Change Percent YTD: Track Year-to-Date Stock Changes in Excel

The ChangePercentYTD function in the MarketXLS add-in retrieves the year-to-date (YTD) percentage change of a specified stock symbol directly in Excel. It calculates how much a stock’s price has changed (as a percentage) from the previous year’s ending price to the latest available price. By using this function, you can stay informed about your portfolio’s performance throughout the year without leaving your Excel spreadsheet.

Why Use This Function?

• Keep real-time tabs on your selected stock’s YTD performance in Excel.
• Instantly evaluate whether a given stock is trending positively or negatively for the current year.
• Easily compare multiple ticker symbols side by side.
• Combine with standard Excel formulas to build custom financial dashboards or watchlists.
• Save time by automating data fetches instead of manually looking up updated YTD percentages.
• Make better investment decisions by quickly spotting changing market sentiments.

How to Use in Excel

Simply type the formula into any cell where you want the result displayed:

=ChangePercentYTD("AAPL")

Replace "AAPL" with the ticker symbol you want to analyze. The function will reach out to MarketXLS’s data servers to return the YTD percentage change. If the database is refreshing or the symbol is invalid, you may see either "Refreshing" or "NA".

1. Open Excel with the MarketXLS add-in installed and a valid MarketXLS license.
2. Select the cell where you wish to display the result.
3. Type the function as shown, or reference another cell containing the symbol.
4. Press Enter to fetch and display the percentage change for the year to date.

Parameters Explained

• There are no additional parameters for this function.
• Symbol must be a valid ticker. The MarketXLS add-in checks your license status and symbol validity before retrieving data.

Example Usage

Basic Examples

1. Direct Symbol Input:
   =ChangePercentYTD("MSFT")
   Retrieves and displays Microsoft’s year-to-date percentage change.

2. Cell Reference:
   Suppose cell A2 contains "TSLA". In another cell, enter:
   =ChangePercentYTD(A2)
   This returns Tesla’s YTD change, allowing quick symbol swaps by updating A2.

3. Combining with Other Excel Functions:
   =ROUND(ChangePercentYTD("GOOG")*100, 2)&"%"
   This displays Google’s YTD change in percentage format, rounded to two decimals.

Advanced Scenarios

• Bulk Tracking in a Portfolio Sheet

• Use ChangePercentYTD in multiple rows (e.g., one per ticker) to get an overview of the YTD performance for an entire watchlist or portfolio.
• Combine with additional MarketXLS functions (e.g., price lookups) to track historical data side by side.

• International Stocks (If Available)

• Some symbols might include suffixes for international exchanges. If supported, referencing these symbols returns the YTD percentage change, just as with U.S. equities.

• Integration with MarketXLS Tools

• Create instant dashboards combining ChangePercentYTD outputs and candle charts or price triggers from MarketXLS for a holistic trading view.

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

• Why am I seeing “NA”?

• This occurs if your license is invalid, the symbol cannot be verified, or if data is unavailable for that symbol.

• Why am I seeing “Refreshing”?

• MarketXLS might still be fetching or updating data from its servers. Wait a moment, then recalculate (press F9 in Excel or wait until the refresh completes).

• Are there any date range limitations?

• By default, “YTD” references the last day of the previous year through the current date. For extremely old or invalid start dates, the backend may return “NA,” but that is unlikely in standard YTD usage.

• Is the output inclusive of dividends?

• This function returns the percentage change based on the close or adjusted close price data, depending on the symbol’s data source. If you need total returns including dividends, other MarketXLS functions may be more suitable.

By leveraging ChangePercentYTD with MarketXLS, you can effortlessly stay on top of year-to-date movements for your favorite stocks and keep your investment strategies agile. Get started today and let real-time YTD insights guide your next decision!