
Figure 6 also shows a triangle pattern in the accumulation phase and then a new price high, showing us how the markup phase begins and a trend is born.
What is distribution phase?
The distribution phase begins as the markup phase ends and price enters another range period. The shares are being sold over a period of time—the opposite of accumulation. This time, the sellers want to maintain higher prices until the shares are sold.
What does the cup and handle mean in a stock?
The cup and handle is another price pattern indicating accumulation. The handle is a higher pivot low and may signal the end of an accumulation cycle. A higher-high in price above the rim of the "cup" can lead to a new leg up.
What is accumulation phase?
The accumulation phase begins when institutional investors – such as mutual funds, pension funds and large banks – buy up substantial shares of a given stock. Price forms a base as the shares of stock are accumulated. Institutional investors must buy over long periods of time so as not to conspicuously drive up the price of the stock, giving them a long time horizon.

Accumulation Phase
Markup Phase
- During the markup phase, price breaks out of range and begins a sustained uptrend. An uptrend is defined as a series of higher pivot highs and higher pivot lows. This stage is when the price begins moving up. The big money has established a position and retail investors are now invited to join in the profit party. This is the most profitable time to own the stock – an opportunity to let your pro…
Distribution Phase
- The distribution phase begins as the markup phase ends and price enters another range period. The shares are being sold over a period of time—the opposite of accumulation. This time, the sellerswant to maintain higher prices until the shares are sold. Whether it is distribution or accumulation is less easy to discern at this point. It is more important to be prepared for the nex…
Markdown Phase
- The last phase of the stock cycle is the markdownphase. Markdown begins when the price makes a lower high and no new high (Figure 9). Markdown follows a distribution, which is when institutions sell inventory, either for redemption reasons, simply taking profit, or to change position into another stock or sector. The markdown phase is a downtrend(Figure 11). Be carefu…
The Bottom Line
- The study of stock cycles will give investors a heads-up on trending conditions for a stock, whether sideways, up or down. This allows the investor to plan a strategy for profit that takes advantage of what the price is doing. The entire cycle can repeat or not. It is not necessary to predict it, but it is necessary to have the right strategy. Now ...
Fundamental Factors
Technical Factors
- Things would be easier if only fundamental factors set stock prices. Technical factors are the mix of external conditions that alter the supply of and demand for a company's stock. Some of these indirectly affect fundamentals. For example, economic growthindirectly contributes to earnings growth. Technical factors include the following.
News
- While it is hard to quantify the impact of news or unexpected developments inside a company, industry, or the global economy, you can't argue that it does influence investor sentiment. The political situation, negotiations between countries or companies, product breakthroughs, mergers and acquisitions, and other unforeseen events can impact stocks and the stock market. Since s…
Market Sentiment
- Market sentiment refers to the psychology of market participants, individually and collectively. This is perhaps the most vexing category. Market sentiment is often subjective, biased, and obstinate. For example, you can make a solid judgment about a stock's future growth prospects, and the future may even confirm your projections, but in the meantime, the market may myopica…
The Bottom Line
- Different types of investors depend on different factors. Short-term investors and traders tend to incorporate and may even prioritize technical factors. Long-term investors prioritize fundamentals and recognize that technical factors play an important role. Investors who believe strongly in fundamentals can reconcile themselves to technical forces with the following popular argument…