Float
Shares actually available to trade — small floats plus a catalyst produce the market's most violent moves.
Reading the TapeBeginner 4 min read· Lesson 6 of 11 in Stock Market Basics
Float vs outstanding
Shares outstanding is everything issued; FLOAT excludes insider, strategic, and otherwise locked-up holdings. A 500M-share company where insiders hold 450M has a 50M float — the true tradable supply.
Why small float = big moves
Price moves on supply vs demand of TRADABLE shares. A demand surge into a tiny float has nowhere to go but price — this is the anatomy of parabolic squeezes and equally brutal collapses. The Symbol page shows float when metadata is synced.