📖Glossary - V

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Value Line Arithmetic Composite Average ($VLE)

The Value Line Arithmetic Composite Average is an equally weighted price index of all stocks in the Value Line Investment Survey. It is referred to as “arithmetic” because the index is computed by finding the mean or simple average.

Chart $VLE in GalleryView.

Value Line Geometric Composite Average ($XVG)

The Value Line Geometric Composite Average is an equally weighted price index of all stocks in the Value Line Investment Survey. It is referred to as “geometric” because the index is computed by finding the geometric average. A geometric average is calculated by taking the nth root of the product of n terms.

Chart $XVG in GalleryView.

Vega

The vega of an option measures the change in the price of the option relative to a 1% change in implied volatility. See our ChartSchool article on Options Pricing and Options Chains.

Vertical Spread

A vertical spread options trading strategy comprises a long option and a short option—both must be calls or puts. In addition, both contracts have to be of the same quantity and expiration. There are different types of vertical spreads, depending on whether you're buying and selling calls or puts. See our ChartSchool article on Options Trading Strategies.

Visual Analysis

A form of analysis that utilizes charts and market indicators to determine market direction.

Volatility

A 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. The more volatile a stock or market, the more money an investor can gain (or lose!) in a short time.

Volatility (Implied)

See Implied Volatility (IV).

Volatility Index ($VIX)

The Market Volatility Index (VIX) measures the volatility of the market. A recent news story described it as “the options market's gauge of investor fear.” Traders use VIX as a general inverse indicator of market volatility and sentiment. High numbers mean that there's excess bearishness, while low numbers indicate excess bullishness. Created in 1993, the VIX is updated intraday by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) using Standard & Poors 500 Index (SPX) bid/ask quotes. See our ChartSchool article on Volatility Indices for more information.

Chart $VIX in GalleryView.

Volume

The number of trades in a security over a period of time. On a chart, volume is usually represented as a histogram (vertical bars) below the price chart. The NYSE and Nasdaq measure volume differently. For every buyer, there is a seller: 100 shares bought = 100 shares sold. The NYSE would count this as one trade and as 100 shares of volume. However, the Nasdaq would count each side of the trade and as 200 shares volume.

Volume by Price

A horizontal histogram that overlays a price chart. The histogram bars stretch from left to right starting at the left side of the chart. The length of each bar is determined by the cumulative total of all volume bars for the periods during which the closing price fell within the vertical range of the histogram bar. See our ChartSchool article on Volume by Price.

Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP)

An intraday indicator based on the total dollar value of all trades for the current day divided by the total trading volume for the current day. See our ChartSchool article on VWAP.

Volume Oscillator

See Percentage Volume Oscillator (PVO).

VWAP

See Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP).