Use This Tool

Here are some of the best user-defined scans we've seen. Most were submitted by our Extra! users and while we cannot guarantee their effectiveness, we can guarantee that by studying these scans closely, you'll become better at creating your own. Be sure to check out Using the Standard Scan Workbench for more info.

This scan is based on the stock picking methodology used by Gary B. Smith of TheStreet.com fame. Gary looks for stocks that have moved significantly higher on strong volume and that closed higher than their previous five closes. Volume should have increased at by at least 50% and the stock's closing price should have increased by at least $1.00 but no more than 6% on that move.

First, to insure that only "tradable" (i.e., liquid) stocks are selected we set the "Avg Vol." global filter to ">40,000". Gary actually recommends >50K, but we're going with a slightly lower figure. Next, we drop down to the "Additional Technical Criteria" and specify the other condition for volume, that today's volume (i.e. "Volume 0 days ago") is at least (i.e., ">=") 50% higher than the stock's average volume for the past 50 days (i.e. "Volume SMA (50) 0 days ago x1.5"). For price, Gary looks for a $1 rise, but we prefer to work in percentages. Since a $1 increase in a $25 stock is a 4% rise, we can use that as a good approximation - keeping in mind that it will eliminate some higher priced stocks that Gary's original criteria might not. Thus we have "Close 0 days ago > Close 1 day ago x1.04". Similarly, "Close 0 days ago < Close 1 day ago x1.06" adds an upper limit to the stock's increase. Finally, the stock must have closed higher than its previous five closes: "Close 0 days ago > Close MAX (5) 1 day ago". The paramater "(5)" indicates the number of days to search for the MAX Close.

Extra! Users: Click here to run this scan!

For short candidates, Gary scans for stocks that have moved significantly lower on very strong volume and that closed lower than their previous five closes. Volume should have increased at by at least 100% and the stock's closing price should have decreased by at least $1.00.

As above, we set the "Avg Vol." global filter to ">40,000" and then drop down to the "Additional Technical Criteria" to specify that today's volume (i.e. "Volume 0 days ago") is at least (i.e., ">=") 100% lower than the stock's average volume (i.e. "Volume SMA (50) 0 days ago x2"). Next is the $1.00 decrease, which we approximate as a 4% decrease: "Close 0 days ago < Close 1 day ago x0.96". Finally, the stock must have closed lower than its previous five closes: "Close 0 days ago < Close MIN (5) 1 day ago".

Extra! Users: Click here to run this scan!

For finding stocks with big turnarounds using Point & Figure criteria, look for stocks that ended in a falling column of O's yesterday, but now end in a column of X's that is at least five "boxes" tall.

After setting the average volume and average price filters, move over to the "Predefined Chart Patterns" area. On the first line, select the "Chart in Os" pattern for 1 day ago and select "true" from the final dropdown. On the next line, scan for "Chart in Xs - 0 days ago is true". Finally, move down to the "Additional Technical Criteria" area. On the first line there, select "P&F Box Cnt" as the left-side indicator for "0 days ago", then select the ">" comparison operator. Lastly, pick the "Constant =" indicator for the right-side indicator and set the parameter to 5.

Extra! Users: Click here to run this scan!

Richard Estes leads the "TA - Scans and System Tests" thread on SiliconInvestor.com. Early in that thread, he shared three scans that he uses daily - Buy Buy Buy (BBB), WatchOut!, and Breakout! BBB looks for stocks that have three important bullish signals. Buy Signal #1 - They've risen 5% over the last 5 days. Buy Signal #2 - They closed 15% higher than the highest closing price during the past year. Buy Signal #3 - Volume is above its 60-day moving average.

We always want good liquidity when looking to go long, so let's set the "Avg. Vol" filter to ">60000" and the "Avg. Price" filter to ">$5.00". In the "Additional Technical Expressions" section, we'll add three lines - one for each "Buy" criteria. To find stocks with a 5% rise over 5 days, we look for stocks where today's close is greater than the close fives days ago times 1.05 ("Close 0 days ago > Close 5 days ago x 1.05"). Buy signal #2 translates to "Max. Close(200) < Close x 1.15". The last one is the easiest: "Volume > Vol SMA(60)".

Extra! Users: Click here to run this scan!

Here's our first user-submitted Hall Of Fame winner! According to Anargyros "This scan identifies stocks ready for a possible short-term upward move. It uses Slow Stochastic's to help identify pivot points at which bulls are gaining strength. I use a 9-bar Slow Stochastic (smoothed over a 3-day period) with Nasdaq stocks with 60-day average volume greater than 200K, and average share price greater than $5.00 for the past 60 days. Additionally, the close for today is greater than the close of yesterday to further identify stocks gaining strength. This scan identifies bullish strength when closing prices continue to be at the high of a particular days trading range. I use Slow Stochastic's because it does a better job of screening out noise associated from market volatility."

Extra! Users: Click here to run this scan!

Here's our first "Advanced" scan. You'll need to use the "Advanced Scan Interface" to create it. The scan looks for consensus among a stocks Moving Averages, its RSI, and its MACD indicators. Basically, if four different signals have just become true for a given stock, that stock is returned by the scan as a potential buy candidate. The four signals are:

• The 5-day moving average is above the 15-day moving average
• The 14-day RSI is above 50
• The standard MACD line is above its signal line
• The standard MACD line is above zero

Michael uses this for the Stocks in the Nasdaq 100 (although it can be used on any group of liquid stocks) so we start by entering "[group is NASDAQ100] and" in the Advanced Scan criteria box. The key for the rest of the scan is to remember that the four conditions must have just become true today - i.e., at least one of them was false yesterday. This means we have to check for four different scenarios - one for each of the four conditions becoming true today. So our scan will have this kind of "outline" to it:

 [group is NASDAQ100] and
 [
   [ First condition just became true and
     other conditions also true ]
   or
   [ Second condition just became true and
     other conditions also true ]
   or
   [ Third condition just became true and
     other conditions also true ]
   or
   [ Fourth condition just became true and
     other conditions also true ]
 ]

In order for one of the conditions to just become true, we'll use the handy "crosses above" operator ("x"). For the remaining conditions inside each scenario, the "greater than" operator is used. Think of it as the "already above" operator. With that in mind, the first scenario would look like this:

 [daily sma(5,daily close) x daily sma(15,daily close)] and
 [daily rsi(14) > 50] and
 [daily macd line(12,26,9) > daily macd signal(12,26,9)] and
 [daily macd line(12,26,9) > 0]

Hopefully, you can see the correllation between those statements and Michael's original four signals listed above. The remainder of the scan is created by copying those four lines into each scenario of the "outline" and changing the position of the "crosses above" operator.

 [group is NASDAQ100] and
 [
   [
     [daily sma(5,daily close) x daily sma(15,daily close)] and
     [daily rsi(14) > 50] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > daily macd signal(12,26,9)] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > 0]
   ]
   or
   [
     [daily sma(5,daily close) > daily sma(15,daily close)] and
     [daily rsi(14) x 50] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > daily macd signal(12,26,9)] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > 0]
   ]
   or
   [
     [daily sma(5,daily close) > daily sma(15,daily close)] and
     [daily rsi(14) > 50] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) x daily macd signal(12,26,9)] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > 0]
   ]
   or
   [
     [daily sma(5,daily close) > daily sma(15,daily close)] and
     [daily rsi(14) > 50] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) > daily macd signal(12,26,9)] and
     [daily macd line(12,26,9) x 0]
   ]
  ]

Extra! Users: To run this advanced scan, you'll need to cut and paste the above criteria into the Advanced Scan Interface page.

Got a scan you'd like us to add to the Hall of Fame? Send the complete link along with its description, rationale, and usage (use the above entries as guides) to support@stockcharts.com. You too can be "famous!"

Click here to send us feedback about our User-defined Scan tool. Thanks!