Professional Stock Lingo, Block Orders

When trading large amounts of stock the lingo changes from simply, “I bought 15 shares of Apple today Bob.” Institutions such as mutual funds and hedge funds are typically trading so many shares at once that they tend to stick to whole amount standards, one of which is called a “block” of shares.

So how many shares is a block order? A standard block is 10,000 shares total which for the average investor should make heads spin because 10,000 shares of a stock trading at $50 is $500,000 worth of stock. So, instead of a fund manager saying, “I bought 100,000 shares of XYZ today” they will say instead, “I bought 10 blocks of XYZ today.” Try it sometime twisted .

You can find the term Block Order in the stock terms area of the site (View a full list of all terms).

More on this topic (What's this?)
Can You See Apple Under 60?
Hedge Fund Implosions Starting
Read more on Mutual Funds, The Impact of Hedge Funds, Apple at Wikinvest

Discuss this post in the StockTradingToGo Forum or email us.

Subscribe To StockTradingToGo.com

Receive our investment research for free to your mailbox. More stock tips, picks, news and more. Just enter your email below:


-- Posted by Blain Reinkensmeyer on August 28, 2008 at 7:17 pm --

Related Posts:

Comments on "Professional Stock Lingo, Block Orders" are closed unless our forms appear below.
Comment by kanerd
2008-08-28 21:32:06

I want to trade a block one day mrgreen

 
Comment by Matt
2008-08-28 21:42:44

What is a “lot”? I have heard that term used before too

Comment by rhinodude47
2008-08-29 01:18:51

A lot is the same general concept as a block, except it can be any basic sum. Take for example options where each option controls 100 shares, this would be known as a 100 share lot.

 
 
Comment by Brandon
2008-08-29 08:53:42

“term of the day” rules!!!

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Subscribe to comments via email
mrgreen neutral arrow idea ? ! -) roll twisted evil cry oops razz mad lol cool ??? shock eek sad smile grin
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.