The numbers you see on BullStocks, explained in plain language — what they mean, and what a healthy value usually looks like.
How to Read an Option Chain — A Practical Guide
Every column of the NSE option chain explained, and how traders turn open interest into support, resistance and an expected range.
7 min read →
Options Greeks — Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega Explained
The four numbers that tell you how an option's price reacts to the stock, to time and to volatility.
6 min read →
OI Buildup — Long Buildup, Short Buildup, Covering & Unwinding
Pair the day's price move with the change in open interest to see whether new money is going long or short.
5 min read →
Put-Call Ratio (PCR) and Max Pain — What They Tell You
Two popular sentiment gauges from the option chain, how they're calculated and their limits.
5 min read →
FII and DII Data Explained — How Institutional Flows Move the Market
What NSE's daily FII/DII release shows, why it moves markets and how to read it without over-reacting.
4 min read →
India VIX — The Market's Fear Gauge
What the volatility index measures, typical ranges and how traders use it.
4 min read →
F&O Ban Period — Why Stocks Enter the Ban List
What MWPL is, what you can and can't do when a stock is in ban, and how it exits.
3 min read →
SIP vs Lumpsum — Which Works Better?
What history says about investing monthly versus all at once, and when each makes sense.
4 min read →
Options Strategies for Indian Markets — A Practical Guide
The spreads, straddles and condors Indian traders actually use, when each fits, and what can go wrong.
8 min read →
Following the Smart Money — FIIs, DIIs, Bulk Deals and OI
Where institutional footprints show up in public data, how to read each one, and the traps to avoid.
6 min read →
Price ÷ earnings per share — how many years of current profit you're paying for.
If a share costs ₹200 and the company earns ₹10 per share a year, the P/E is 20. A higher P/E means investors expect faster growth (or the stock is expensive). Compare with peers in the same sector, not across sectors.
Usually healthy: Lower than sector peers, unless growth is clearly faster
Share price compared with the company's net assets per share.
Book value is what's left if the company sold its assets and paid its debts. P/B matters most for banks and asset-heavy businesses; for software or brands it's often high and less meaningful.
Usually healthy: Below 3 for banks/industrials
P/E divided by the earnings growth rate.
A P/E of 30 with 30% growth gives a PEG of 1. It adjusts the P/E for growth, so a fast grower can look cheap even with a high P/E.
Usually healthy: Around 1 or lower
Enterprise value (market cap + debt − cash) ÷ annual revenue.
Useful for young or low-margin companies where profits are small or volatile. Includes debt, so it's fairer than price-to-sales when comparing leveraged firms.
Enterprise value ÷ operating profit before depreciation.
A capital-structure-neutral valuation measure, widely used to compare companies with different debt levels.
Usually healthy: Below 12–15 for most sectors
Yearly dividend as a % of the share price.
A ₹500 share paying ₹15 a year yields 3%. High yields can signal a cheap stock — or a falling price that may lead to a dividend cut.
Usually healthy: 2–5% from a profitable company
Profit earned on every ₹100 of shareholders' money.
ROE of 20% means the company made ₹20 profit for every ₹100 of equity. Consistently high ROE is a hallmark of quality — but check debt, since borrowing can inflate it.
Usually healthy: Above 15% consistently
Operating profit earned on all capital — equity and debt.
ROCE = EBIT ÷ (total assets − current liabilities). Unlike ROE it isn't flattered by debt, so it's the better measure of how well management deploys capital.
Usually healthy: Above 15%, and above the cost of borrowing
Profit as a % of total assets.
Shows how efficiently assets turn into profit. Asset-light businesses (software, brands) have high ROA; banks typically 1–2%.
Operating profit as a % of revenue.
How much of each ₹100 of sales is left after running costs, before interest and tax. Rising margins often signal pricing power.
Usually healthy: Stable or rising; compare within sector
Net profit as a % of revenue.
The bottom line: what's left after all expenses, interest and tax.
Borrowings compared with shareholders' money.
D/E of 0.5 means ₹50 of debt for every ₹100 of equity. High debt magnifies returns in good times and risk in bad times. Banks and NBFCs naturally carry high D/E.
Usually healthy: Below 1 for non-financial companies
Short-term assets ÷ short-term liabilities.
Can the company pay bills due in the next year? Below 1 can mean tight cash.
Usually healthy: Above 1.5
Average yearly revenue growth over three years.
Compounded annual growth smooths out one-off good or bad years.
Usually healthy: Above 10–12% a year
Average yearly net profit growth over three years.
Profit growing faster than sales means margins are expanding.
Latest quarter's revenue vs the same quarter last year.
Year-on-year comparison removes seasonal effects (e.g. festive quarters).
How much the stock moves relative to the market.
Beta 1.2 means the stock tends to move 12% when the market moves 10%. Below 1 is less volatile (defensive).
Usually healthy: Below 1 for conservative investors
Share price × total shares — the market value of the company.
SEBI classifies the top 100 companies by market cap as large caps, 101–250 as mid caps, and the rest as small caps.
Shares owned by the founders/controlling group.
High promoter holding shows skin in the game. Watch for falling holding or pledged shares, which can signal stress.
Shares held by FIIs, mutual funds, insurers and other institutions.
Rising institutional ownership often reflects professional research and confidence.
Foreign institutional (portfolio) investors.
Their daily net buying or selling in Indian markets can move indices significantly.
Domestic institutional investors — mutual funds, insurers, banks.
DIIs, fuelled by SIP inflows, often buy when FIIs sell.
A trade where one party buys/sells over 0.5% of a company's shares in a day.
Disclosed by exchanges daily. Repeated bulk buying by known investors can be a signal worth researching.
A large trade (₹10 Cr+) executed in a special trading window.
Often institutions or promoters moving large stakes.
Your true annualised return, accounting for when you invested.
Unlike simple return, XIRR weighs each purchase and sale by its date — the right measure when you invest at different times (like SIPs).
Short-term capital gain — listed shares held 12 months or less.
Taxed at 20% for sales on or after 23 July 2024 (15% before).
Long-term capital gain — listed shares held more than 12 months.
Taxed at 12.5% on gains above ₹1.25 lakh per financial year (for sales on or after 23 July 2024).
Buy before this date to receive the dividend.
On the ex-date the share price usually drops by roughly the dividend amount.
