A good ATR depends on the asset. If it generally has an ATR of close to $1.18, it is performing in a way that can be interpreted as normal. If the same asset suddenly has an ATR of more than $1.18, it might indicate that further investigation is required. Likewise, if it has a much lower ATR, you should determine why it is happening before taking action.
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The Average True Range (ATR) Formula
The formula to calculate ATR for an investment with a previous ATR calculation is : \begin{aligned}&\frac{ \text{Previous ATR} ( n – 1 ) + \text{TR} }{ n } \\&\textbf{where:} \\&n = \text{Number of periods} \\&\text{TR} = \text{True range} \\\end{aligned}nPrevious ATR(n−1)+TRwhere:n=Number of periodsTR=True range If there is not a previous ATR calculated, you must use: \begin{aligned}&\Big ( \frac{ 1 }{…
How Do You Read ATR Values?
An average true range value is the average price range of an investment over a period. So if the ATR for an asset is $1.18, its price has an average range of movement of $1.18 per trading day.
What Does the ATR Tell You?
Wilder originally developed the ATR for commodities, although the indicator can also be used for stocks and indices.1 Simply put, a stock experiencing a high level of volatility has a higher ATR, and a lower ATR indicates lower volatility for the period evaluated. The ATR may be used by market technicians to enter and exit trades and is a…
Example of How to Use the ATR
As a hypothetical example, assume the first value of a five-day ATR is calculated at 1.41, and the sixth day has a true range of 1.09. The sequential ATR value could be estimated by multiplying the previous value of the ATR by the number of days less one and then adding the true range for…
How to Calculate the ATR
The first step in calculating ATR is to find a series of true range values for a security. The price range of an asset for a given trading day is its high minus its low. To find an asset’s true range value, you first determine the three terms from the formula. Suppose that XYZ’s stock…
The Bottom Line
The average true range is an indicator of the price volatility of an asset. It is best used to determine how much an investment’s price has been moving in the period being evaluated rather than an indication of a trend. Calculating an investment’s ATR is relatively straightforward, only requiring you to use price data for…
