The float.
How many shares are available to buy in the market. im with Westpac
Hi Matt …… Probably the only way to calculate what you are looking for (and it will always be subject to variation depending on the intentions of major shareholders/long term investors etc)
Total Shares on issue for a Co can be found in Annual reports/Presentations.
Theoretically, Major Shareholders/LT Investors are not generally Selling short term. The amount of
Shares they hold can also be found in A/Reports/Preso etc.
So if a Co has 100 million shares on issue and the MSH's etc are holding say 50%, then you have a
Float of 50 million shares that might be available for trading. I assume that is the kind of info you are looking for??
In reality, these numbers are just numbers. The majority of Stocks have (and need) plenty of liquidity to trade effectively, but the available "float" is probably
never evident on the market depth screen.
If you are looking for an edge in trading low "float' Stocks, it can be a double edged sword as the lack of liquidity deters the majority of punters … you therefore may buy the stock of the century only to see it go nowhere for years.
In saying that, I agree, if you get in early on a Stock with future potential, the price movement can be exponential if punters get involved
Hope that helps a bit.