Float

What is Float?

Float is the number of a company's shares that are freely available for trading on the open market. It excludes shares held by insiders, employees (restricted stock), and closely held shares.

Why float matters for day traders

• Low float stocks (under 10-20 million shares) can move dramatically on relatively small volume
• High float stocks (hundreds of millions) tend to move more slowly and predictably
• Float rotation: when a stock trades more than its entire float in a day, it signals extreme interest

Many day traders specifically scan for low-float stocks with high relative volume because these setups offer the largest percentage moves.