Understanding and Utilizing Simple, Exponential, and Weighted Moving Averages in Your Investment Strategy
by: Ivan Cavric A moving average is a technical analysis tool that helps smooth out price action by filtering out the “noise” from random price fluctuations. It does this by calculating the average price of a security over a specific time period, and then plotting that average as a line on a chart. There are three main types of moving averages: simple moving average (SMA), exponential moving average (EMA), and weighted moving average (WMA). In this article, we’ll take a closer look at each of these types of moving averages, as well as some strategies for using them. Simple Moving Average (SMA) A simple moving average (SMA) is the most basic type of moving average. It is calculated by taking the sum of the closing prices of a security over a specific number of time periods, and then dividing that sum by the number of time periods. For example, if you wanted to calculate a 50-day SMA for a stock, you would add up the closing prices for the past 50 days and then divide that sum by 5...