What Is the OCO (Take Profit / Stop Loss) Feature on US Stocks?
OCO stands for One Cancels the Other, and on Pluang it is the name for the Take Profit and Stop Loss pair you can attach to a US Stock buy order. Rather than being two independent instructions, they are set up together as a single Exit Strategy that defines both a profit target and a loss limit for the same position. Four rules are worth knowing before you use it. The validity of a TP/SL pair is fixed at 30 calendar days and cannot be changed or extended manually. Neither side can be set on its own without first placing a buy order, either a Limit or a Stop-Limit buy, because TP/SL can only be linked to a buy. The pair becomes active only if that buy order is successfully executed. And if neither level is reached inside the 30 days, the pair expires automatically, so touching a level afterwards does nothing.
- What OCO stands for: One Cancels the Other — Pluang's name for the paired Take Profit and Stop Loss Exit Strategy
- What it defines: a profit target and a loss limit on the same position, set up together rather than separately
- Fixed validity: 30 calendar days, which cannot be changed or extended manually
- Must attach to a buy: neither side can be set independently — TP/SL links only to a Limit or Stop-Limit buy order
- Conditional activation: the pair goes live only if the linked buy order is successfully executed
- On expiry: if neither level is reached within 30 days the pair expires, and touching a level afterwards does nothing
Related questions:
Q: Do I have to set both Take Profit and Stop Loss?
No. You can attach just one side or both. Setting both is what makes it a true OCO pair, where the two orders are linked to each other and only one of them can ever execute. Setting a single side gives you an automatic exit in that one direction only, leaving the other direction to be handled manually whenever you decide to act.
Q: Why can I not set a Take Profit or Stop Loss on its own?
Because on Pluang the Exit Strategy is a property of a buy order rather than of a holding. The levels are configured as part of placing a Limit or Stop-Limit buy, which is what they attach to. You can add or amend them on a buy order you have already created, but there is no standalone TP/SL instruction that exists apart from an order.
Q: Can I extend the 30-day validity?
No. Unlike a regular Limit or Stop order, where you choose DAY or GTC when placing it, the OCO window is fixed at 30 calendar days and is not adjustable. When it lapses, both sides expire together and the levels stop being live. The only way to continue the protection is to create a new Exit Strategy on a new buy order.
Q: What happens if my buy order never executes?
The Take Profit and Stop Loss attached to it never activate. The Exit Strategy is conditional on the buy filling first, so an unfilled buy leaves the TP/SL dormant and then cancelled alongside it when the buy order itself expires. Nothing is reserved or charged for the exit legs in that scenario, and you are free to place a fresh order with the same levels.