InsiderFlow › Glossary › What is a market order?
A market order buys or sells immediately at the best available price: maximum speed, zero price control.
It's the simplest order: "buy now, at whatever price". On liquid stocks it works fine, because the execution price will be very close to what you see. The risk emerges on thinly traded names or in chaotic moments.
In a volatility spike, a market order can fill at a much worse price than expected ("slippage"): that's why many experienced investors use almost only limit orders.
On InsiderFlow these concepts come alive on real data: what big funds and insiders are buying, explained every day.
On very liquid stocks, during normal hours, when immediate execution is the priority.
The gap between expected and execution price: the cost of being in a hurry.