In investing, sentiment generally means whether or not a given security is in favor with investors. It is typically a pretty short-term metric that relies entirely on technical analysis. That means it doesn’t incorporate anything to do with the health or profitability of the underlying company.
Price action is generally the best indicator of sentiment. For a stock to go up, investors must feel good about it. Similarly, a stock that is in a downtrend must be out of favor.
InvestorsObserver’s Sentiment Indicator considers price action and recent trends in volume. Increasing volumes often mean that a trend is strengthening, while decreasing volumes can signal that a reversal could come soon.
The options market is another place to get signals about sentiment. Since options allow investors to place bets on the price of a stock, we consider the ratio of calls and puts for stocks where options are available.
