Stock Meadow · Metric glossary · Price trend
1-Month Price Change (Rate of Change): formula and how to read it
The rate of change is the simplest momentum measure: how far the price has moved over a fixed period. The one-month version shows what has happened lately, without the longer history that the 12-1 momentum measure uses.
What is 1-Month Price Change (Rate of Change)?
How much the price moved over the last month. The latest close divided by the close 21 trading days earlier, minus one (the one-month rate of change).
Stock Meadow groups it under Price trend, and shows it in tables as 1M change.
Formula and a worked example
1-month change = latest close ÷ close 21 trading days ago − 1
A stock that closed at $40 a month ago and $44 now has a one-month change of 44 ÷ 40 − 1 = +10%. The numbers are made up for illustration.
How to read it
A higher figure means a stronger last month. Academic studies found that the last month's winners often gave back some gains soon after (the short-term reversal effect), which is why the standard 12-1 momentum measure skips this month.
When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a higher figure scores better.
Common pitfalls
- A month is a short window, so a single news event can dominate it.
- It ignores dividends, so a stock that pays out a large dividend can show a small fall.
- Needs 22 trading days of prices.
How Stock Meadow handles gaps. Usually blank when there are fewer than 22 days of prices.
Treat any single metric as one clue, and read the company's financial statements before drawing a conclusion. Stock Meadow's figures are research tools based on reported data, not investment advice.
Stock Meadow models that use it
In Weighted ranking, Z-score composite and Balanced (no weak link), you choose the metrics and weights yourself, so you can include it in a custom score.
No fixed-recipe model scores it.
Read about every scoring model in How scores work.
Frequently asked questions
- What is rate of change?
- Rate of change (ROC) is the percentage the price has moved over a set number of days. Stock Meadow shows the one-month and three-month versions as plain percentages.
- How is this different from 12-1 momentum?
- 12-1 momentum measures the year before last month and skips the latest month. The one-month change is that latest month on its own.
- Is a higher or lower 1M change better?
- When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a higher figure scores better. That is a ranking convention, so read 1M change alongside other measures and compare similar companies.
- Why is 1M change blank for some stocks?
- It is usually blank when there are fewer than 22 days of prices. Stock Meadow leaves the figure blank rather than guessing it.
Use 1M change in Stock Meadow
Filter on Price change, 1 month, score it in the stock scoring model, and see how every stock compares. Sign up free, no card needed.
Open the stock scoring model