Level II Quotes

Level II shows the full order book — every open bid and ask, and who is posting them. Here is how to read the columns and what a thin book actually looks like.

An ordinary quote shows you the best bid and the best ask. Level II shows you the whole book: every open order at every price, and which firm is posting it. Where a standard quote is a single number, Level II is the queue behind it.

Level II order book showing bid and ask columns with MPIDs
Bids on the left, asks on the right, each with the posting firm.

The Three Columns

  • MPID — the identifier of the market participant posting that order. NITE, ARCA and similar codes each map to a firm or network.
  • Bid / Ask — the price that participant is willing to buy or sell at.
  • Size — how many shares at that price. Conventionally shown in round lots of 100, so a size of 100 means 10,000 shares. Check how your platform displays it; this convention is not universal and misreading it by a factor of a hundred is a common and expensive mistake.

Reading a Thin Book

The most useful thing Level II tells you is how far price would move if someone actually bought. An ask column reading 0.26, 0.27, 0.28 is deep — there is real supply at each step. One reading 0.26, 0.28, 0.42, 0.55 is thin: a modest market order clears the first two levels and pays 0.42.

That is how a low-float stock moves 60% on almost no money, and it is visible in advance on the book. It is also why a market order on a thin book is so punishing — you are agreeing to whatever those gaps happen to be.

What It Does Not Tell You

Displayed size is not all the size. Reserve and iceberg orders show a fraction of the real quantity, and participants pull and repost constantly. A wall of shares at one price can vanish the instant price approaches it. Treat the book as current intent, not commitment — and note that for OTC securities, Level II data is frequently a paid add-on rather than something your broker includes.

What to Watch For

  • Level II shows the full order book, not just the best bid and ask.
  • Size is conventionally in round lots of 100 — confirm how your platform displays it.
  • Gaps between price levels show how far a market order would walk the book.
  • Displayed size is not all the size; reserve orders hide quantity and quotes get pulled.
  • For OTC securities, Level II is often a paid add-on.

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