How to Trade Stocks

Here are some basics for researching stocks and entering stock orders at E*TRADE on the etrade.com order ticket (please note: other platforms such as Power E*TRADE, E*TRADE Pro, and Mobile may not offer all order types and terms described below, and in some cases may offer additional order types and terms unique to that platform).

If you haven't yet opened an account for trading stocks, you can open an E*TRADE Securities brokerage account today.

Get quotes, news, and research

Place an order on the etrade.com website

After you place an order

View open stock orders
View and track orders
Change or cancel a stock order
Get trade confirmations
Inquire about my trade
Know how proceeds from a sale are processed
Understand why my order was rejected
Get quotes, news, and research about stocks I own

Get a stock quote and chart

Looking for a stock's most recent quote? How about an intraday chart? Our powerful Quotes & Research section provides all the tools you need in one place.

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Get real-time market data

Our on-demand feature enables eligible customers to access real-time market data for stocks, ETFs, options, and indexes.

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Use MarketCaster

Get streaming real-time information about stocks with MarketCaster.

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Place a stock or ETF order on etrade.com

Below are instructions for placing a standard stock or ETF order using the etrade.com Stocks/ETFs ticket. If you'd like to place a conditional order on etrade.com, see the Help topic Place and manage conditional orders.

Go to the Stocks/ETFs tab of the etrade.com order entry ticket.
If you want to place the order using an account not currently displayed, select that account from the drop-down menu.

Tip:
To get snapshot information about your account without leaving the order entry ticket, you can expand/collapse the Balance Information section next to the account menu, and also click the Positions and Open Orders tabs in the right side panel.
Enter the symbol of the stock you want to trade in the Symbol If you don't know the symbol, you can start typing the name of the company and a list of possible matches will appear. You can then select the appropriate symbol from the list.

Tip:
To have the Stocks/ETFs ticket automatically populate with a marketable limit order (an order to buy stock at the current ask price) upon entering a symbol, open the Defaults menu at the upper right and set the value to "On".
In the Action menu, choose whether you want to enter a buy, sell, sell-short, or buy-to-cover(to close a short position) order.
Enter the number of shares in your order in the Quantity field.
Select the Price Type for your order. Your choices are:
- Market, Market on Close, Limit, Stop on Quote, or Stop Limit on Quote
- Trailing Stop – Select Trailing Stop $ or Trailing Stop % to indicate whether you will be setting your trailing stop in dollar or percentage terms.
  
  Notes:
  - Trailing stop orders can be accepted only for NYSE, Nasdaq/NMS, and Nasdaq SmallCap securities trading at $1 or more per share.
  - Trailing stop orders placed outside of regular market hours will be held to be processed at the beginning of the next regular market session. Trailing stop orders cannot be triggered, nor trailing stops updated, outside of regular market hours.
Enter the price information in the field(s) appearing next to the Price Type menu. (This step does not apply for market orders.)

Notes:
- To learn more about entering information for trailing stop orders, see Set trailing stop values.
Under Duration, indicate the duration of your order. Your choices may be: Good for Day, Good for 60 Days, Good Until Date (GTD), Immediate or Cancel, or Fill or Kill. Not all terms are available for every price type.

Note: To place an order for the Extended Hours session, select either Extended Hrs Day (7am-8pm ET),Extended Hrs (Immediate or Cancel) or Extended Hrs Night (8pm-4am ET) as your term. Also, keep in mind that Extended Hours orders can be placed only as limit orders, and Extended Hours Night orders are only available for a small group of eligible securities.
If you're placing a limit or stop limit on quote order and you'd like to enter the order as all-or-none (AON), check the box for All-or-None.
Click Preview. The information you just entered will be displayed, as well as last sale information for the stock as reported by the markets.
If you're satisfied that the information you've entered is correct, click Place Order. Otherwise, click Change Order or Cancel Order.

Once your order has filled, you'll receive an online Smart Alert and an online or paper trade confirmation.

Set trailing stop values

With a trailing stop order, you set your stop as a distance in either points or percent from the stock's current bid or ask price (the bid price for sell orders and the ask price for buy orders). This is in contrast to a regular stop on quote order, where the stop is set as a fixed price.

If you are placing a stock or ETF order with a trailing stop, on the etrade.com order entry ticket, select either of the following from the Price Type menu:

Trailing Stop $ – to enter your trailing stop value in dollar terms
Trailing Stop % – to enter your trailing stop value in percentage terms

In the Stop Value field, enter your trailing stop value (the maximum distance you want your trailing stop to be from the current bid or ask price). Please keep in mind that this value should be entered as a percentage if you selected Trailing Stop % as your price type, and as a dollar figure if you selected Trailing Stop $.

Note:
The following chart shows where you'll be setting your trailing stop in relation to the stock's current price.

Order Type	Placement of Trailing Stop
Buy	Above the current ask price
Sell	Below the current bid price
Sell short	Below the current bid price
Buy to cover	Above the current ask price

After you submit your trailing stop order, the stop price will adjust itself automatically, following (or "trailing") the stock's bid or ask price, but moving only in a direction favorable to you, in accordance to the parameters you defined for your order. You can keep track of the current stop price via the View Orders page.

Trailing stop orders are held at E*TRADE Securities until triggered. Once the bid or ask crosses the current stop price, the order is triggered and sent to the market center as a market order and then executed at the prevailing market price.

To learn more, see our expanded description of trailing stop orders, or view our interactive tutorial.

Preview a stock order

The Preview Order screen enables you to review the details of your order before submitting.

To use the Preview Order screen:

Once you've finished entering information for your order on the order entry ticket, click the Preview Order button. The Preview Order screen will appear.

Review the details of your order, which may include:

Order Information	Description
Action	Buy, Sell, Sell-Short, or Buy-to-Cover (to close a short position)
Quantity	The number of shares in your order
Description	Security name Note: Current real-time quote information will also be displayed for your security on the right side of the screen.
Price Type (and Price)	Market, Market on Close, Limit, Stop on Quote, Stop Limit on Quote, or Trailing Stop Note: Depending on your price type selection, you may also see information for price, value, and/or stop amounts.
Duration	Good for Day, Good for 60 Days, Good Until Date (GTD), Immediate or Cancel, or Fill or Kill
Estimated Total Cost or Proceeds	The estimated cost or proceeds of your order, including applicable commissions and fees

If all information is correct, click Place Order to submit your order. To change or cancel your order without submitting, click Change Order or Cancel Order.

Understand order types on etrade.com

Sometimes, making sense of the different types of orders can be a challenge. On this page, we hope to clear things up.

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Understand and use conditional orders on etrade.com

Get all the information you need to understand, place, and get the most out of conditional orders.

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Trading in Over-the-Counter Equities

The term "over-the-counter" (OTC) equities refers to securities or stocks that trade via a dealer network, rather than on a centralized exchange. Stocks that trade OTC are generally those of small issuer companies or internationally-listed issuer companies that do not meet US exchange listing requirements.

When trading OTC stocks, it is possible that the prices and bid/ask quotations that you see online may not reflect the most current market conditions. Stocks that trade in over-the-counter markets can have wider bid/ask spreads and fewer liquidity providers than stocks that are listed on an exchange. OTC stocks can exhibit much more volatility than exchange listed stocks. Please visit the firm's disclosure library for more information regarding the risks involved in trading OTC equity securities.¹

Expert Market Securities

On September 28, 2021, new regulations took effect that impact your ability to buy and sell "Pink No Information," "Grey Market," and "Expert Market" OTC securities on E*TRADE.

Market data: No public bid/ask quotations will be published or displayed for Expert Market securities
Opening orders: No opening orders will be accepted for Expert Market securities
Closing orders: Closing orders in Expert Market securities will be permitted subject to each of the following conditions being met:
- The closing order must be unsolicited
- You don't have a relationship with the company as an Affiliate, Insider or Control Person
- Only Limit orders will be permitted
- Lack of market data and liquidity may hinder the ability to close a position quickly and/or at a favorable price
Transfers In: Incoming transfers of Expert Market OTC securities will not be allowed. Outgoing transfers will be allowed where permitted by the recipient broker

¹ Certain order type and functionality restrictions and limitations apply to trading in OTC equities, which may include, margining, short selling, and market order entry restrictions and limitations, among others.

Sub-Penny Trading

E*TRADE allows customers to enter orders on NASDAQ and Listed stocks at prices under $1.00/share with up to 4 decimal places ("sub-pennies"). Orders for Pink Sheet and OTC Bulletin Board stocks at prices under $1.00/share with up to 4 decimal places will be accepted.

Trade on margin

When you trade on margin, you borrow a portion of the funds you use to buy stocks so that you can try to take advantage of opportunities in the market.

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Sell short

Just as buying a stock allows you to profit when the price rises, selling short makes it possible to profit from a stock price's decline.

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Place an Extended Hours order on etrade.com

Extended Hours trading enables you to place orders for execution outside of regular market hours.

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Trade non-U.S. stocks

Some non-U.S. stocks and ADRs (American Depository Receipts) are traded in the domestic market, often as bulletin board securities. Many are not, though, and if a stock is not traded in the U.S., you will not be able to get quote information or place orders for it online.

To place an order for a non-U.S. stock, you'll need to speak with one of our brokers by calling us at 1-800-ETRADE-1.

When you contact us to place an order, we will attempt to contact a market maker for the stock and get you a quote. Then, if you decide to invest, we can place an order for you based on that quote information. Any quotes we give you and orders you place for non-U.S. securities will be in U.S. dollars.

All orders for non-U.S. securities placed with us are handled on a best-efforts basis.

Apply to participate in an IPO

Investing in an IPO can be an exciting endeavor, though the risks should be carefully considered.

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Invest in a Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP)

A Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP) is a convenient way to help your investments grow through systematic purchases.

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Understand wash sales

A wash sale occurs when you sell or trade stock or securities at a loss, and within 30 days before or after the sale you acquire substantially identical stock or securities. If your loss was disallowed because of the wash sale rules, add the disallowed loss to the cost of the new stock or securities. The result is your basis in the new stock or securities. This adjustment postpones ("defers") the loss deduction until the disposition of the new stock or securities. Your holding period for the new stock or securities begins on the same day as the holding period of the stock or securities sold. You cannot deduct losses from sales or trades of stock or securities in a wash sale.

Use a mobile device to invest and trade

With your mobile device, you can access E*TRADE anywhere.

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View and track orders

To view your orders, simply:

Go to etrade.com/vieworders.
If you have multiple E*TRADE Securities accounts and would like to view orders in an account not currently displayed, select that account via the Account pull-down menu. (You will not see this menu if you have only one account.)
By default, your open orders will be displayed, with the most recent orders appearing near the top. To find orders that are no longer open, click one of the order status links across the top of the screen (i.e. Executed, Canceled, Expired, etc.).
You can pinpoint particular orders by entering a date range or specific ticker symbol. For more advanced search options, be sure the View Orders screen is showing in its expanded format. If you see the link Expand Search Criteria on the right side of the screen, the expanded format is not showing; click the link to see all search options.
If you'd like to zoom in to get more specific information about a particular order, click the link for that order in the Order # column. This will display the order details table – a group of additional rows with detailed information about the order. To collapse the order details table, click the X in the upper right-hand corner of the table, or click the order number again.
To change or cancel open orders, click the Change or Cancel links in the Related Links column. However, please note that certain types of conditional orders – contingent orders and order groups – cannot be changed; they must be canceled and re-entered. To re-enter an order that has expired or been canceled, in the Related Links column, click Re-Enter Order.

Notes on trailing stops:

The Price column lets you track dynamic stop prices – for open trailing stop orders or the trailing stop component of open bracketed orders – in real time. When a trailing stop order has been executed or is no longer active, the Price column will display the initial stop price.
In the order details table for trailing stop orders (accessible by clicking the link in the Order # column), you'll find additional data for Initial Stop Price and Trailing Stop Parameter. When the order has executed, the order details table will also show Trigger Price and Trigger Date/Time.

Change or cancel a stock or ETF order

If an order you've placed has not executed (or has not been completely filled), you can submit a request to change or cancel the order.

Go to the View Orders page.
If you have multiple accounts, be sure you have the correct account displayed. If the correct account is not displayed, at Account, select a different account.
Locate the order you'd like to change or cancel. For more advanced search options, be sure the View Orders screen is showing in its expanded format. If you see the link Expand Search Criteria on the right side of the screen, the expanded format is not showing; click the link to see all search options.
Use the links in the Related Links column on the far right side of the row for the particular order:
- Click the Change link to modify your order. You'll then see your order information displayed. After making changes to the order, click Preview New Order, review your modified order information, and then click Place Order if the information is correct.
- Click the Cancel link to place a cancellation request. You'll then see your order information displayed. Click Cancel Order.

Notes:

All change or cancellation requests are subject to prior execution of your order and are not guaranteed. We'll send you a Smart Alert letting you know exactly what occurred with your order.
Change requests submitted outside of market hours can be accepted before the next regular market session, but will not be confirmed until then. It is possible to have a change request canceled at market open when additional order verification is completed.
Requesting a change to an existing order results in a new order number. If you request to change an order that has already been partially filled, you may be charged a separate commission for the changed order.
Certain types of conditional orders – contingent orders and order groups (One-Cancels-All, One-Triggers-All, and One-Triggers-OCO) – cannot be changed; instead, they must be canceled and then re-entered with the revised instructions. Bracketed and trailing stop orders can be changed.
You may attempt to cancel or change an unexecuted Extended Hours limit order anytime from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. ET.

The following table shows change or cancellation issues specific to certain order types:

Order Type	Change/Cancellation Issues
Market	Market orders can execute very quickly. For this reason, you will generally be unable to change or cancel market orders during regular market hours (normally 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET weekdays). If you place a market order outside of regular market hours, you should submit any change or cancellation requests at least 15 minutes prior to the open of the market.
Trailing stop	You can submit a request to change any trailing stop order as long as the order hasn't yet been triggered. Orders that have already been sent to the market center and/or executed cannot be changed. For open trailing stop orders, you are able to change the number of shares to be traded, the stop value, and the term.
Immediate or cancel or fill or kill	Immediate-or-cancel and fill-or-kill orders are intended to execute immediately or be canceled. For this reason, you will be unable to change such orders during regular market hours (normally 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET weekdays).

Get trade confirmations

Here are a few of the ways you can receive trade confirmations:

The E*TRADE Web site
When you're logged on to your brokerage account and a confirmation comes through, you'll see a red flag icon in the Alerts box appearing at the top of most pages. Click the Alerts tab to see alert messages posted to your account.
E-mail
With Smart Alerts, execution reports can be sent to an e-mail address in addition to your Alerts inbox.
Electronic delivery
If you've set up your account for electronic delivery of confirmations, you'll be able to view your trade confirmations online the following day.
Paper copy
If you haven't set up your account for electronic delivery, we'll mail you a hard copy of your trade confirmation within 24 hours of execution.

Note:
You won't receive a trade confirmation if your order doesn't execute. Two common situations in which an order might not execute are:

You've placed a limit order, and there were shares ahead of yours which would have traded first.
You've placed an all-or-none order, and not enough shares were available for your order to execute.

There are also times when your order may have executed, but confirmations are delayed coming back to E*TRADE Securities from the market center.

If you're expecting a trade confirmation but haven't received one, you can call us for assistance or clarification at 1-800-ETRADE-1.

Know how proceeds from a sale are processed

Shortly after you sell securities, the proceeds are credited to your brokerage account.

If you have a margin account, we first apply sale proceeds to any margin debit balance you may have. (Margin debit balances show as a negative on the Balances page). You are free to continue using the funds in your account up to the value displayed in your purchasing power. You cannot withdraw the funds from your account until after the settlement date.
On the settlement date (the business day on which payment for the trade is due), we deposit any remaining amount into your interest-earning cash account. If you've set up your account for automatic investment between trades, we deposit your proceeds into a money market fund earning dividends.

Note:
Your funds earn interest beginning the day following settlement.

Here is when settlement occurs:

For these instruments...	Settlement occurs on the trade date plus...
Options U.S. government bonds Stocks Corporate or municipal bonds Mutual funds	1 business day

Understand why my order was rejected

We try to check all orders on a best-efforts basis. Usually, orders go through smoothly. However, a problem can occasionally come up. If this happens, your order will be brought to the attention of one of our traders, who will try to resolve the issue for you. We'll also send an Account Alert to your Smart Alert inbox (and by e-mail if you have chosen this delivery option).

The most common situation occurs when there are not enough funds in your account to cover the order. This usually happens when you've placed an order but may have forgotten about other open orders that have not yet been filled or canceled. Although there may be enough funds to cover the amount of the new order, E*TRADE Securities requires you to have sufficient funds to cover the amount of all open orders in your account. In these instances, we'll send you a rejection message for the order stating, "Insufficient funds in your account at this time."

Get quotes, news, and research about stocks I own

Knowledge is power. Here's where you can increase your understanding of the securities you own, or those you might want to own in the future.

Find out more...