Last Sale Price
The price at which a security most recently traded, displayed in real time as the current market reference price.
What is Last Sale Price?
The last sale price is the price at which the most recent executed transaction for a security occurred. It is continuously updated throughout the trading day as new trades are completed and reported to the consolidated tape. Retail investors see the last sale price on brokerage platforms and financial websites as the 'current price' of a stock. However, the last sale price is a historical fact—it reflects the most recent trade, not the price at which the next trade will occur, which depends on the current bid and ask. In fast-moving markets, the last sale price can lag significantly behind the current bid-ask spread. Under FINRA Rule 5310, broker-dealers executing market orders must provide execution at a price reasonably related to the prevailing market—taking both the current bid-ask and last sale price into account to ensure best execution.
Example
A stock's last sale price shows $50.00, but the current quote is $49.90 bid / $50.10 ask. A market buy order will likely execute at $50.10 (the ask), not at the $50.00 last sale price. In thinly traded stocks, the last sale price may be minutes or hours old and could differ materially from the current quote.
Source: FINRA Rule 5310 — Best Execution