- A stock quote is the price of a stock as quoted in decimals on an exchange.
- A stock quote is generally displayed with supplemental information, such as high and low prices for a given security in a day or its change in value.
- Pricing displayed with a stock quote reflects the buying and selling activity that influences the value of a given security.
What does the stock price quote mean?
- Open: This is the stock's opening price. ...
- 52-week high and low (or range): These two numbers record the highest and lowest price at which the stock traded during the previous 52-week period but does not include the ...
- Stock symbol (SYM): This is the stock name, often abbreviated, and the stock ticker symbol. ...
What does stock's quoted value represent?
A stock quote represents the last price at which a seller and a buyer of a stock agreed on a price to make the trade. Because stock prices are determined by a continuous auction process between buyers and sellers, stock prices change frequently as the buyers and sellers change.
How are stocks quoted?
- UnitedHealth Group ( UNH)
- Home Depot ( HD)
- Goldman Sachs Group ( GS)
- Microsoft ( MSFT)
- Amgen ( AMGN)
- Salesforce ( CRM)
- Caterpillar ( CAT)
- Visa ( V)
- Boeing ( BA)
- Honeywell ( HON)
What is after hours quote in the stock market?
This headline-only article is meant to show you why a stock is moving, the most difficult aspect of ... Benzinga Pro has an intuitively designed workspace that delivers powerful market insight, and is the solution of choice for thousands of professional ...

What is a quote in trading?
Key Takeaways A quote is the last price at which an asset traded; it is the most recent price that a buyer and seller agreed upon and at which some amount of the asset was transacted. The bid quote is the most current price and quantity at which a share can be bought.
What is an example of a stock quote?
A stock quote is essentially the price of a stock or equity security that is quoted on an exchange. The stock quote provides key pieces of information to be used by traders and brokers....Practical Example.CompanyApple Inc.TickerAAPLStock ExchangeNasdaqGSQuoted Price131.40Daily Change-2.78 (-2.07%)7 more rows•Sep 14, 2020
What is a market quote?
A stock market quote gives the price and other essential information about a particular stock and its recent trading activity as quoted on an exchange. This data might include its bid and ask price, trading volume, yield, and other details.
What is the quoted price of a stock?
A quoted price is the most recent price at which an investment (or any other type of asset) has traded.
How do you get stock quotes?
NASDAQ. NASDAQ.com is the website associated with the world's second largest stock market exchange on the world, the NASDAQ. ... FreeRealTime.com. As its name suggests, FreeRealTime.com is a free online source for instantaneous stock market quotes. ... CNBC.com. ... 4. Yahoo Finance.
What is the difference between quoted and listed shares?
Quoted shares are shares whose prices are listed on a recognised stock exchange or secondary market. Unquoted shares are not listed but are, in principle, freely negotiable.
What is a quote example?
A direct quotation is a report of the exact words of an author or speaker and is placed inside quotation marks in a written work. For example, Dr. King said, "I have a dream."
Is a quote a fixed price?
A quotation is a fixed price offer that can't be changed once accepted by the customer. You must adhere to the quotation price even if you carry out more work than you expected. If you think this is likely to happen, it makes more sense to give an estimate.
How do you create a quote?
How to Create a Quote in 5 Easy StepsAn itemized list of goods and/or services requested by the client or customer.Prices for each item including labor costs, taxes, and discounts.Disclaimers on the scope of the product or project.Company branding in the form of a logo or letterhead.
Is quoted price are selling price?
What is a Quoted Price? In the financial markets, a quoted price is the last price at which a trade took place. This is the lowest price at which the holder of a security is willing to sell it. In other sales transactions, the quoted price is the estimate given to provide goods or services.
Is quoted and listed the same?
The words 'quoted' and 'listed' are usually used interchangeably, both by the layperson and by the practitioner.
Can you give me a price quote?
0:0813:48Can you give me a price quote for that? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipI am we can absolutely give you a price quote for that.MoreI am we can absolutely give you a price quote for that.
What Is a Stock Quote?
Stock quotes give information about a particular stock's recent trading activity on a given exchange. How close this data is to real time will depend on the exchange and where you are looking for the information. During the trading day, you can usually see both the prices buyers are willing to pay (bids) and the prices sellers are offering (asks), along with a range of other information. These quotes enable buyers and sellers to find each other and make trades. 1
How do stock quotes work?
How Stock Quotes Work. Both buyers and sellers require data about a particular stock to make a decision and execute a trade. At the very least they'll need the name of the stock, its ticker symbol, agreed-upon price, and number of shares to buy or sell. Whether you're trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, or another stock exchange, ...
What is the stock symbol?
Stock symbol (SYM): This is the stock name, often abbreviated, and the stock ticker symbol. You can find the stock symbol for a given company on many financial websites by simply typing the name of the company; the site will return its symbol.
What do buyers and sellers need to know about a stock?
Both buyers and sellers require data about a particular stock to make a decision and execute a trade. At the very least they'll need the name of the stock, its ticker symbol, agreed-upon price, and number of shares to buy or sell.
What is net change?
Net change (CHG): The net change is calculated from the previous day’s close, so you are comparing what the stock closed at today to what it closed at yesterday.
What does "last close" mean?
Last (or close): This is the last price the stock traded on that day . It does not mean that is the price at which the stock will open the next day.
What does sales volume mean?
Sales volume (Sales 100s): This shows the total amount of stock sold that day expressed in hundreds. In other words, sales volume is expressed with two zeros missing. For example, if the number reported is 1,959, that means sales volume for that stock was 195,900 for the day.
How Does Quote Data Appear on a Stock Chart?
One of the most popular charting types incorporates stock quote data by highlighting the open, high, low and close. As you can see from the chart below, the notches on the bar indicate the price levels where MSFT opened and closed.
How are stock prices determined?
Stock prices are subsequently determined by changes in supply and demand. As more investors demand to buy shares, the price of the security rises. As more sellers become available, the increased supply in shares available will then send prices lower.
How does the stock market work?
In reality, the market acts as an auction house for buying shares of publicly traded securities. Only when buyers and sellers agree on a price is an order executed. The key data points communicated to the exchanges in order to come to an agreed upon price is what creates a stock quote. Before interpreting a stock quote, one must first understand the data and what each of the points represents.
What is the opening price of a stock?
The opening price is the first trade price that was recorded during the day’s trading. This figure is often used in relation to the current price or the closing price from the previous trading session in an attempt to quantify the stock's movement. Typically, the previous closing price will be the next session's opening price, but this is not always the case. A sharp change between the last traded price and its open generally suggests that a stock is experiencing strong momentum, either positive or negative depending on whether the current session's opening price is higher or lower than the previous session's closing price. It often represents an interesting trading opportunity. The day’s high and low are also common data points found within a stock quote. This data is generally used by traders as a measure of volatility .
What is ex dividend date?
The dividend, a distribution of company earnings to shareholders, represents the amount paid out per share. The ex-dividend date is essential ly the cut-off date to which a holder of the stock is entitled to a dividend payment. If purchased on this date or later, the holder will not receive the dividend.
Why is it important to not allow the extensive series of numbers when a quote shows information?
The key is to not allow the extensive series of numbers discourage you when a quote shows information. Quotes are an excellent way to compare companies in industries that are alike. For some, these financial snapshots of numerical data for publicly traded companies can provide immediate perspective on whether or not a company is a worthwhile investment.
What is the difference between dividend yield and dividend pay date?
The pay date will be the day the dividend will be paid to shareholders, while the dividend yield is the percentage paid out per share on an annual basis relative to the share price.
What Is a Quote?
A quote is the last price at which an asset traded; it is the most recent price that a buyer and seller agreed upon and at which some amount of the asset was transacted.
What is a quote in finance?
A quote is the last price at which an asset traded; it is the most recent price that a buyer and seller agreed upon and at which some amount of the asset was transacted.
What does it mean when a stock quote is referenced?
When a stock quote is referenced for a given company, it represents the most recent price at which a trade was successfully executed for that particular security. However, in general, potential investors or sellers in a company will be more concerned about the bid quotes and ask quotes (as compared to the stock quote) because they reflect ...
Why do investors reference quotes from the same day?
For instance, investors might reference quotes from the same day, but one year apart, in order to chart the potential trajectory for the security.
Why do investors reference historical quotes?
Investors typically reference the historical quotes for an asset in order to examine potential trends in a security’s market activity and volatility.
Can you get quotes from investment news sites?
Quotes may be provided by a variety of outlet s; investment news sites and trading platforms both provide quotes . There may be a delay in the reporting of such quotes, especially from free services that are publicly available. Trading and investing platforms may offer quotes as close to real-time as possible as part of a service to their paid subscribers. This service may be especially crucial for subscribers who want to be able to make decisions on their trading activity as soon as quotes become available.
Who is James Chen?
James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist. He has authored books on technical analysis and foreign exchange trading published by John Wiley and Sons and served as a guest expert on CNBC, BloombergTV, Forbes, and Reuters among other financial media.
How small is a bid ask spread?
The change led to a substantial contraction in bid-ask spreads. Spreads for highly-traded stocks can comprise bid-ask spreads as small as $0.01, whereas previously, the smallest bid-ask spread would’ve been 1/16 th of a dollar, or $0.0625. It results in a saving of transaction costs for investors since the bid-ask spreads are tighter – there is more liquidity in the stock market.
Why are stock quotes important?
Stock quotes provide very important information, as mentioned above. All of this supplemental information and data helps investors to make more informed trading decisions. A lot of attention is paid to the daily performance of stocks.
What is a ticker symbol?
Ticker A Ticker is a symbol, a unique combination of letters and numbers that represent a particular stock or security listed on an exchange. The ticker symbol is used to refer to a specific stock, particularly during trading. Trades are executed based on a company's ticker symbols. Volume of Trade.
What is stock quote?
What is a Stock Quote? A stock quote is essentially the price of a stock or equity security that is quoted on an exchange. The stock quote provides key pieces of information to be used by traders.
What is supply and demand?
Supply and Demand The laws of supply and demand are microeconomic concepts that state that in efficient markets, the quantity supplied of a good and quantity. of all investors in the market. Therefore, a lot of information is conveyed from the stock quotes.
What is a public company?
Public Companies Public companies are entities that trade their stocks on the public exchange market. Investors can become shareholders in a public company by purchasing shares of the company's stock.
Why is it important to keep a close eye on stocks?
It is important for investors so they can see the changes in value to make selling decisions – or for potential holdings, to see the changes in value to inform purchasing decisions.
What Is a Quote-Driven Market?
A quote-driven market is an electronic stock exchange system in which prices are determined from bid and ask quotations made by market makers, dealers, or specialists. In a quote-driven market, also known as a price-driven market, dealers fill orders from their own inventory or by matching them with other orders. A quote-driven market is the opposite of an order-driven market, which displays individual investors' bid and ask prices and the number of shares they want to trade.
What does a dealer do?
Dealers work with banks and broker/dealers to provide quotes for different securities, and investors can either trade through them at the quoted prices or try to negotiate, with the help of their agents.
Why do dealers not execute trades?
This is often done because some dealers specialize in certain types of clients, such as retail or institutional.
Can traders accept prices quoted by dealers?
Traders may either accept the prices quoted by the dealers or try to negotiate better prices either themselves or through their broker or agent. In a pure quote-driven market, all traders must trade through dealers; however, dealers may also trade among themselves through inter-dealer brokers.
Can traders accept quotes?
Traders may either accept the prices quoted by the dealers or try to negotiate better prices either themselves or through their broker or agent . In a pure quote-driven market, all traders must trade through dealers; however, dealers may also trade among themselves through inter-dealer brokers. In a quote-driven market, dealers supply all the liquidity in the market.
Will Kenton be an economist?
Will Kenton is an expert on the economy and investing laws and regulations. He previously held senior editorial roles at Investopedia and Kapitall Wire and holds a MA in Economics from The New School for Social Research and Doctor of Philosophy in English literature from NYU.
What is bid and ask price?
Bid and ask prices are market terms representing supply and demand for a stock. The bid represents the highest price someone is willing to pay for a share.
How to make a trade?
Making a Trade. To make a trade, an investor places an order with their broker. The mechanics of the trade vary depending on the type of order placed. However, the general process involves brokers submitting an offer to a stock exchange. Each offer to purchase includes the number of shares requested and a proposed purchase price.
What is the difference between bid and ask?
The ask is the lowest price someone is willing to sell a share. The difference between bid and ask is called the spread . A stock's quoted price is the most recent sale price.
What happens if no orders bridge the bid-ask spread?
If no orders bridge the bid-ask spread, there will be no trades between brokers. To maintain effectively functioning markets, firms called market makers quote both bid and ask when no orders are crossing the spread.
Who is Gordon Scott?
Gordon Scott has been an active investor and technical analyst of securities, futures, forex, and penny stocks for 20+ years. He is a member of the Investopedia Financial Review Board and the co-author of Investing to Win. Gordon is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT). He is also a member of CMT Association.
Does Investopedia include all offers?
This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.

Understanding Stock Quote Data
How Does Quote Data Appear on A Stock Chart?
- One of the most popular charting types incorporates stock quote data by highlighting the open, high, low, and close. As you can see from the chart below, the notches on the bar indicate the price levels where MSFT opened and closed. The left bar represents the open while the right bar represents the close. You’ll also notice that in the situation where the close is below the open, th…
Statistics and Ratios
- Digging a little deeper into the numbers on a stock quote can reveal even more useful information and be extremely beneficial when comparing companies in similar industries. The market capitalization(or market cap) is the total dollar value of all the company's outstanding shares. Shares short is the number of shares that are being sold short. These are shares that are borrow…
The Bottom Line
- Stock quotes consist of many data points. It's important that traders understand the key data points such as bid, ask, high, low, open, and close. Being able to analyze this pricing and trend data allows traders and investors to make better-informed trading decisions. The key is to not allow the extensive series of numbers to discourage you when a quote shows information. Quot…
Understanding Stock Quotes
- A stock represents a piece of ownership in a certain company and offers investors a way to own a business and participate in its future opportunities. With the advent of stock exchanges, anybody can participate in the stock market and can easily buy and sell stocks with other people. However, in order to make buying and selling decisions, people re...
History of Stock Quotes
- In the United States, prior to 2001, stock quotes were quoted in fractions. However, after 2001, a transition was made to quoting stock prices with decimal points. The change led to a substantial contraction in bid-ask spreads. Spreads for highly-traded stocks can comprise bid-ask spreads as small as $0.01, whereas previously, the smallest bid-ask spread would’ve been 1/16thof a dollar, …
Importance of Stock Quotes
- Stock quotes provide very important information, as mentioned above. All of this supplemental information and data helps investors to make more informed trading decisions. A lot of attention is paid to the daily performance of stocks. Investors keep a close eye on whether stocks are increasing or decreasing, and they usually focus on relative changes that are captured by percen…
Additional Resources
- CFI is the official provider of the global Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA)™certification program, designed to help anyone become a world-class financial analyst. To keep advancing your career, the additional resources below will be useful: 1. Earnings Guidance 2. Ticker 3. Volume of Trade 4. Investing: A Beginner’s Guide