Float

Float

Understanding a stock’s free float
The float is the number of shares available on the open market. This can be calculated by taking the total amount of outstanding shares and subtracting the number of restricted shares/closely held shares*.
*These are shares owned by insiders, employees or long term investors. They don’t often change hands.

Three things can cause a stocks float to change after the initial public offering (IPO):

1) Stock splits: in a traditional split the float will increase (XYZ ticker preforms a 1:3 split. 1 share becomes 3). In a reverse split the float will decrease. (XYZ ticker performs a 10:1 reverse split. 10 becomes 1)

2) Stock Buybacks: a company can buy back shares from the open market, thus reducing the amount in circulation. This decreases the float.

3) Secondary Offerings: A company sells shares on the open market. This increases the float. **
**most companies don’t issue all of the available shares at one time. This allows a company to work around shareholder approval.

Small vs large floats

While there is no specific number that makes a ticker a small or large float most respectable traders tend to consider 20-25 million and under to be a low float stock.

Look at RNXT or IMFK (the two winners from today’s morning list). Each of these tickers have a sub 10 million float. Now search for MSFT and BAC. 7.5 BILLION and 8.2 billion respectively.

This matters because of the simple rule of supply and demand. If there is a demand and few shares to buy price goes up quickly. (it works in reverse too!) We as day traders capitalize on this price action mismatch.

Using free float in trading decisions is one of my top three “indicators”. Different traders target different floats, there is no RIGHT amount.
I personally target tickers with a sub 15 million free float first. Sub 10 is even better for my particular style.

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