Simple Moving Average Formula (Chart Controls)

  • Article

The simple moving average formula is takes the average of data over a period of time, and "moves" the period across the data series one data point at a time. This formula smoothes a data series and makes analyzing volatile data easier.

Sample plot of the simple moving average

Formula Details

Syntax

Chart.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula(
    FinancialFormula.MovingAverage,
    "Period",
    "Price",
    "SMA")

Parameters

This formula takes one required parameter.

  • Period
    Period for calculating the moving average.

Input Values

This formula takes one input Y value.

  • Price
    Price for which the moving average is calculated.

Output Value

This formula outputs one Y value.

  • SMA
    The moving average.

Remarks

The Line chart type is a convenient chart type to display the formula output.

Example

The following example takes input from Series1's second Y value (Series1:Y2) and outputs a 20-day moving average on Series2's first Y value (Series2:Y).

Chart1.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula (FinancialFormula.MovingAverage, "20", "Series1:Y2", "Series2:Y")

Chart1.DataManipulator.FinancialFormula (FinancialFormula.MovingAverage, "20", "Series1:Y2", "Series2:Y");

See Also

Reference

Exponential Moving Average Formula
Triangular Moving Average Formula
Weighted Moving Average Formula
System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization.Charting
System.Web.UI.DataVisualization.Charting

Concepts

Applying Formulas

Other Resources

Moving Averages