Understanding the Large Ask Size Alert

These alerts report when a stock has an unusually high number of shares on the best ask. These are very short term alerts aimed at very fast, experienced traders.

We only generate these alerts for stocks with an average daily volume of less than 3,000,000 shares per day. If a stock typically trades less than 1,000,000 shares per day we require an ask size of 6,000 shares or greater to generate an alert. Otherwise we require an ask size of 10,000 shares or greater to generate an alert. We also have additional filters to prevent a stock from reporting this alert too often.

If we report a large ask size, then the size grows even larger, we typically report another alert. The message for that alert is labeled "(Size increasing)".

If a stock is showing a large ask size, and the price changes but the size remains large enough, we may report an additional alert. The message for that alert is labeled "(Price rising)" or "(Price dropping)". This message only applies to large size.

If a large ask is rising, this makes for a stronger alert. If a large ask is dropping, this may be a "head fake"; someone may be trying to trick you by showing large size in one direction, while slowly buying or selling in the other direction. In either case, we report an alert.

The bid and the ask are two completely separate alerts. The size or price of the bid does not influence the Large ask size alert. The size or price of the ask does not influence the Large bid size alert.

Default Settings

By default, this alert will appear when stock that is trading 1,000,000 shares per day has an ask size of 6,000 shares or greater. Otherwise an ask size of 10,000 shares or greater is required generate an alert.

Custom Settings

For 'Large Ask Size' alerts, you have the option to use an alert specific filter. This filter is located immediately to the right of the corresponding alert and is always optional. You can decide to leave it blank if you want to receive more alerts, or you can fill it in to restrict the number of alerts you receive.

This filter allows you to specify the quality of the alert. When you set a higher number for this filter, you are telling the alerts server to display only alerts that meet a higher quality standard, resulting in fewer alerts being shown.

When setting an alert for 'Large Ask Size', you can specify the minimum number of shares on the ask. If a stock is showing fewer shares when the alert is reported, you will not see the alert. We do not smooth or average this value; all that matters is the value at exactly the time the alert was reported. If you leave this field blank, you will see the most alerts. Some alert types have minimums built into them. You can also set minimums for the entire window. An alert must pass through all of these filters to be displayed.

Description Column

The description column of your scan will give more detail on the alert. It will include notes such as "size increasing" or "price dropping" if a bid size goes up or price drops after the initial alert.

Quality Column

Add the quality column to a scan using the 'Large Ask Size' alert to see the number of shares on the bid.