Stock Scanner Questions
What Do You Want to Accomplish?
Ask yourself what you actually want to achieve with a stock scanner. Most “scanners” are actually filters. They are very limited in the kinds of searches that are possible. For example, they can find stocks that have penetrated a Bollinger band but not penetrations after a Bollinger band squeeze. People can waste a lot of time diddling around with such filters, but never achieve nuanced searches. Therefore, we have created algorithms to find the most desired stock behavior patterns.
What Do You Want to Find?
High DN & UP System.
Suppose you want to find stocks that have reached a new recent high (for example, they have not been as high in 6 months or more). However, you also want the stocks to have “stair-stepped” their way down for a few days after hitting the high, with each successive high lower than the previous high. Suppose you want a list of stocks that have satisfied these conditions and, in addition, have just had a high that is higher than the previous day’s high. There is no stock scanner on the planet that will generate a list of such stocks, but our StockAlerts system does.
GAP System.
Suppose you want a list of stocks that have gapped or moved aggressively up so that their lows for the day are at least .25 above the previous day’s highs and which have had a volume surge at least 50% above average. StockAlerts lists such stocks.
Near 50-Day & “Bounce.”
Suppose you want a list of stocks that have just declined to their rapidly rising 50-day moving average and then bounced off it to resume their climb. There is no stock scanner on the planet that will find such stocks for you, but our StockAlerts will.
Bollinger Band Squeeze.
Suppose you want to find stocks that have just penetrated their upper Bollinger band after a Bollinger band “squeeze.” A Bollinger band penetration without the squeeze is nearly meaningless. The squeeze marks a period of low volatility. It’s the low volatility that often culminates in a price surge. A band penetration without the squeeze does not mean much. Other stock scanners may find Bollinger band penetrations, but their algorithms are not sophisticated enough to require a “squeeze” before the penetration as part of their filter. Our StockAlerts system will do that (see the video).
Richard Donchian’s 5×20 Dual Moving Average Crossover System (a variation).
Suppose you want a list of stocks in which the 5-day MA (moving average) has crossed from below to above the 20-day MA. In addition, you want both moving averages to currently be rising. Finally, you want the 3-day moving average of the volume to be greater than the 30-day moving average of the volume. No stock scanner on the planet will generate such a list. Our StockAlerts system will.
5x10x20 Triple Moving Average Crossover System (a variation on R.C. Allen’s 4x9x18 system).
Do you want a list of stocks in which the 5-day moving average has crossed above the 10-day moving average and the 20-day moving average, and in which the 10-day moving average has just crossed the 20-day moving average with a surge in volume? Our StockAlerts system generates such a list. Some 4x9x18 system alerts are provided free on our Alerts page.
Strongest Stocks & Strongest ETFs
Do you want a list of stocks that have persistent strength so you can buy on pullbacks to the rising trendline? The Relative Strength Index (RSI) cannot find persistent strength. However, the algorithms used in our Strongest Stocks and Strongest ETFs systems can generate such a lists. The stocks it finds are really STRONG.
Reversals, Surges, Breakouts
Do you want a list of stocks that have just had a price reversal, price surge, or breakout? Our Breakouts system generates such lists. Take reversals, for example. If you are looking for a real change in direction, then what you want is probably a change in direction of a moving average, rather than a one-day spike after a long decline. A one-day spike may simply be non-significant “noise.” A very short-term moving average, on the other hand, would be sensitive enough to catch a real trend change early. Again, our Breakouts system can find such reversals. Our Stock-Scanner can find such events also, since it scans with 6 different moving averages simultaneously while looking for crossover events. It also uses volume surge information in its scans to filter out spurious price-spikes.
ETF Signals
Do you want a list of ETFs that have just had their closing price rise from below to above their 50-day moving average? Do you want to be alerted when the closing price falls below the 50-day moving average? Our ETF Alerts system generates such signals for the 30-day, 50-day, 100-day, 150-day, and 200-day moving averages and throws in the Relative Strength reading (RSI) so you can useit as an additional filter.
Momentum
Do you want a list of stocks with the highest momentum readings. Our Momentum Scan page provides a free list of such stocks that is updated every day.
So, what Does Our Stock-Scanner Do?
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