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The trigger price that activates a stop order.
Why It Matters
The stop price is the line in the sand. While the stock stays on one side of it, your stop order sleeps. The instant the market touches the stop price, the order wakes up and tries to execute. For a sell-stop it sits below the current price; for a buy-stop it sits above. One key point: hitting the stop price doesn't mean you trade at that price - it just starts the order, and the actual fill depends on whether it became a market or limit order.
Key Points
- The trigger that activates a stop order
- Sell-stops sit below price; buy-stops sit above
- Reaching it starts the order - it does not set your fill price
Learn More
Stop-Loss & Stop-Limit Orders
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Related Terms
Common Questions
The trigger price that activates a stop order. The stop price is the line in the sand. While the stock stays on one side of it, your stop order sleeps.
The stop price is the line in the sand. While the stock stays on one side of it, your stop order sleeps. The instant the market touches the stop price, the order wakes up and tries to execute. For a sell-stop it sits below the current price; for a buy-stop it sits above. One key point: hitting the stop price doesn't mean you trade at that price - it just starts the order, and the actual fill depends on whether it became a market or limit order.
The trigger that activates a stop order
Sell-stops sit below price; buy-stops sit above
Reaching it starts the order - it does not set your fill price