Float Analysis: Powerful Technical Indicators Using Price and Volume

Book Insight

“Float Analysis” by Steve Woods reveals an overlooked yet profoundly practical edge in technical analysis: understanding how price and volume interact through share float dynamics. Instead of relying on abstract indicators, Woods grounds his approach in the market’s true mechanics — the flow of tradable shares between strong and weak hands. By examining how float turnover and accumulation phases shape price structure, the book equips traders with a framework to detect hidden strength, exhaustion, and the real potential behind price moves. Written with clarity and practicality, it bridges traditional volume studies and behavioral finance, giving traders a measurable, data-driven way to anticipate breakout and reversal conditions.

Core Concepts

At its foundation, Float Analysis teaches that every price movement is the result of the auction for limited supply. Woods details how changes in ownership — rather than total volume alone — reveal whether market participants are accumulating, distributing, or merely rotating shares. Readers learn how to calculate float rotation, relative float velocity, and accumulation ratios, then apply these insights to time entries and exits. The book also explains the interaction between float data and classical tools such as moving averages, trendlines, and volume spikes, showing how they align with real market positioning. Woods integrates this framework with psychological concepts like fear-based selling and forced short covering, enabling traders to decode the underlying participation structure behind every chart.

Inside the Chart

Woods provides real-world chart examples demonstrating how float-based indicators precede traditional signals. By correlating price movement with the rate of float turnover, traders can identify the moment when supply tightens and demand accelerates. Visual models show recurring scenarios such as float lock-ups before breakouts, distribution plateaus, and capitulation resets. The book’s quantitative focus allows readers to construct float-sensitive watchlists and combine these readings with momentum and volatility filters. In practice, the method turns volume interpretation from a reactive observation into a predictive instrument — helping traders spot accumulation footprints before the crowd reacts.

Author’s Edge

Steve Woods is a veteran market technician known for combining statistical research with behavioral interpretation. His experience in both proprietary trading and systems development led him to design float-based tools that uncover the “true supply” behind price charts. Through Float Analysis, he redefines how traders interpret volume, transforming it from a secondary confirmation tool into a primary market driver. His work empowers active traders, portfolio managers, and quantitative analysts alike to visualize supply-demand tension in real time.

Float Analysis: Powerful Technical Indicators Using Price and Volume by Steve Woods