At-Or-Better is a type of limit order usually revolving around a volatile stock.
A buyer on a Friday afternoon, after the company has announced strange earnings, might put in an order to purchase 1,000 shares on Monday at-or-better $1.20 a share. The stock closed on Friday at $21.20, down that day from $25.50 a share. If more bad news comes out over the weekend, then it is likely that stock would trade meaningfully below $20 a share on Monday. The buyer then wants to capture the incremental discount below $20 a share when they're buying it at, say, $19.28, which is 72 cents better than the picture of Andrew Jackson.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What Does "Away from the Market...3 Views
finance a la shmoop what does away from the market mean? limit orders that's what
this one's about you want to buy a hundred shares of amazork the finest [Person on computer looking at amazork]
seller of werewolf catching nets on the web but you don't want to pay more than
a grand a share for them and those shares are volatile, on days when there's
a full moon the stock shoots to 1,200 on days when the moon barely shows up the
stock often craters to right around a thousand so you put in your limit order
which is away from the market... Amazork is trading at $1,187 a share
this moment thanks to a half moon and you think it'll be two thousand dollars [Line increasing on graph of Amazork shark price]
a share in five years if what all those crazy astronomers are saying actually
holds water well but you want to be able to buy it at the right price you'll feel
like an idiot if you just pay 1,187 and then three months from now it's at 998
and you overpaid by 20-ish percent so you put in a limit order that is away [Man discussing limit orders]
from the market and note that away from the market can also work on a sell order
that's higher than market and you think about that for when the stock gets to
2000 so you wait and you wait preferably indoors and you know away from any open [Woman sitting by window and werewolf appears]
windows
Up Next
What is Good Delivery? Good delivery just means that nothing gets in the way of a security transfer after a transaction is made. It’s kind of a d...
What is Good ‘Til Cancelled (GTC)? GTC orders are trade orders that may be filled at any time unless the investor cancels it. Good til cancelled...
What is a limit order, and how can we be sure we never have one of those in place when we go to a doughnut shop?
A takedown is a commission or spread that investment bankers take from the proceeds raised on a securities offering.