Minimum Tick

minimum tick

The smallest possible price movement of a security or contract. For example, equity options with premiums of 3 points and greater are traded in eighths of a point, while equity options with premiums less than 3 points may be quoted at sixteenth-of-a-point intervals. Also called trading variation.

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Minimum Tick

The smallest possible change in price to a security. Various regulations exist regarding what the minimum tick is for different securities, and which trades may occur on a tick. For example, until 2007, a short sale could not occur at the same price as the security's previous trade, when that price was itself a downtick from the trade before that. See also: Tick test.