Stock market & technical analysis glossary
Plain-English definitions for the 143 metrics, indicators, signals and news annotations used across Synoptiv. No jargon left unexplained.
143 terms
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A
- AI-written analysisResearch prose synthesized by an artificial-intelligence model.
- Analysis as-of priceThe stored price at the time this analysis was generated.
- Analysis versionAn immutable snapshot of a report at one analysis time.
- Analyst consensusAggregated analyst recommendation counts.
- ATRAverage true range, a volatility measure.
- AttentionRetail interest inferred from search activity.
- AUMAUM (assets under management) is the total market value of the assets a fund or manager oversees on behalf of investors.
- Average volumeTypical number of shares traded.
B
- Basis pointsA basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point — 0.01% — so 100 basis points equals 1%.
- BetaSensitivity to broad market moves.
- Bollinger bandsVolatility bands around a moving average.
- Book valueBook value is what a company's equity is worth on its balance sheet — total assets minus total liabilities.
- Bull and bear casesThe evidence for favorable and unfavorable outcomes.
C
- CAGRSmoothed annual growth rate over a span of years.
- CapexSpending on long-lived physical assets.
- ConcentrationHow much of a portfolio sits in one name or theme.
- ConfidenceModel confidence in the generated signal.
- Congressional tradingPublicly disclosed securities activity by members of Congress.
- Corporate actionsCompany events that change a security or its cash flows.
- Cost basisWhat you paid for a position.
- CPIConsumer Price Index — the main US inflation gauge.
- Current assetsAssets expected to become cash or be used within a year.
- Current liabilitiesObligations expected to come due within a year.
- Current ratioCurrent assets divided by current liabilities.
D
E
- Earnings growthGrowth rate of earnings over a comparison period.
- EBITDA marginEBITDA as a percentage of revenue.
- Effective exposureYour true exposure to a stock, counting ETF holdings too.
- EMAExponential moving average.
- Enterprise valueCompany value including debt and excluding cash.
- EntryThe suggested trade entry price.
- EPSEPS (earnings per share) is a company's profit divided by its shares outstanding — how much of the profit belongs to one share.
- EquityAssets minus liabilities.
- ETFExchange-traded fund — a basket of securities that trades like a stock.
- EV/EBITDAEnterprise value compared with operating cash earnings proxy.
- Expense ratioThe annual fee a fund charges, as a percentage of assets.
F
- Federal contractsReported agreements to supply goods or services to the US government.
- Financial statementsThe core accounting reports describing a company’s finances.
- Financing cash flowCash exchanged with lenders and shareholders.
- Float sharesFloat shares are the portion of a company's shares actually available to trade, excluding closely held and restricted stock.
- Free cash flowCash left after operating needs and capital spending.
- From 52W highDistance from the highest price over the last year.
- From 52W lowDistance from the lowest price over the last year.
- FundA pooled investment vehicle that holds many securities.
- Fund & index exposureWhich funds hold a stock, and how much of each it makes up.
- Fund categoryThe investment style or asset group assigned to a fund.
- Fund familyThe organization that sponsors and manages a fund.
- FundamentalsBusiness and financial facts used to assess a company.
- FYFiscal year, the company’s reporting year.
G
H
I
- InceptionThe date a fund began operating.
- IndexA rules-based basket that measures a slice of the market.
- Index fundA fund built to track an index rather than pick stocks.
- Index proxyA well-known ETF used to represent an index.
- Insider ownershipShares held by company insiders.
- Insider sentimentA net measure of insider buying versus selling.
- Insider transactionsReported purchases and sales by company insiders.
- InsightsTicker-specific sentiment attached to a news article.
- Institutional ownershipShares held by institutions.
- InvalidationEvidence or price conditions that would undermine a thesis.
- Inverse ETFA fund built to rise when its index falls.
- Investing cash flowCash used for or received from long-term investments.
K
L
M
- MACD histTrend and momentum indicator.
- Macroeconomic dataEconomy-wide measures such as rates, inflation, growth, and spreads.
- Market capShare price multiplied by shares outstanding.
- Market valueWhat a position is worth at the latest price.
- Moving averageA rolling average used to smooth price changes.
- Mutual fundA pooled fund priced once daily, not traded intraday.
N
- NAVThe per-share value of a fund’s holdings.
- Net change in cashThe period’s total increase or decrease in cash.
- Net incomeProfit after expenses, interest, and taxes.
- Net marginNet income as a percentage of revenue.
- News sentimentDirectional tone inferred from recent company news.
- No tradeAn intentional result when no defensible setup is present.
- Number of analyst opinionsHow many analyst estimates are included.
O
P
- P&LProfit and loss.
- P/BPrice-to-book ratio.
- P/EPrice divided by earnings per share.
- P/SPrice-to-sales ratio.
- Payout ratioEarnings paid out as dividends.
- PEGP/E adjusted for expected earnings growth.
- Portfolio overlapThe same stock held through more than one position.
- Pre-signalA deterministic technical score before the thesis is generated.
- Price targetA price target is an analyst's estimate of what a stock will be worth within a set horizon, usually twelve months.
Q
R
- Recommendation meanNumeric or text summary of analyst recommendations.
- ResistanceA price area where sellers have recently appeared.
- ReturnPercentage price change over a period.
- RevenueSales generated by the business.
- Risk / rewardPotential reward compared with risk.
- ROAReturn on assets.
- ROEReturn on equity.
- RSIRSI (Relative Strength Index) is a momentum indicator scored 0–100 that measures how one-sided recent price moves have been.
S
- Scenario weightsRelative weights assigned to possible outcomes.
- SEC filingsSEC filings are the disclosure documents US public companies must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, published free through EDGAR — annual and quarterly reports, insider trades, ownership stakes, and material events.
- Sector exposureHow portfolio value is spread across sectors.
- SentimentDirectional tone inferred from qualitative and positioning data.
- Shares outstandingShares outstanding is the total number of a company's shares currently held by all shareholders, and the denominator behind market cap and every per-share figure.
- Shares shortShares short is the number of a company's shares that have been borrowed and sold by traders betting the price will fall.
- Short interestShares sold short relative to float.
- Short ratioDays-to-cover style short interest measure.
- SignalThe analysis’s structured directional setup, if one exists.
- SMASimple moving average.
- StanceThe analysis’s overall bullish, neutral, or bearish call.
- Stop lossA price level intended to limit downside.
- SupportA price area where buyers have recently appeared.
- SurpriseActual result compared with estimate.
T
- TargetsPotential upside or downside objective levels.
- Technical indicatorsCalculated measures derived primarily from price and volume.
- Total assetsResources owned or controlled by the company.
- Total cashCash and cash-like assets on the balance sheet.
- Total debtBorrowings and debt obligations.
- Total liabilitiesAll obligations reported on the balance sheet.
- Track recordA summary of resolved historical signal outcomes.
- TTMTTM (trailing twelve months) means the most recent four reported quarters summed together, rather than a fiscal or calendar year.
V
- ValuationAn assessment of price relative to business value or financial results.
- VIXThe VIX is a market-derived estimate of how much the S&P 500 is expected to move over the next 30 days, calculated from index option prices.
- Vol vs 20dCurrent volume compared with recent average volume.
- VWAPAverage price weighted by traded volume.