Financial Glossary
Quick definitions for the metrics and concepts you see in StockLrn.
Consumer Price Index
A measure that tracks the average change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services.
Unemployment Rate
The percentage of the labor force that is jobless and actively seeking employment.
Trade Deficit
Occurs when a country imports more goods and services than it exports.
Market Maker
A firm that provides liquidity by continuously quoting buy and sell prices for a security.
Dark Pool
A private exchange where large institutional orders are executed without pre-trade transparency.
Order Book
A real-time list of all outstanding buy and sell orders for a security at various price levels.
ETF Holdings
ETFs that hold a stock as part of their portfolio, often with an allocation weight.
Alpha
A measure of investment performance relative to a benchmark.
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating securities markets and protecting investors.
FINRA
A self-regulatory organization overseeing U.S. broker-dealers and their registered representatives.
Insider Trading
Buying or selling securities based on material, non-public information—illegal when it breaches a duty.
Accredited Investor
An individual or entity that meets SEC financial thresholds to invest in unregistered securities.
Hedge
An investment made to reduce risk from adverse price movements.
Volatility
The degree of variation in a stock's price over time.
Moving Average
A technical indicator that smooths price data over a specific period.
Resistance
A price level where selling pressure prevents further price increases.
Support
A price level where buying pressure prevents further price declines.
Relative Strength Index
A momentum oscillator measuring speed and magnitude of price changes on a 0–100 scale.
MACD
Moving Average Convergence Divergence—a trend-following momentum indicator.
Bollinger Bands
Volatility bands placed above and below a moving average, widening and narrowing with market volatility.
Fibonacci Retracement
Horizontal lines indicating potential support/resistance at key Fibonacci ratio levels.
Candlestick Patterns
Visual price patterns formed by one or more candlesticks that signal potential reversals or continuations.
Double Bottom
A bullish reversal pattern where price tests a support level twice and then breaks higher.
P/E Ratio
Price-to-earnings ratio, a common valuation metric.
EV/EBITDA
Enterprise value divided by EBITDA, used to compare companies regardless of capital structure.
Price-to-Book Ratio
Compares a stock's market price to its book value per share.
PEG Ratio
P/E ratio divided by expected earnings growth rate, adjusting valuation for growth.
Intrinsic Value
The calculated true worth of an asset based on fundamental analysis.
Terminal Value
The estimated value of a business beyond the explicit forecast period in a DCF model.
Margin of Safety
The difference between a stock's intrinsic value and its market price, providing a buffer against error.
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