Lot

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Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Lot'

In general, any group of goods or services making up a transaction. In the financial markets, a lot represents the standardized quantity of a financial instrument as set out by an exchange or similar regulatory body. For exchange-traded securities, a lot may represent the minimum quantity of that security that may be traded.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Lot'

In terms of stocks, the lot is the number of shares you purchase in one transaction. In terms of options, a lot represents the number of contracts contained in one derivative security.

The concept of lots allows the financial markets to standardize price quotes. For example, equity options are priced such that each contract (or lot) represents exercise rights for 100 underlying shares of common stock. With such standardization, investors always know exactly how many units they are buying with each contract and can easily assess what price per unit they are paying. Without such standardization, valuing and trading options would be needlessly cumbersome and time consuming.

Related Definitions

  • Odd Lot

    An order amount for a security that is less than the normal unit of trading for that particular asset. Odd lots are considered to be anything less than the standard 100 shares for ...
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  • Round Lot

    A group of 100 shares of a stock, or any group of shares that can be evenly divided by 100, such as 500, 2,600 or 14,300. A round lot has historically been the smallest order that can be ...
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  • Job Lot

    A futures contract with a minimum trading unit smaller than the levels required in regular contracts.
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    • Board Lot

      A standardized number of shares defined by a stock exchange as a trading unit. In most cases, this means 100 shares. The purpose of a board lot is to avoid "odd lots" and to facilitate ...
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    • Bunching

      The combining of odd-lot or round-lot orders for the same security so that they may be executed at the same time.
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    • Odd Lot Theory

      A technical analysis theory/indicator based on the assumption that the small individual investor is always wrong. Therefore, if odd lot sales are up - that is small investors are selling ...
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    • Odd Lotter

      An individual investor who buys securities, usually stocks, in odd lots. This is the opposite of someone who buys securities in round lots.
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    • Even Lot

      A normal unit of trading for securities or bonds. An even lot purchase of stock is 100 shares, while an even lot purchase for bonds is five shares. A stock transaction that involves less ...
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    • Mixed Lot

      A type of order for a number of securities that is not a round (or whole) lot order amount. This type of order is comprised of a round lot order and an odd lot order. A round lot is the ...
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    • Mini-Lot

      A currency trading lot size that is 1/10 the size of the standard lot of 100,000 units. One pip of a currency pair based in U.S. dollars is equal to $1 when trading a mini-lot, compared ...
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