About Barchart Opinions

Unique to Barchart, Opinions analyzes a stock or commodity using 13 popular analytics in short-, medium- and long-term periods. Results are interpreted as buy, sell or hold signals, each with numeric ratings and summarized with an overall percentage buy or sell rating.

Each Opinion requires a minimum of six months' worth of trading activity and run the prices through 13 different technical indicators. After each calculation, the program assigns a Buy, Sell or Hold value with the study, depending on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of the study. For example, a price above its moving average is generally considered an upward trend or a buy.

Calculations

The Short, Medium and Long term indicators are grouped together and calculated separately for their groups. The overall indicator is a composite of all 13 studies listed on the page.

A Buy is assigned 1 point
A Sell is assigned -1 point
A Hold is assigned 0 points

Add up the totals for the different groups and divide this number by the amount of studies in the group, and take this number as a percentage. If the total is greater than zero, then this signals a Buy. If the total is zero, then this signals a Hold and if the total is less than zero, then this signals a Sell.

To keep the results in a more logical format, we factor the overall opinion by 1.04 to keep the end result in eighths, with the exception of a 100% buy or sells. This is why the opinions will be displayed {8%, 16%, ... 88%, 96% and 100%} rather the true calculated value over the number thirteen.

Signal Strength

The signal strength is a measurement of the strength of the signal compared to its historical performance.

The strength can be one of the following five readings:

Maximum, Strong, Average, Weak, Minimum

Maximum is the strongest this signal has been in the historical period and Minimum is the weakest the signal has been in the historical period. Stronger signal strengths are less likely to change directions over the short-term than a weak signal. For example, a Maximum buy signal is less likely to change to a hold or a sell signal than a Weak buy signal. A hold signal does not have a signal strength.

Signal Direction

Buy/Sell Signal Direction

The Signal Direction indicates whether the Buy or Sell signal is strengthening or weakening.

The buy/sell direction can be one of the following five readings:

Strongest, Strengthening, Rising, Weakening, Weakest

A buy signal with a "Strongest" direction is a buy signal that is becoming a stronger buy signal. Similarly a sell signal with a "Strongest" direction is a sell signal that is becoming a stronger sell signal.

Hold Signal Direction

The Signal Direction for a hold signal indicates whether a signal is heading towards a new buy signal or a sell signal.

The Signal Direction for a hold signal can be one of the following five readings:

Bullish, Rising, Steady, Falling, Bearish

A bullish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading towards a buy configuration. Likewise, and a bearish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading towards a sell configuration.