Close Price X Months Ago Formula in Excel

Welcome to this comprehensive guide on using the Close Price X Months Ago formula in Excel with MarketXLS. By leveraging this function, you can easily retrieve the closing price for a security on the last day of a specific month in the past, helping you perform in-depth market analysis and historical price comparisons.

Understanding Close Price X Months Ago

  • Purpose: Returns the closing price on the last day of the month, X months ago.
  • Use Cases:
    • Evaluate price movement over specific monthly intervals
    • Conduct historical trend analyses
    • Compare past performance of stocks, indices, options, or cryptocurrencies
  • Key Benefits:
    • Quick access to historical data
    • Seamless integration with MarketXLS analytics
    • Efficient for monthly performance tracking

Syntax and Parameters

=close_historical_x_months_ago(Symbol, months)
Parameter Description Required Example
Symbol The ticker symbol for the desired security. Acceptable formats include standard ticker ("MSFT"), index ("^SPX"), option ("@MSFT 110122C00020000"), or crypto ("BTCUSD:DEFAULT"). Yes "MSFT"
months The number of months in the past from the current month for which you want the closing price (last trading day of that month). Yes 4

Return Value

  • Returns the historical closing price for the specified security and month offset.
  • If the symbol is invalid or the license is not active, the function returns NA.

Error Handling

  • If an invalid Symbol or months parameter is provided, or if the data is unavailable, you may receive NA.
  • License validation issues also result in the function returning NA.

Special Cases and Limitations

  • Negative or zero values for the months parameter may lead to unexpected or NA results.
  • Price data depends on MarketXLS servers; therefore, any disruption or data unavailability might cause the function to return NA.

Performance Considerations

  • MarketXLS caching is employed to speed up repeated queries.
  • For large data retrieval tasks, ensure stable internet connectivity and valid MarketXLS licensing to prevent timeouts or incomplete data.

Examples and Usage

Below are a few practical examples of how to use close_historical_x_months_ago in Excel:

  1. Basic Symbol Usage

    =close_historical_x_months_ago("MSFT", 4)

    Retrieves Microsoft’s closing price on the last trading day, four months ago.

  2. Cell Reference for months
    Suppose cell A2 contains the value 6:

    =close_historical_x_months_ago("MSFT", A2)

    Returns the closing price six months ago.

  3. Index Usage

    =close_historical_x_months_ago("^SPX", 3)

    Retrieves the S&P 500 index closing price three months ago.

  4. Crypto Usage

    =close_historical_x_months_ago("BTCUSD:DEFAULT", 2)

    Returns the Bitcoin closing price (USD) two months ago.

? Pro Tip: Combine this function with Excel’s date and charting tools to visualize monthly price trends over time.

Common Questions

  1. What if I need daily historical prices, not monthly?

    • You can explore other MarketXLS functions that return daily level data or use the daily historical formulas for more granularity.

  2. Why am I getting NA for a valid ticker?

    • Ensure that your MarketXLS license is active, the ticker is valid, and the months parameter is within a reasonable range.

  3. Can I automate multiple queries for different symbols and months?

    • Absolutely. Use cell references to store symbols and month offsets, then drag down or across to fill multiple rows/columns.

?? Note: Always verify that your workbook has the necessary MarketXLS add-in and a valid license to maintain uninterrupted data retrieval.

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MarketXLS Excel Add-in Tutorial - How to Use Close Price X Months Ago and Other Financial Formulas
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