What is a stock's moving average?

@cedrick.casper 

A stock's moving average is a calculation used to analyze the overall trend of a stock's price over a specific period of time. It is calculated by taking the average price of a stock over a certain number of time periods, such as days or weeks. Moving averages are often used to smooth out short-term fluctuations in stock prices and provide a clearer picture of the stock's overall direction. They can also act as support or resistance levels, indicating potential buying or selling opportunities for traders and investors.

@cedrick.casper 

Moving averages can be calculated using various methods, such as simple moving average (SMA), exponential moving average (EMA), or weighted moving average (WMA). The choice of which method to use depends on the analyst's preferences and objectives.

A simple moving average (SMA) is calculated by adding up the closing prices of a stock over a specified number of periods and then dividing the sum by the number of periods. For example, a 50-day SMA would calculate the average closing price over the past 50 trading days.

An exponential moving average (EMA) places more weight on recent data points, giving more significance to more recent price movements. This is achieved by applying a weighting factor to each data point, with the most recent data points having a higher weight. The specific formula for calculating EMA involves using a smoothing factor or multiplier.

A weighted moving average (WMA) assigns different weights to each data point within the moving average calculation. The weights reflect the analyst's belief in the significance of each data point, with more importance given to recent prices.

Moving averages are often plotted on a chart to visually represent the stock's trend. Traders and investors use moving averages to identify key support and resistance levels, determine entry and exit points, and confirm the overall trend of a stock.