Definition of Last Trade

What does the term "last trade" mean as it applies to the stock market? What is meant by the term "last trade"?

The "last trade" is the price at which the last matched trade (a seller found a buyer) took place for any given stock.

Let's look at a few examples to fully illustrate the proper usage of the term "last trade":

Example 1

You head on over to your favorite online finance site and see that Apple, which you currently own, last traded at a price of $581.00 per share.

The "last trade" price of $581 means that somebody offered to sell shares of Apple at $581 per share, and somebody decided to buy shares of Apple at $581 per share. Their sell and buy orders were matched, and the trade was executed.

Example 2

A biopharmaceutical company that you closely follow releases negative news regarding one of their drugs after the bell.

The stock had closed at $21.45 in the regular session, but has cratered to just $8.45 after the bell. In this case, the last after-hours trade was executed at $8.45.

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