Reference

Glossary and explanation of indicators

An overview of the technical, fundamental and risk indicators MyStockWatcher uses.
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📈 Price & Trend
Price
price
The current market price of a stock, ETF or commodity at the time of the last price fetch. Determined by supply and demand; a higher price doesn't automatically mean expensive.
Bollinger Bands
volatility
Three lines: a middle band (20-day SMA) plus and minus 2 standard deviations. Bands widen during high volatility. For a normally distributed price series, theoretically about 95% of observations would fall within the bands — in practice, deviations and breakouts occur more often.
Middle band = SMA(20)  |  Upper/lower band = SMA(20) ± 2 × standard deviation
Support
level
A price level where the price repeatedly finds support. Investors buy heavily at this level. A zone that holds up multiple times is often considered more relevant — but repeated tests can also weaken a zone.
Resistance
level
A price level where the price struggles to break through. Can trigger profit-taking, but is not a sell signal on its own. Old resistance becomes new support after a breakout.
Price performance by period
trend
Percentage price change over 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, 30, 10, 5 and 1 day. The combination helps compare short-term momentum against the medium- and long-term trend. Color-coded: green = up, red = down.
Trend Badge (Bull / Bear / Sideways)
signal
Bullish: uptrend, buyers dominate. Bearish: downtrend, sellers dominate. Sideways: no clear direction. Calculated from RSI, MACD and the price change over 5 trading days.
SMA (Simple Moving Average)
trend
A simple moving average. SMA20 = average price over the last 20 days. SMA50 and SMA200 are often used as support/resistance.
EMA (Exponential Moving Average)
trend
An exponentially weighted moving average. Gives more weight to recent prices than SMA, reacts faster to changes.
Golden Cross / Death Cross
signal
Golden Cross: SMA50 crosses above SMA200, usually read as a positive long-term signal. Death Cross: SMA50 crosses below SMA200, usually read as negative. Both are lagging signals and can appear only after a significant part of the price move has already happened.
⚡ Momentum Indicators
RSI (Relative Strength Index)
momentum
Measures the speed and size of price moves on a scale of 0-100. RSI > 70 = overbought, < 30 = oversold, ≈ 50 = neutral. Calculated over 14 trading days. Overbought doesn't automatically mean an imminent decline — in a strong trend, RSI can stay above 70 for a while.
RSI = 100 − (100 / (1 + RS))  |  RS = avg. gain ÷ avg. loss
MACD (12, 26, 9)
momentum
Difference between two exponential moving averages. The signal line (9-day EMA of the MACD line itself) gives buy and sell signals. A crossover of MACD above the signal line is often read as positive momentum, below as negative.
MACD line = EMA(12) − EMA(26)  |  Signal line = EMA(9) of the MACD line
ADX (Average Directional Index)
momentum
Measures the strength of a trend, not its direction. ADX > 25 = strong trend, < 20 = no clear trend. Direction is usually assessed separately with +DI/-DI or other trend indicators.
Stochastic Oscillator
momentum
Compares the closing price to the price range over 14 days. %K > 80 = overbought, %K < 20 = oversold. %D is usually a moving average of %K, used as a signal line. Usually reacts faster to short-term changes than RSI, but can also give more false signals as a result.
Oversold / Overbought
signal
Oversold (RSI < 30): the price has fallen relatively sharply on a momentum indicator — can point to a possible technical rebound. Overbought (RSI > 70): the price has risen relatively sharply — can point to a temporary cool-off. Neither says anything directly about fundamental valuation.
📊 Volume & Volatility
Volume
volume
Number of shares traded in a trading day. High volume on a rally = strong buying pressure. Green = up, red = down. Shown in K (thousand) or M (million).
ATR % (Average True Range)
volatility
Average daily price movement as a percentage of the price over 14 days. High ATR% = bigger price swings (more price volatility) — not a full measure of business or investment risk. Sometimes used to size price-based stop levels.
(ATR ÷ Price) × 100
Volume Status
volume
Compares current volume to the 20-day average. High (more than 150% of the average): unusually high activity. Normal (50%-150% of the average). Low (less than 50% of the average): low interest.
VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price)
volume
Volume-weighted average price, mostly used intraday. Price above VWAP is often read as relatively strong, below as relatively weak — the meaning depends on the time and session. Widely used by institutional investors as a benchmark.
🏦 Fundamental Indicators
P/E Trailing
valuation
Price-to-earnings ratio based on realized earnings over the past 12 months. P/E 20 = you're paying 20x annual earnings. A higher P/E can point to expected growth, a lower P/E can point to a lower valuation, but also to slower growth or higher risk — compare with peers, the company's own history and expected growth.
Price ÷ Earnings per share
P/E Forward
valuation
Price-to-earnings ratio based on expected earnings for the next 12 months. A lower forward than trailing P/E can mean higher future earnings are expected, assuming price and other factors stay equal. Based on analyst estimates, which can change or turn out wrong.
EPS Growth YoY
growth
Growth in earnings per share compared to the same quarter last year. Positive = more profitable. Growth of more than 20% is often considered strong, but the interpretation depends on sector, company size and comparison base. Negative = a warning sign.
Revenue Growth
growth
Percentage growth in revenue compared to last year. Positive growth = a growing company. Important in combination with profit margins.
Market Cap
valuation
Total market value of a company. Mega-cap (>$200B), Large-cap ($10B-$200B), Mid-cap ($2B-$10B), Small-cap (<$2B). These thresholds are indicative and can vary by data source or market.
Shares outstanding × Current price
52W High / Low
price
Highest and lowest price level over the past 52 weeks. Near the high can point to relative momentum, near the low to weakness — but also to structural problems. Further analysis is still needed.
Gross Margin
profitability
Percentage of revenue left after subtracting direct production costs. A high gross margin can point to pricing power, low direct costs or a scalable business model — the normal margin varies a lot by sector (e.g. 70%+ for software, 5-10% for retail is normal).
Profit Margin
profitability
Percentage of revenue left as net profit after all costs. Reflects the overall profitability of the company. A negative margin means a loss.
Dividend Yield
dividend
Annual dividend as a percentage of the price. A 3% yield = €3 per €100 invested. A high yield (5%+) can look attractive, but can also be the result of a sharply lower price or a potentially unsustainable dividend. Very high yields (10%+) deserve extra scrutiny.
(Annual Dividend ÷ Price) × 100
Payout Ratio
dividend
Percentage of profit paid out as dividend. A payout ratio above 100% means the dividend paid out is higher than the reported profit for that period — can be temporary, but deserves a check of free cash flow, debt and dividend policy.
Dividend per share ÷ Earnings per share × 100
Beta
risk
Estimates how much a stock has historically moved with a benchmark, e.g. the S&P 500. Beta = 1: moves with the market. > 1: higher market sensitivity. < 1: lower market sensitivity. Beta measures market risk, but not all business, liquidity or currency risk.
Risk Score (1-10)
risk
A relative indication of price and market risk, composed of beta, ATR%, sector and RSI. 1-3 = low risk, 4-6 = average, 7-10 = high risk. Not a prediction of loss and not a substitute for full risk analysis — only the price/market component, not e.g. liquidity or currency risk.
📦 ETF-Specific Terms
Acc (Accumulating)
etf
A reinvesting ETF share class: dividends received are automatically reinvested in the fund instead of paid out. No direct payout -- the dividend stays invested, but that is no guarantee of a higher or positive return. Tax treatment varies by country.
Dist (Distributing)
etf
A distributing ETF: dividends are periodically paid out to the holder. Suits investors who want passive income or cash flow.
TER (Total Expense Ratio)
etf
Annual costs of an ETF as a percentage of invested assets. Lower = cheaper. Typically 0.07% - 0.75%. Every basis point adds up over the long term.
NAV (Net Asset Value)
etf
Intrinsic value per share of an ETF. The difference between market price and NAV = premium (more expensive) or discount (cheaper).
NAV = (value of assets − liabilities) ÷ shares outstanding
🤖 AI Analysis
Trend
ai analysis
Describes whether the price is rising, falling or moving sideways, based on RSI, MACD and recent price change. Purely descriptive -- not a recommendation on what to do.
Support & Resistance
technical
Price levels where the price has often turned in the past. Support: level above which the price has historically held. Resistance: level below which the price has historically stayed. Calculated per time horizon (short/medium/long term).
MA50 / MA200
technical
Moving average of the price over the last 50 and 200 trading days respectively. When MA50 is above MA200, this points to a longer-term uptrend (and vice versa).
Bull / Bear Case
ai analysis
Two opposing scenarios, each grounded in concrete price levels (e.g. "if the price closes above X, Y is the next technical level"). Bull case: upside scenario. Bear case: downside scenario. Not a prediction, not a recommendation.
Peer Comparison
valuation
Comparison with similar stocks from the same sector. Shows relative price performance, RSI and P/E ratio. Helps assess whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive.
🌍 Currencies & Exchanges
Exchange Suffixes
exchange
.AS = Amsterdam (Euronext), .BR = Brussels, .DE = Frankfurt (Xetra), .PA = Paris, .L = London. No suffix = NYSE/NASDAQ (US).
Currency Symbols
currency
$ = USD (dollar), € = EUR (euro), £ = GBP (British pound), kr = SEK/NOK/DKK (Scandinavian krona/krone), ¥ = JPY (Japanese yen).
💡 Examples & Clarification
Gross Margin
Revenue $100M − Cost of goods $30M = Gross Profit $70M → $70M ÷ $100M = Gross Margin 70%
A software company with a 70% gross margin keeps $70 out of every $100 in revenue. For a retailer, 25-30% is normal. A higher gross margin often points to pricing power or a scalable model -- typical margins vary a lot by sector.
P/E Ratio in practice
Price €150 ÷ EPS €5 = P/E 30
You're paying 30x annual earnings. Is that expensive? For a growth company like NVIDIA (P/E 60+) it's relatively cheap. For a utility company (P/E 12-18) it would be expensive. Always compare within the sector!
RSI interpretation
RSI = 25 → Oversold  |  RSI = 75 → Overbought
An RSI of 25 means the stock has declined far more than it has risen over the past 14 days. Statistically a rebound is more likely, but it can also mean further decline on bad news.
Dividend Yield calculation
Annual dividend €3.20 ÷ Price €80 × 100 = Yield 4.0%
With a €10,000 investment you receive €400 per year in dividends. Note: if the price drops sharply, the yield automatically rises — that's not always a good sign!
Beta & risk
Market +2% → Beta 1.5 stock: +3%  |  Beta 0.5 stock: +1%
High beta (e.g. Tesla, beta 2.0) moves more sharply with the market — bigger gains on the way up, but bigger losses on the way down. Low beta (e.g. Unilever, beta 0.4) is more defensive.
Stop-Loss with ATR
Price €50 − (2 × ATR €1.80) = Stop-Loss €46.40
€46.40 is an indicative risk level, not a guaranteed sell price -- a stop order doesn't guarantee execution at exactly that level (e.g. on a price gap or low liquidity). The distance between €50 and €46.40 is ~7.2%; the actual result can differ due to price gaps, costs and execution. The ATR method adapts to the stock's own volatility.
MACD crossover
MACD line crosses above the signal line → Bullish crossover
When the MACD line (blue) crosses the signal line (orange) from below to above, this is often interpreted as a positive momentum signal (the reverse as negative). Its position relative to the zero line adds context: a crossover below zero can point to an early recovery, one above zero can give further confirmation of positive momentum.
ETF: Acc vs Dist
Fund X (Acc) → reinvests  |  Fund X (Dist) → pays out
For the same ETF with an Acc and a Dist share class, the Acc variant automatically keeps the dividend invested; the Dist variant pays it out as cash. If the distributed dividend isn't reinvested, a difference in compound returns builds up over time -- that's no guarantee of a higher end result. Tax treatment varies by country, residency and fund structure.
Market Cap categories
Apple $3T = Mega-cap  |  Barco €2.8B = Mid-cap
Mega/Large-cap = more stable, more liquidity, lower volatility. Small-cap = higher growth potential but also higher risk and less trading volume.
Golden Cross example
SMA50 crosses above SMA200 → Golden Cross = Bullish
This is often interpreted as a shift toward a more positive long-term trend. The pattern is lagging (SMAs react slowly to price changes) and can also give a false signal -- no guarantee of further gains. Always combine with other indicators and market context.