Retrieve the Opening Stock Price with QM_Open

The QM_Open function in MarketXLS makes it easy to look up and display a stock’s opening price directly within your Excel worksheet. This function is especially useful for traders, analysts, and individual investors seeking quick access to daily open values without toggling between multiple platforms. By leveraging internal caching and the ability to refresh data on demand, QM_Open offers a seamless and streamlined experience for tracking real-time market movements and historical data.

Why Use This Function?

• Quickly access the opening price for a given symbol directly in Excel.
• Eliminate the need to manually gather quotes from external websites.
• Integrate live or cached data in financial models and dashboards.
• Reduce workload during trading hours by automating daily open price checks.
• Combine with other MarketXLS formulas and Excel functionalities for more complex analysis.
• Useful for daily trading strategies, historical comparisons, and portfolio tracking.

How to Use in Excel

=QM_Open("Symbol")

1. Type “=QM_Open(” into an Excel cell.
2. Enter a valid ticker symbol directly in quotes or reference another cell containing the symbol.
3. Press Enter to retrieve the opening price or see a status message.
4. If data is not immediately available, you may see “Please Refresh” or “Refreshing,” indicating the data is being updated or queued for refresh.

Parameters Explained

• Data is fetched from MarketXLS data providers and subject to licensing.
• Passing an empty or invalid symbol commonly returns “NA.”
• If the data is not ready or the system is refreshing, you may see “Please Refresh” or “Refreshing.”

Example Usage

Basic Examples

1. Retrieving Apple’s Opening Price
   In any cell, type:
   =QM_Open("AAPL")
   ? Displays Apple’s latest opening price or a status message.

2. Using a Cell Reference for Symbol
   A1: "MSFT"
   A2: =QM_Open(A1)
   ? Shows Microsoft’s opening price.

3. Handling an Invalid Symbol
   =QM_Open("XYZ123")
   ? Likely returns “NA” if the symbol is not recognized.

Advanced Scenarios

1. Refresh Logic

   • If MarketXLS is refreshing data or if the data isn’t yet cached, QM_Open may return "Refreshing" or "Please Refresh."
   • Perform a data refresh from the MarketXLS ribbon to retrieve up-to-date values.

2. Integrating with Other Excel Functions
   =IFERROR(QM_Open(A2),"Symbol not found")
   ? Automatically displays “Symbol not found” when an unsupported symbol is used, providing a cleaner output.

3. Trading Strategy Example

   • Use QM_Open to capture opening prices for multiple symbols in a watchlist.
   • Compare open prices to pivot points or previous close values for a momentum strategy.
   • Automate trades based on these signals with Excel macros or other integrated tools.

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

1. “Why am I seeing ‘NA’?”

   • The symbol might be invalid, empty, or not available in MarketXLS. Verify the ticker symbol is correct.

2. “Why am I seeing ‘Please Refresh’?”

   • The function indicates data is not yet in the local cache. Go to the MarketXLS ribbon and click Refresh Data.

3. “Why am I seeing ‘Refreshing’?”

   • The data retrieval is currently in progress. Wait a few moments or manually refresh again.

4. “Why am I getting an empty result?”

   • Ensure you passed a non-empty symbol. QM_Open("") returns an empty string since no valid ticker was provided.

5. “How can I make sure my MarketXLS license is valid?”

   • Check the MarketXLS Settings/Help menu. If the license is invalid, QM_Open and other functions may return specific licensing messages or errors.

By combining QM_Open with other MarketXLS analytics and Excel’s native functions, you can create robust dashboards, automate your market research tasks, and better manage your trading strategies. The function’s simple syntax, alongside MarketXLS’s caching and refresh features, ensures you always have the right data for timely decisions.