The bid & ask refers to the price that an investor is willing to buy or sell a stock. The bid is the highest amount that a buyer is currently willing to pay, whereas the ask is the lowest amount that a seller is currently willing to sell. The numbers next to the bid/ask are the “size”. The bid size displays the total amount of desired shares to buy at that price, and the ask size is the number of shares offered for sale at that price. The data displayed in the quote bar updates every 3 seconds; allowing you to monitor prices in real-time.

The bid-ask spread can indicate a stock’s liquidity, which is how easy it is to buy and sell in the marketplace. Often, a smaller spread suggests higher liquidity, meaning more buyers and sellers in the market are willing to negotiate. In contrast, a larger spread suggests lower liquidity, as there are fewer investors willing to negotiate. You can use the bid-ask spread to determine whether to place a  market order or limit order when trading, helping you to optimize your price and have a successful order execution.

Real-time bid and ask information is powered by Nasdaq Basic, a premier market data solution. This data feed is available via Nasdaq Data Link APIs; to learn more about subscribing, visit Learn More About Nasdaq Basic.