Decode every field in a standard stock quote — price, volume, 52-week range, market cap, and more — and use them to evaluate a stock at a glance.
~5 min read
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A stock quote is a snapshot of a stock's current and recent trading data — essentially a scorecard. Every brokerage and financial website shows you the same core fields. Knowing what each means lets you evaluate a stock in seconds.
In PaperTrade Academy: The watchlist and order panel display live quote data. Understand each field before you place a trade on any position.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Last price | Most recent trade executed |
| Change ($) | Today's price change from yesterday's close |
| Change (%) | Today's change as a percentage |
| Open | First trade price of today's session |
| Previous close | Yesterday's closing price |
A price of $47.82 with a change of +$1.23 (+2.64%) means the stock opened the day lower and has since gained $1.23.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Bid | Highest price a buyer currently offers |
| Ask | Lowest price a seller currently accepts |
| Spread | Ask − Bid (the cost of immediacy) |
Liquid large-cap stocks (Apple, Microsoft) have spreads of $0.01. Illiquid small-cap stocks may have spreads of $0.50 or more.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Volume | Number of shares traded so far today |
| Avg volume (30-day) | Average daily volume over the past 30 days |
| Relative volume | Today's volume ÷ average volume |
Relative volume is your best tell for unusual activity. Relative volume of 3.0 means today's volume is 3× the average — something is happening.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Day range | Today's low and high prices |
| 52-week range | Lowest and highest prices over the past year |
A stock trading near its 52-week high shows strength; one near its 52-week low may be under pressure — or a bargain. Context matters.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Market cap | Share price × shares outstanding (total company value) |
| P/E ratio | Price ÷ earnings per share (valuation metric) |
| Dividend & yield | Annual dividend and its % relative to stock price |
| EPS | Earnings per share (trailing twelve months) |
| Shares outstanding | Total shares issued by the company |
TICKER: XYZ
Last: $47.82 Change: +$1.23 (+2.64%)
Open: $46.50 Prev. Close: $46.59
Bid/Ask: $47.80 / $47.83 Spread: $0.03
Volume: 4.2M Avg Vol (30d): 1.8M
Day Range: $46.11 – $48.05
52-wk Range: $31.20 – $54.90
Market Cap: $9.4B
P/E: 18.4 EPS: $2.60
Dividend: $1.00 (2.09% yield)
Reading this: XYZ is up 2.6% today on unusually high volume (2.3× average). It's trading in the middle of its 52-week range. The P/E of 18.4 and dividend yield of ~2% suggest a moderately valued dividend-paying company.