Accumulation distribution is kind of the applause meter referring to whether investors are buying or selling shares of a given stock, as metered and measured by how the stock price does, relative to the volumes in trading of that stock. So for example, if a stock is flat on massive volumes, like three times the normal rate on a given day, then someone is probably dumping the stock, because in theory, there simply wouldn't be a buyer of huge size on a flat day (and this presumes a flat market).
Normally, when a big seller is selling, you'd expect the stock to go down. In this case, think: "Accumulation" = buyers have positive sentiment and are buying up the excess liquidity in the market; "Distribution" = owners are selling shares, because sentiment is bearish on that given stock, relative to everything else.
That's the ratio, anyway, and it's a Thing that is actually tracked.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is an Annualized Return?36 Views
Finance, a la shmoop. What is an annualized return? Alright people, well
when you invest a dollar you hope or even expect to get more than a dollar [ATM machine]
back, at some point. And let's say you invested that dollar in Terminators
Closet -a leading dealer in cybernetic body enhancements. And it went from $1 a
share to a dollar ten six months later. Alright, nice return.
You made 10% in just six months but in most investing discussions ,investment [spreadsheet shown]
returns are discussed in the form of annual returns, not monthly or daily or
biannual numbers, so you need to convert your six-month return into an annualized [angelic glow]
one, and you can do the process here of computing that number that is if you made
10% in six months well then in a year presumably you could notion that you'd
have made 20%. It's not that you would have guaranteedly made 20% it's just [spreadsheet shown]
the math saying that well if you had compounded at that rate then you'd have
made 20%, so what if she made 10% in a month? Well the stock went from a buck a
share Jan 1 to a buck ten a share by Feb 1 .Well if you impute so that you can [calendar shown]
compute that month's gain of 10% would carry a compound rate of a hundred
twenty percent. Right ? You're multiplying 12 months times 10 there, that'd be
annualizing it meaning, that at that rate you are more than doubling your money on [spreadsheet shown]
an annualized return basis. And that's more than enough dough to keep
terminators closet popping out those Wi-Fi enabled contact lenses faster than [woman watches TV]
people can wear them.
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