Key Terms Explained

Alpha

The return above what the broader market delivers. If the market rises 8 percent and your investment rises 15 percent, the extra 7 percent is alpha.

Catalyst

An event that triggers a meaningful change in investor sentiment toward a specific stock. See Signal Types for the full list.

CIK

Central Index Key. A unique identifier assigned by the SEC to every company that files documents with EDGAR.

Conviction

The degree of confidence in a signal, based on the number of independent sources that confirm the same event.

EDGAR

Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval. The SEC platform where all public company filings are submitted and published.

Form 4

An SEC filing that a company officer or director must submit within 2 business days of buying or selling shares in their own company.

8-K

A current report that a public company files with the SEC to disclose material events. Covers earnings, leadership changes, contracts, and acquisitions.

Insider

A person with access to non-public information about a company. Typically the CEO, CFO, directors, or major shareholders above 10 percent.

MiFID II

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. European Union regulation governing investment services. SignalHunter is not a regulated service under MiFID II.

PDUFA Date

The date by which the FDA is expected to make a decision on a new drug application. A binary catalyst for biotech stocks.

Score Decay

The process by which a signal score decreases over time as the information becomes less actionable. Prevents old news from cluttering your feed.

Signal

An event detected by SignalHunter that historically correlates with near term stock price movement.

Ticker

The abbreviated symbol used to identify a publicly traded company on a stock exchange. For example, AAPL for Apple.