Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin

Episode: Nicole's Cheat Sheet to Reading Stock Charts
Date: December 1, 2025
Host: Nicole Lapin
Network: Money News Network

Episode Overview

This episode arms listeners—whether seasoned investors or stock market novices—with an easy-to-understand, practical guide to reading and interpreting stock charts. Nicole demystifies the jargon and numbers often seen on tickers and market apps, empowering her audience with the confidence to use technical analysis. By the end of the show, listeners can size up a stock beyond the surface and spot red flags or green lights like a pro. The tone remains approachable, witty, and supportive throughout, true to Nicole Lapin’s brand.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Understanding Stock Charts Matters

• Even for long-term, “index funds and chill” investors, knowing why a stock moves and how to read signals gives you a “super power.”
• Nicole compares this skill to having a dashboard in your car: “It’s the difference between driving blindly and having a dashboard full of gauges to tell you exactly when to speed up, when to slow down or hit reverse and go home.” (03:50)

2. Technical Analysis Basics

• Technical analysis focuses on numbers and patterns to spot strength and avoid weakness in a stock.
• “Today I’m going to teach you how to speak [the language of stock tickers].” (04:26)

3. Essential Stock Chart Terms (With Example: ‘MNN’)

Nicole breaks down each key term by applying it to her made-up stock “MNN” for clarity.

• Ticker Symbol: The shorthand for a company (e.g., CAKE for Cheesecake Factory). (04:50)
• Price: Value of a single share at any moment. (05:02)
• Open: The price when markets open (e.g., $19 for MNN), useful for checking daily movement. (05:08)
• High / Low: The highest and lowest price points in a day, showing price movement range. (06:02)
• 52-Week High/Low: Highest/lowest price over the past year; proximity to high is a positive sign. (06:24)
• Net Change: How much the price changed from the previous close, shown in dollars or percent. (06:45)
• Volume: Number of shares traded in a day. High volume = lots of activity (but doesn’t reveal buying vs. selling). (07:51)
• Market Cap: Total value of the company, used to classify size and risk (e.g., micro, small, mid, large, mega cap). Larger caps often mean less risk. (07:52)
• Dividend (Div): Amount paid out per share, if any; a dash means no dividends. (09:32)
• Beta: Volatility score vs. the market (1 = market average; >1 more volatile, <1 less volatile, negative means moves opposite market, e.g., gold).
  • “Beta is the funkiest one, so stay with me here.” (09:33)
• EPS (Earnings Per Share): Profitability per share, used to calculate PE ratio. (10:33)
• PE Ratio: Measures how much investors pay for each $1 of earnings. Lower PE (~<20) = value, higher PE = growth or overpriced, but context matters. (11:11)

4. Applying Knowledge: Red Flags in Real Stocks

Nicole provides a real-world example (GameStop post-meme-stock craze), but reveals the company only after explaining the data:

• Price: $161/share

• Volume: 2.2 million

• 52-week high: $483

• 52-week low: ~$4

• Beta: -2

• EPS: -1.80
  She highlights red flags:

  1. Negative EPS = company is losing money.
  2. Negative beta = moves against the market and is highly volatile.
  3. Current price far below 52-week high = significant loss in value.

  “If you picked up on any of these red flags, it means that you are doing technical analysis like a pro and I am so proud of you.” (15:47)

5. The Importance of Trend Over Time

Nicole warns not to judge a stock solely by a single day or stat:

“All of these metrics basically take the temperature of one stock at one particular moment in time... You cannot determine whether a company is growing by looking at its stats at one moment in time. So don’t just look at where these stocks stand right now—look at how they change over time.” (16:06)

6. Technical vs. Fundamental Analysis

She closes by distinguishing technical (chart-reading) from fundamental analysis (digging into company health—revenue, debt, business model):

“When you combine both types of analysis, you stop guessing what the market will do and you start understanding why it moves the way it does.” (16:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On gaining basic market literacy:

  “Those abbreviations like PE and VOL... Those are not just noise. They’re a language. And today I’m going to teach you how to speak it.” (04:25-04:26)

• On interpreting stock movement:

  “Stock prices are never linear. They bounce around all the time. And we are still happy knowing that the stock closed at 20 bucks. In other words, it closed on high.” (06:02)

• On beta as a concept:

  “Beta is the funkiest one, so stay with me here.” (09:33)

• Caution on snapshot analysis:

  “You cannot determine whether a company is growing by looking at its stats at one moment in time.” (16:09)

• Encouragement for listeners:

  “If you picked up on any of these red flags, it means that you are doing technical analysis like a pro and I am so proud of you.” (15:47)

  “You should feel really, really good about that.” (15:57)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:50] – Why understanding technical analysis matters for any investor
• [04:50 – 12:30] – Quick, clear breakdown of essential stock chart terms with examples
• [14:14 – 15:47] – GameStop example: spotting red flags using technical analysis
• [16:06] – Why to look at trends over time, not just a static snapshot
• [16:25 – 17:00] – Technical analysis vs. fundamental analysis

Final Takeaway

Nicole’s episode makes stock charts accessible and useful, showing listeners how to decode what’s typically intimidating market data. Her friendly, no-BS approach ensures listeners get a usable foundation, whether they’re checking a stock on an app or viewing a ticker stream on TV. Most importantly, she encourages consistent learning—combining technical tools with broader, fundamental company insights to invest confidently.