In one sense, a stock chart shows you everything there is to know about a company, since many market theorists believe that all information about a security is reflected in its price movements over time. On the other hand, the information on a stock chart only reflects past performance.
Charts can be very useful in spotting upward or downward trends in a stocks price.
Of course, unless you have a crystal ball you can never be sure whether a trend is going to continue, or whether some unexpected event or change in market psychology could cause the trend to reverse. So generations of technical analysts have tried to discover recurring patterns in price charts that seem to predict when turnarounds in a stock may occur. These analysts have devised a wide variety of technical indicators which, used in conjunction with price charts, can provide a sense of when a trend may be beginning or ending. Educate yourself about a companys business, the quality of its management, and other fundamentals as well. Advertising Info Site Map Help Market data delayed up to 20 minutes.