Avoid invalid price order rejection message

Initial Steps

This error may appear when submitting a stop order if the stop price is ahead of the market.

For a buy stop order, such as when exiting a short position or entering a long position, the stop price must be above the current ask price.

For a sell stop order, such as when exiting a long position or entering a short position, the stop price must be below the current bid price.

To avoid the error, it is best practice to adjust the stop price to be greater than the ask for a buy stop or less than the bid for a sell stop.

In a fast-moving market, it is advised to place stop orders far enough behind the market price, on the proper side of the market for the corresponding order action, so the order stop price is not ahead of the market when the order is received by the brokerage. Adding a few ticks of distance from the stop price to the current bid for sell orders or from the current ask on buy orders on the proper side of the market can alleviate frequent order rejections.