Excel STOCKHISTORY Function: Syntax, Examples & Tips

ticker:
The stock symbol or ticker of the company for which you want to retrieve historical stock data.

start_date:
The date from which you want to start retrieving historical stock data. This should be in a date format recognized by Excel.

end_date:
(Optional) The date until which you want to retrieve historical stock data. If omitted, the data will be retrieved up to the current date.

interval:
(Optional) The frequency of the data returned. This can be daily, weekly, or monthly.

headers:
(Optional) A value that specifies whether to include headers in the output. This can be set to 0 (no headers) or 1 (include headers).

properties:
(Optional) An array of properties that you want to retrieve for the stock data, such as closing price, opening price, high, low, volume, etc.

What is a STOCKHISTORY Formula in Excel?

The STOCKHISTORY function in Excel is a powerful tool that allows you to retrieve historical stock price data for a specified security over a given time period. It provides information such as opening price, closing price, high, low, and volume, making it easier to analyze stock performance and trends.

In simpler terms, the STOCKHISTORY function helps you access and analyze historical stock data directly within Excel, enabling you to make informed investment decisions.

A Practical Example

Imagine you are tracking the performance of a stock, say Microsoft (MSFT), and you want to analyze its historical closing prices over the past month.

Stock Data Table:

You want to retrieve the historical closing prices for Microsoft from September 1, 2023, to September 5, 2023.

STOCKHISTORY Formula

To retrieve the historical closing prices for Microsoft, you would use the STOCKHISTORY formula as follows:

=STOCKHISTORY("MSFT", "2023-09-01", "2023-09-05", 0, 1)

Breakdown of the Formula:

• "MSFT": This is the ticker symbol for Microsoft, indicating which stock's data you want to retrieve.
• "2023-09-01": This is the start date for the historical data you want to analyze.
• "2023-09-05": This is the end date for the historical data you want to analyze.
• 0: This argument specifies that you want to retrieve daily data.
• 1: This argument indicates that you want to retrieve the closing price.

Result of the Formula

When you apply the formula, it retrieves the historical closing prices for Microsoft from September 1 to September 5, 2023. The output would be:

Here, you can see the closing prices for each day within the specified date range.

Why Use STOCKHISTORY?

The STOCKHISTORY function is particularly useful when you need to analyze stock performance over time without manually searching for data on financial websites. It allows you to quickly access historical stock data and perform analysis directly in Excel.

Key Takeaways:

• STOCKHISTORY: Retrieves historical stock price data for a specified security over a given time period.
• Efficient Data Analysis: Helps you quickly access and analyze stock performance without manual data collection.
• Common Use Cases: Ideal for investment analysis, portfolio management, and any scenario where you need to track stock performance over time.

Understanding how to use the STOCKHISTORY function can significantly enhance your investment analysis capabilities in Excel, enabling you to make data-driven decisions based on historical stock performance.

Happy investing!