How do I read a research call: entry, stop-loss and target?
What each number in a call means, what you still have to do yourself, and the order types that decide whether your exit actually fills.
Published 3 November 2026 · Potoos Research Services
A research call gives three kinds of level: an entry range, one or more targets, and a stop-loss. In an option call, check whether each number is the option premium or the index level, because NSE trades an option at its premium. The analyst places nothing for you. SEBI's client terms say a Research Analyst "cannot execute/carry out any trade" on your behalf. Your stop-loss exists only if you place that order yourself, with your own broker.
The parts of a call
Most research calls carry the same parts. Ours do too. Every Potoos call is published in the Potoos app the day before the market opens, with an entry range, staged targets, a stop-loss and the written reasoning.
- Entry range. The band of prices the analyst gives for entering, for example "146 to 150". It is a range, not one exact price.
- Targets. The levels where the analyst plans to exit. A call can have more than one, marked T1, T2 and T3. These are called staged targets.
- Stop-loss (SL). The level where the plan says the trade is wrong and you get out. On our calls it is set before entry, never after.
- Reasoning. Why the analyst wrote the call. Read it. It tells you what the call depends on.
Contract: SAMPLE index, monthly expiry, strike 10,000, CE (call option). Entry 146 to 150. T1 166, T2 180, T3 195. Stop-loss 129. All levels are option premium.
SAMPLE is not a real index and these numbers are invented to show the layout. This is not a recommendation and not a record of results.
Is the level the index or the option premium?
These are two different numbers on two different scales, so check before you act.
NSE names an option contract by five things: the instrument (OPTIDX for index options, OPTSTK for stock options), the underlying symbol, the expiry date, the option type (CE or PE) and the strike price. That is on NSE's contract specifications page. The strike is on the scale of the index. The price you pay when you enter an option is the premium. SEBI's circular of 1 October 2024 calls it the "option premium" collected upfront from option buyers.
So in our made-up example, 10,000 is the strike and 146 to 150 is the premium. If a call does not say which number is which, ask the analyst before you place anything.
What if the price is outside the entry range?
This page does not set a rule for that, and you should not guess one. Read the call's own conditions. If they say nothing about a price that opens above or below the range, ask the analyst who wrote it before you act.
Your broker does not place the stop-loss for you
A research call is information. It is not an order. SEBI's Master Circular for Research Analysts, dated 6 February 2026, gives the terms every client must see. The first one says the analyst "cannot execute/carry out any trade (purchase/sell transaction) on behalf of, the client. Thus, the clients are advised not to permit RA to execute any trade on their behalf."
Our calls work the same way. You place the order yourself, in your own account, with your own broker. No login. No password. No account linking. So nothing connects the stop-loss in our app to your broker account. If you want a stop-loss order at your broker, you enter it in your broker's app yourself.
Stop-loss, stop-limit and GTT: what is the difference?
NSE's page on its futures and options trading system lists the order types the exchange itself accepts.
- Limit order. "An order that allows the price to be specified while entering the order into the system."
- Market order. An order that takes the price available in the market at the moment it is entered. You do not set a price.
- Stop-loss (SL) order. One "which gets activated only when the market price of the relevant security reaches or crosses a threshold price. Until then the order does not enter the market." That threshold is the trigger price.
NSE's own example shows what happens next. A stop-loss order with a trigger of 93.00 and a limit price of 95.00 waits until the market reaches 93.00. Then it "is added to the regular lot book with time of triggering as the time stamp, as a limit order of 95.00". It has two prices, a trigger and a limit, which is why it is also described as a stop-limit order.
Why a stop-loss can trigger and still not fill
Once triggered, your order is a limit order. It fills only at your limit price or better. If the price moves past your limit too fast, there may be no matching order at that price. NSE says that when "a match is not found", orders are stored in its order books. Yours waits there, unfilled, while the price keeps moving. That is why we say on our homepage that a stop-loss is a trigger, not a promised price: in a fast market it can fill worse than its level, or not fill at all.
Time matters too. NSE's time conditions are DAY and IOC. A DAY order "gets cancelled automatically at the end of the trading day" if it is not matched. So a stop-loss entered as a DAY order does not carry over to the next day.
GTT is a broker feature
GTT means Good Till Triggered. It is not on NSE's list of exchange order conditions above. NSE's circular NSE/INSP/62528 of 21 June 2024 says "certain members offer Good Till Cancelled/Good Till Triggered orders or orders of similar type to their clients". Members here means brokers. Each broker that offers them must write a policy that includes the order's validity and how it is handled in a corporate action. The policy must be in the account opening kit and shown on the broker's website or trading app. A later circular, NSE/INSP/63789 of 6 September 2024, says new clients from 1 December 2024 must sign it. So how long your GTT lasts, and what happens to it, is in your broker's policy. Read that, not a forum post.
Taking part profit needs more than one lot
Futures and options on NSE trade in lots. NSE publishes the permitted lot size for every contract in a file on its contract information page. SEBI's 1 October 2024 circular says an index derivative contract must be worth "not less than Rs. 15 lakhs" when it is introduced, and the lot size is fixed so that the contract value on the day of review is "within Rs. 15 lakhs to Rs. 20 lakhs".
A lot is the unit you trade. If a call has staged targets and you want to exit part at T1 and the rest at T2, you need at least two lots. With one lot, you exit the whole lot at one level. Our page on checking today's lot size and expiry shows where to find the current number.
This page is published by Potoos Research Services about itself. Potoos Research Services is a SEBI-registered Research Analyst, registration INH000027380, Chennai. The made-up illustration on this page is not a call we published.
How to check this yourself
-
Write down the contract
From the call, note the underlying, the expiry date, the strike and CE or PE. If any one is missing, ask the analyst before you place anything.
-
Find out what the numbers mean
Check whether the entry, targets and stop-loss are premium or index levels. If the call does not say, ask.
-
Read NSE's order rules
Tap NSE's trading system page. Scroll to "Order Conditions". It explains limit, market and stop-loss orders, and the DAY and IOC time conditions.
-
Read your broker's GTT policy
Open your broker's website or app and search for "Good Till Cancelled" or "GTT policy". NSE requires every broker that offers these orders to show the policy there.
-
Count your lots
Before you plan a staged exit, check the lot size for your contract on NSE's permitted lot size file. You need at least two lots to exit in parts.
Sources
- SEBI, Master Circular for Research Analysts, HO/38/12/11(1)2026-MIRSD-POD/I/4360/2026, 6 February 2026 (PDF: https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebi_data/attachdocs/feb-2026/1770375507051.pdf), Annexure B, Most Important Terms and Conditions, item i, page 60: https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/master-circulars/feb-2026/master-circular-for-research-analysts_99571.html
- NSE, Equity Derivatives Trading System, Order Conditions (page updated 3 January 2023): https://www.nseindia.com/products-services/equity-derivatives-trading-system
- NSE, Equity Derivatives Contract Specifications, security descriptor (instrument, symbol, expiry date, option type, strike): https://www.nseindia.com/static/products-services/equity-derivatives-contract-specifications
- SEBI, Measures to Strengthen Equity Index Derivatives Framework, SEBI/HO/MRD/TPD-1/P/CIR/2024/132, 1 October 2024, paras 5.1 and 5.4: https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/oct-2024/measures-to-strengthen-equity-index-derivatives-framework-for-increased-investor-protection-and-market-stability_87208.html
- NSE circular NSE/INSP/62528 (Circular Ref. No. 40/2024), 21 June 2024, Policy on Handling of Good Till Cancelled Orders offered by Members to Clients: https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/content/circulars/INSP62528.pdf
- NSE circular NSE/INSP/63789 (Circular Ref. No. 58/2024), 6 September 2024, Implementation Timeline: https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/content/circulars/INSP63789.pdf
- NSE, Equity Derivatives Contract Information, "Permitted lot size (.csv)": https://www.nseindia.com/static/products-services/equity-derivatives-contract-information
- Potoos Research Services, homepage and about page, for how our calls are published and that you place your own orders
Checked on 3 November 2026
Common questions
Does my broker place the stop-loss automatically when I get a research call?
No. A research call is information, not an order. SEBI's client terms say a Research Analyst cannot execute any trade on your behalf. With Potoos, you place every order yourself in your own broker account, so a stop-loss exists only if you enter it there.
Why did my stop-loss order trigger but not fill?
On NSE, a triggered stop-loss order becomes a limit order at the limit price you set. If the price moves past that limit before a match is found, the order waits in the order book unfilled. A stop-loss is a trigger, not a promised price.
Is a GTT order an NSE order type?
No. NSE's order conditions are limit, market and stop-loss, with DAY and IOC time conditions. NSE says GTT and Good Till Cancelled orders are offered by brokers, and each broker must publish a policy with the order's validity and how it handles corporate actions.
In an option call, is the level the index or the premium?
Check the call. The strike is on the index scale, and the price you pay for an option is the premium. If the call does not say which number is which, ask the analyst before you place an order.
Can I exit half my position if I have only one lot?
No. Futures and options on NSE trade in lots, so with one lot you exit the whole lot at one level. A staged exit at more than one target needs at least two lots.