Combining conditions with AND, OR and parentheses

A criterion in Critivest checks a condition, for example whether the price-to-earnings ratio is below 15. You combine several comparisons with and or or: with and, all of them must apply; with or, one is enough.

Writing a comparison

A comparison sets a value against a limit or another value. Values are items from the financial reports, market data such as the market capitalization, and formulas such as the P/E ratio. You find their names in the reference of the editor and on the formula pages; upper and lower case do not matter.

You write decimals with a point, such as 0.5. A condition must always compare: PERatio alone is no condition, PERatio < 15 is.

With and: all comparisons must apply

This condition is met if the P/E ratio is greater than 0 and less than 15:

PERatio > 0 and PERatio < 15

A company with a loss has a negative P/E ratio and does not meet it, nor does one with a P/E ratio of 20. New accounts get this condition as an example criterion.

With or: one comparison is enough

This condition is met if the current ratio is above 2 or the quick ratio is above 1:

CurrentRatio > 2 or QuickRatio > 1

Brackets: and before or

Without brackets, and binds more strongly than or, just as multiplication comes before addition. Critivest therefore reads this condition as “earnings and current ratio” or “quick ratio”:

NetIncome > 0 and CurrentRatio > 2 or QuickRatio > 1

A company with a loss meets it as soon as its quick ratio is above 1. If earnings should always be required, you add brackets:

NetIncome > 0 and (CurrentRatio > 2 or QuickRatio > 1)

When a value is missing

A missing value leaves the result unknown only if it could still change it. With or, one part that is met is enough: Beta < 1 or CurrentRatio > 2 is met when the current ratio is above 2, even if the beta is missing. If no part is met and a value is missing, the result remains unknown.

With and, one part that is not met establishes the result “Not met”. If the other parts are met and a value is missing, the criterion cannot be evaluated.

You can also create separate criteria for the comparisons and require only one of them in a strategy. The guide on required criteria shows how.

Testing before saving

In the editor of a criterion, you can test the condition on the stocks of your watchlist. The preview shows each stock's values and result, and which value is missing.

Instead of and and or, Critivest also understands && and ||.

More guides

• Required criteria: How a strategy groups criteria and sets how many of them a stock must meet — using the example strategy “Liquidity ratios (2 of 3)”.

Last updated: November 4, 2026