Lets you compare the volatility of a $20 stock with one at $800.
The short answer
- What is normalized ATR (NATR)?
- Normalized ATR: ATR ÷ price, as a percentage.
- When does NATR get it wrong?
- Like ATR, it says nothing about direction. See its current reading on platform symbols, at the latest daily close, in the "Reading now" table on this page. See its current reading →
Reading now
| Ticker | Value | Five sessions ago | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPY | 0.78% | 0.87 | Lower than five sessions ago |
| QQQ | 1.19% | 1.21 | Lower than five sessions ago |
| IWM | 1.24% | 1.31 | Lower than five sessions ago |
| DIA | 0.96% | 0.96 | Lower than five sessions ago |
A description of where the number sits against its thresholds. It is not an entry or exit signal.
Indicator limit
Shares the same blind spot as ATR: it says nothing about direction.
Read it with
Percentage Price Oscillator: both are relative, so a symbol's volatility and momentum can be compared with others.
Answers: Where should the stop go?
What it actually does
Normalized ATR divides average true range by price and multiplies by 100. That turns a dollar measure of volatility into a percentage you can compare. A stock that moves 2% a day tells you the same thing whether it trades at $10 or $1,000.
Why normalization matters
Raw true range in dollars makes comparison impossible. Three dollars is violent for a $30 stock and quiet for a $1,000 one. A percentage gives one language across the market, and it works for historical comparison on the same asset even if its price doubled over the years.
Practical uses
Sorting assets by temperament: ranking a watchlist by it separates the calm from the stormy, so position size can be set in advance. Comparing now with history: today's reading against its one-year range tells you whether the asset is in a volatile spell or its usual quiet.
Hypothetical example
A trader splits capital across three stocks with volatility of 1.2, 2.5 and 4 percent. Equal sizing means the third stock alone dominates portfolio risk. Inverse-volatility weighting evens out the contributions, so the most volatile name does not drive the portfolio.
Where it errs and why
It inherits the limits of its parent: it lags and has no direction. The percentage also hides that dollar volatility is what actually hits a stop, so the final stop calculation always goes back to the dollar formula.
Read it with
It is not read alone. First classify the environment with the trend strength indicator. Then confirm with volume, which separates a backed move from an empty one. Then place it on the structural levels from the gamma map, since a signal at a dense wall carries more weight than one in open space.
Where to see it on the platform
The technical chart in the members area shows it on any ticker and timeframe, within its full family in the indicator list.
