Chart Studies

NOTE: Interpreting studies is a complex subject, so it is recommended that you learn as much as possible about each study before incorporating its feedback into your trading strategy. Many books, web sites, and third party educators are available to further your understanding of Technical Analysis.

Get a quick overview of all the Chart Tab features in this self-paced Charts training course.

You may position up to 4 technical analysis studies, including volume, in each chart.

Studies may be positioned above or below the chart using the up/down arrows in the upper left corner of each study. You can also remove a study from the display by clicking the X button next to the name of the study.

Available Studies:

• Average True Range - Measures a security's volatility by averaging the True Range over a period of time you specify when setting up the study. Default of 14 periods can be changed. True Range is the greatest of the following:
• The current high minus the current low.
• The absolute value of the current high less the previous close.
• The absolute value of the current low less the previous close.
• CCI (Commodity Channel Index) - Measures the variation of a security's price from its statistical mean. High values show that prices are unusually high compared to average prices whereas low values indicate that prices are unusually low.  Default of 20 periods (minutes, hours, days, etc.)
• Fibonacci
• MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) - A trend-following momentum indicator using 3 exponential moving averages: a short or fast average, a long or slow average, and an exponential average of their difference (the last used as a signal or trigger line). The periods defaults for the calculation are 12, 26 and 9.  
• Momentum - Measures the amount that a security’s price has changed over the last 14 days. If today has not closed yet, it uses the current price for today’s close.  Default of 14 periods (minutes, hours, days, etc.)
• OBV - On Balance Volume - Relates volume to price changes by adding volume to a running total when the price closes up for a period, then subtracts the volume if the stock closes down for a period.  
• Put/Call Ratio - Shows the number of puts divided by the number of calls based on open interest for individual stocks or indices. The ratio is often used as a contrary market indicator, which means that a high ratio may be a bullish indicator and a low ratio is often interpreted as a bearish indicator. This study may be expressed in actual or simple moving average (SMA) format. Available for daily, weekly and monthly charts for optionable securities.
• ROC - Rate of Change - Change in price between the current price and the close 20 days ago, divided by the price 20 days ago.  Default of 20 periods (minutes, hours, days, etc.)  Technical study parameters will be configurable.
• RSI - Relative Strength Index - Indicates the degree of positive and negative movement by the security on a scale of 0 (weakest) to 100 (strongest). Determined by figuring the ratio of the average up closes for the last 13 days (using today's Current Price for the 14th day) divided by the sum of the average up closes and the average down closes for the same period. This ratio is multiplied by 100.  The initial value of an n-period RSI is based on the price action for the first n periods. Subsequent values are determined using an inductive formula.  Default of 14 periods (minutes, hours, days, etc.)  
• RSI (Adaptive) - Adapts the standard RSI to a smoothing constant.  Default of 14 periods (minutes, hours, days, etc.)  
• Stochastic (Fast) - The Fast Stochastic is the average of the last three %K and a Slow Stochastic is a three day average of the Fast Stochastic. Use as a buy/sell signal generator, buying when fast moves above slow and selling when fast moves below slow.   The default for the calculation should be %K-14 periods, %D-3 periods, and 3 periods.  
• Stochastic (Slow) - Similar in principle to %D, %D Slow represents a slower, less volatile indicator that simply adds an additional degree of smoothing, or moving average period, to the original %D. The default for the calculation is %K-14 periods, %D-3 periods, and 3 periods.  
• Williams %R - A momentum indicator that measures overbought and oversold levels. The interpretation of Williams %R is very similar to that of the %K stochastic indicator. The oversold indications are in the range of -80 to -100, while the overbought indications are in the range of -20 to 0.  The default for the calculation is a period of 14.
• Volatility - Measurement of change in price over a given period. It is usually expressed as a percentage and computed as the annualized standard deviation of the percentage change in daily price.
• Historical Volatility - Reflects how far an equity’s price has deviated from its average price over the number of periods you specify. This study only applies to Daily, Weekly, and Monthly charts. Default of 20 periods.  
• Implied Volatility -  A theoretical value (in %) designed to represent the forecasted volatility of the security or index as determined by the prices of multiple call and put options using the Black-Scholes pricing model.
  
  Choose to view the Average of Puts & Calls (Avg), Average of Puts (Puts), or Average of Calls (Calls). Also, choose whether to view actual implied volatility (IV Actual) or a simple moving average of implied volatility (IV SMA). Default period for the IV SMA is 20.
  
  *Implied Volatility studies are only available on daily, weekly, and monthly charts for optionable securities. Implied Volatility values are computed using the Black-Scholes model and may not be available on all underlying securities. The Schwab Avg – Implied Volatility, Call - Implied Volatility, and Put - Implied Volatility, while based on the Robert E. Whaley calculation, are derived using methods that may differ from those used by other data providers.
  
  -AVG: The formula used in calculating this value is:
  
  2 in-the-money calls (nearest to the current underlying price) +
  2 in-the-money puts (nearest to the current underlying price) for the two nearest expiration months +
  2 out-of-the-money calls (nearest to the current underlying price) +
  2 out-of-the-money puts (nearest to the current underlying price) for the 2 nearest expiration months/16
  
  -Calls or Puts: The formula used in calculating this value is:
  
  2 in-the-money calls/puts (nearest to the current underlying price) for the two nearest expiration months +
  2 out of the money calls/puts (nearest to the current underlying price) for the two nearest expiration months/8
• Volume - Simply the number of shares (or contracts) traded during a specified time frame (e.g., hour, day, week, month, etc).