What you will learn
- Read the main fields in a stock quote
- Calculate dollar change and percent change from the previous close
- Explain what trading volume can tell you
- Explain why share price alone does not tell you a company's size or value
A stock quote packs plenty of information into a small space. The labels may look confusing at first, but most of them connect to ideas you already know. Once you can read the fields, you can quickly see the latest price, the day's move, the amount of trading, and the company's market value.
How to read a stock quote
The Finance and Quant Society walks through a stock quote one field at a time. Watch it before you try the sample quote below.
Prices and price changes
- Last price is the price of the newest trade. This is usually what someone means when they mention a stock's price.
- Bid and ask show the best current prices for selling and buying. The spread sits between them.
- Change and percent change compare the last price with yesterday's close, first in dollars and then as a percentage.
- Open is the price of today's first trade. Previous close is the price of the final trade from the day before.
- Day's range runs from the lowest price traded today to the highest.
- 52 week range runs from the lowest price of the past year to the highest, showing where today's price sits in that period.
Trading activity and company value
- Volume counts the shares traded today. High volume means more activity and usually better liquidity.
- Market cap equals the share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. It measures the company's total market value, and a later lesson covers it in detail.
- P/E ratio divides the price by earnings per share. It is a basic way to compare the stock price with the company's profits. You will study it in the valuation unit.
- Dividend yield shows the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price.
Key terms
- Last price
- The price of the most recent trade.
- Previous close
- The final traded price from the previous day. Price change starts from this number.
- Volume
- The number of shares traded so far today. It shows the level of activity and liquidity.
- 52 week range
- The highest and lowest prices from the past year. It puts today's price in recent context.
| Field | Sample value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Last price | $102.00 | The newest trade took place at $102 |
| Previous close | $100.00 | The last trade yesterday was $100 |
| Change | +$2.00 (+2.0%) | The stock is up two dollars, or two percent, from yesterday |
| Day's range | $99.50 to $103.00 | The lowest and highest prices traded today |
| Volume | 5,200,000 | More than five million shares have traded today, so the stock is active |
| Market cap | $51 billion | The market values the whole company at about 51 billion dollars |
Calculate a stock's daily change
A stock closed yesterday at $100.00, and its last price is now $102.00. How much is it up in dollars and in percentage terms?
- Start with the dollar change. Subtract the previous close from the last price: $102.00 minus $100.00 equals $2.00.
- Compare it with the previous close. $2.00 divided by $100.00 equals 0.02.
- Convert the result to a percentage. Multiply 0.02 by 100 to get 2 percent.
Why it matters: Daily percent change uses the previous close, not today's opening price. A stock can open lower and still show a gain if yesterday's close was lower still.
Find the percent change
Yesterday's close was $80.00, and the latest trade is $84.00. What is the percent change?
What does each field answer?
Match each quote field with the information it gives you.
Price shows the latest trade. Change shows the direction, and volume gives you a clue about the conviction behind the move.
Share price does not equal company size
A high share price does not automatically mean a company is large or that its stock is expensive. A low share price does not make a stock cheap, either. A company with an $800 share price can be smaller than one with a $5 share price if the second company has many more shares. Use market cap to compare company size. To judge whether a stock looks expensive, use valuation ratios such as P/E. The share price alone cannot answer either question. The market capitalization lesson will work through this carefully.
Stock price quotes for beginners
Take another tour of the fields in a quote if any labels still feel unfamiliar.
Describe a real quote
Choose a stock and open its quote. Describe what you see in a few sentences using at least four fields, such as last price, change, volume, and the 52 week range. What do the numbers suggest about today's trading?
Write an answer before comparing it with the model response.
Model answer
The stock last traded near the top of its 52 week range. It is up about one percent from yesterday's close, and volume is a little higher than usual. That points to an active day with modest buying. Its place near the top of the yearly range also shows that the stock has been strong over the past year.
You now have enough to make sense of the quote on a broker's screen. Next, you will move from one stock to the indices that summarize a whole group of companies.