How to Buy FuelCell Energy (FCEL) Stock

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Pick a brokerage.

   Before you can even think about acquiring FCEL stock, you must pick a brokerage to conduct your trades. Because of growing interest in stock trading — helped in no small part by the work-from-home phenomenon associated with the pandemic — virtually all brokerages have standardized certain benefits or incentives.
   
   For instance, it’s no longer unique for an online brokerage to offer commission-free trading. With competition rising, most platforms offer this incentive. Instead, the determination points of choosing from the best brokers comes down to personal matters such as preference and anticipated use of the platform.
   
   If you’re interested in stocks as a means to grow wealth but don’t have the time to watch over your account constantly, then a mobile trading app may be most appropriate for you. On the other hand, if you anticipate expanding your trading and investing acumen, a comprehensively robust platform is the way to go.

2. Decide how many shares you want.

   To determine how many shares you want to purchase, first establish how much you want to spend on your target security. Naturally, this figure is different for everyone and will encompass factors such as risk-reward profile and budget size.
   
   Also, keep in mind that FCEL stock is presently volatile. Therefore, you may want to use a tactic called dollar-cost averaging. Instead of buying all-in at a particular price, buy some shares now but keep the powder keg dry. Later, if the price dips, you can buy even more shares.
   
   Stock market transactions are based on share count, not dollar amount. Take the amount you wish to invest and divide that by the stock’s market price. The resultant whole number is the amount of shares you can purchase. On a side note, some brokers allow you to purchase fractional shares but this is not a standardized feature in the brokerage industry.

3. Choose your order type.

   Because of the constant fluctuations in the market, price has a different meaning in the equities sector than in a traditional retail environment. Also, the rapidly evolving valuations means that you need to specify your order type before you can conduct a deal. Below are the terms and concepts to know.
   
   Bid: The bid represents the highest price a buyer will pay for a stock. It will always be lower than the ask.
   Ask: On the other hand, the ask is the lowest price that a seller will take. The ask will always be higher than the bid.
   Spread: Also called the bid-ask spread, this is the difference between the bid and ask price. This concept is significant because profiting off the spread is how market makers earn their living. As well, the spread represents liquidity — lower spreads indicate higher liquidity while higher spreads indicate lower liquidity.
   Limit order: For maximum control and transparency in your stock transactions, you should opt for a limit order. This order type executes a trade only at your predetermined price. The downside with limit orders is that no guarantee exists that your target stock will reach that price.
   Market order: Sometimes, you just want to execute the deal no matter what. In that case, the market order is your best friend, which guarantees a filled order if placed within normal session hours. However, market orders only execute at the next available price and at terms least favorable to you — buy orders on the ask, sell orders on the bid.
   Stop-loss order: To protect your portfolio’s total value from the effects of volatility, you can place a stop-loss order on specific stock holdings. Stop-loss orders execute at a predetermined price or the next available price. If the next available price happens to be far lower than the predetermined price — such as during a gap-down session — you will incur a steeper-than-anticipated loss.
   Stop-limit order: Stop-limit orders give you greater control and transparency in your protective automated orders by only fulfilling at a predetermined price. This prevents the sometimes nasty surprises associated with gap-down sessions. However, similar to limit orders, you have no guarantee that the stock in question will hit the predetermined price.

4. Execute your trade. 

   When you are ready to place your trade, perform the following steps.
   
   For market orders:
   
   • Choose your action type (buy or sell).
   • Enter the shares you want to acquire or vacate.
   • Hit the execute button.
   
   For limit orders:
   
   • Choose your action type (buy or sell).
   • Enter the shares you want to acquire or vacate.
   • Set your desired acquisition price.
   • Hit the execute button.
   
   Because of the volatility of FCEL stock, order types take on greater importance. If you’re dead set on acquiring market shares, go with market orders. However, because FCEL has a tendency of moving across the map, limit orders afford predictable cost management.