A/D Line in NinjaTrader — NinjaScript (C#) Source

The A/D Line in NinjaScript is a running total that reads its own prior value — a close cousin of the OBV implementation, but weighted by close location. See the explainer.

What you’ll need

• NinjaTrader 8
• New → NinjaScript Editor → Indicators → New Indicator, name it AlgoGenAD

The source

#region Using declarations
using System;
using System.Windows.Media;
using NinjaTrader.NinjaScript;
using NinjaTrader.NinjaScript.Indicators;
#endregion

namespace NinjaTrader.NinjaScript.Indicators
{
    public class AlgoGenAD : Indicator
    {
        protected override void OnStateChange()
        {
            if (State == State.SetDefaults)
            {
                Name        = "AlgoGen A/D Line";
                Description = "Accumulation/Distribution Line (Chaikin)";
                IsOverlay   = false;

                AddPlot(new Stroke(Brushes.MediumSeaGreen, 2), PlotStyle.Line, "AD");
            }
        }

        protected override void OnBarUpdate()
        {
            double rng = High[0] - Low[0];
            double mfm = rng == 0 ? 0.0 : ((Close[0] - Low[0]) - (High[0] - Close[0])) / rng;
            double mfv = mfm * Volume[0];

            Value[0] = CurrentBar == 0 ? mfv : Value[1] + mfv;   // cumulative
        }
    }
}

Compile & apply

1. Press F5 to compile.
2. Add AlgoGen A/D Line to a chart; the cumulative line draws in its own panel, matching the output chart. Add EMA(AD, 3) - EMA(AD, 10) for the Chaikin Oscillator.

Gotchas

• Value[1] is the running total. Reading your own prior plotted value is what accumulates the line — no separate field needed.
• Flat-bar guard. rng == 0 ? 0.0 prevents a divide-by-zero on a locked bar.
• Read slope, not level; volume quality matters. The absolute value is arbitrary; and on instruments without real volume the A/D Line is only a proxy.
• Chaikin Oscillator. Store the A/D in a Series<double> and plot EMA(adSeries, 3)[0] - EMA(adSeries, 10)[0] for Chaikin’s zero-centered money-flow momentum — the same data as a bounded reading.
• Divergence. Compare the A/D slope to price over a lookback (Value[0] < Value[20] while Close[0] > Close[20]) to flag distribution — the line’s signature use, and a cleaner signal than the raw level.

That’s the five-language set: Python, MQL5, Pine Script, EasyLanguage, and this one. Now test an A/D rule in AlgoGen.

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This post is educational, not financial advice. Indicators describe the past; they don’t predict the future. Backtest anything before you risk real money on it.