**An average investor can choose the price they offer for a stock by placing a limit order.** A trade happens when a buyer and seller accept compatible prices.

For example, you can submit “buy 10 shares at $49 or less” even if the stock last traded at $50. Your order might remain unfilled if nobody will sell at your price. Similarly, you can offer your shares for $51 or more and wait for a willing buyer. A market order accepts available prices for immediate execution. [SEC explanation of order types](https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/how-stock-markets-work/types-orders)

The “stock price” you see is often the **last completed trade price**. There are also current bids from buyers and asking prices from sellers. Here’s a simplified example of how prices move:

- Sellers offer 100 shares at $50 and another 100 at $50.10.
- Buyers purchase all 100 shares offered at $50.
- If a buyer then accepts $50.10, that transaction becomes the new last-traded price.

Prices also change as participants submit, revise, or cancel their bids and offers. Individual investors, mutual fund managers, hedge funds, and market makers all participate. Large orders can consume more available shares and therefore have a larger effect. Your influence depends on your order’s size and the available orders in that stock.

**Your mutual fund example uses a different pricing system.** A traditional open-end mutual fund calculates its net asset value per share:

**NAV = (value of the fund’s assets − liabilities) ÷ shares outstanding**

In the U.S., purchases and redemptions generally receive the next calculated NAV, typically calculated once each trading day, with applicable fees. That means the price shown when you submit an order may differ from the price you receive. The fund’s underlying holdings determine its value; its manager’s trades can influence the market prices of those holdings. [SEC explanation of mutual funds](https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/investment-products/mutual-funds-and-exchange-traded-funds-etfs/mutual-funds)

So “what the public is willing to pay” means the prices participants actually offer and accept through orders. You can choose your offer for a stock; completing the trade requires someone willing to take the other side.