SIGN
Returns the sign of a number: 1 if the number is positive, -1 if negative and 0 if zero.
Syntax:
SIGN(number)
number is the number whose sign is to be determined.
Example:
SIGN(3.4)
returns 1.
SIGN(-4.5)
returns -1.
SIGN(0)
returns 0.
Application:
The SIGN function is a simple but useful tool for quickly determining the direction or status of a value. A great application of using the SIGN function is when tracking a company's stock performance.
Scenario: A financial analyst is monitoring the daily price change of a specific stock. They want a quick way to categorize the day's performance as a gain, a loss, or no change. Instead of looking at the exact dollar amount of the change, they just need the sign of the change.
The SIGN Function in Action:
- Input: The daily change in the stock price (Current Price - Previous Day's Closing Price).
- SIGN Function: SIGN(Daily_Price_Change)
- Output:
- 1: The stock price increased (a positive change). This indicates a gain.
- -1: The stock price decreased (a negative change). This indicates a loss.
- 0: The stock price remained the same (a zero change). This indicates no change.
Example Table:
Day | Previous Day's Closing Price | Current Price | Daily Price Change (Current - Previous) | SIGN(Daily Price Change) | Stock Performance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | B | C | D | E | F | ||
1 | Monday | $150.00 | $152.50 | $2.50 | 1 | Gain | |
2 | Tuesday | $152.00 | $151.00 | -$1.00 | -1 | Loss | |
3 | Wednesday | $151.00 | $151.00 | $0.00 | 0 | No Change | |
4 | Thursday | $151.00 | $155.25 | $4.25 | 1 | Gain | |
5 | Friday | $155.25 | $154.10 | -$1.15 | -1 | Loss |
In this example, the financial analyst can quickly scan the "SIGN(Daily Price Change)" column to get an immediate overview of the stock's trend without needing to read the specific dollar values. A column of 1s and -1s is much easier to process quickly than a column of varying positive and negative numbers.
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