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I'm visualizing stock data, with the x-axis representing time and y-axis representing money. Now if a stock gains on value (because the share is more worth) the corresponding line moves up:

Like this

But how can I visualize transactions during time? Say I buy more shares throughout time, the graph shows a significant rise not caused by a well performing stock, but rather caused by the number of shares doubling:

Like this

Now I know technically, the graph is correct, but if I want to analyze stock performance the graph becomes useless as significant rises have no correspondence to actual performance.

Elektropepi
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1 Answers1

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Well, there are many ways to do that. For example, you can plot two lines on the same chart: gain per share on main y-axis and number of shares on secondary y-axis.

If your portfolio has several assets (as one could imply from the topic), you probably would want to show their weights/distribution in the portfolio. That you probably could achieve with stacked area chart or stacked bars.

Oka
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  • Yeah I thought of that too. Problem is that with ~10 stocks the chart would become very cluttered. An alternative would be to indicate a "jump" with an arrow – Elektropepi Apr 03 '19 at 09:25
  • True. One option could be to use stacked area chart which could show both, the value of portfolio in total and distribution of assets (with or without cash) – Oka Apr 03 '19 at 09:29
  • @Elektropepi : So did I answer your question or do you need something else? – Oka Apr 05 '19 at 11:40
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    Yes a stacked area chart would also be an idea. Research has shown that it's hard to read explicit series from an area chart though. So your answer did help me yes. If I don't come up with anything else, I'll mark it as answered. – Elektropepi Apr 05 '19 at 12:30