Click here for more information on Barchart Opinion and Trading Signals.
The Top Signal Strength and Top Signal Direction pages list those stocks who are rated to be in the top 1% based on their signal strength and direction.
Signal strength can be used as an indicator of the long-term view of a market, whereas signal direction can be used a short-term (3-day) view of the current price activity.
Each analytic used within the signals is rated by signal strength and direction. The strengths are allocated either 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 points and the directions are allocated 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 points. The strength and direction ratings are listed in the advanced opinion pages. The totals are added up for strength and direction depending on the buy, sell and hold ratings and those stocks within the top 1% bracket are listed in these pages. Signal strength and signal direction are independent of the signals rating.
Note: Opinions on each symbol are updated every 20 minutes throughout the day, using delayed data from the exchanges. A security needs to have at least 201 active trading days in order to generate an Opinion reading.
What's Included
For all markets: To be included in the Signals Upgrade or Downgrade page, the stock must have traded today, with a current price between $2 and $10,000 and with a 20-Day average volume greater than 1,000. A Stock must have an Opinion and a last month's Opinion.
For the U.S. market, a stock must be listed on the NYSE, NYSE Arca or Nasdaq exchange, excluding ETFs, unit investment trusts, closed end funds, warrant stocks, preferred securities and any non-SIC classified stock. OTC-US stocks have to be trading above $0.25 and have a (daily volume * last price) above 10,000. For the Canadian market: a stock must be listed on the TSX exchange, excluding unit investment trusts, closed end funds, warrant stocks, preferred securities and any non-SIC classified stock.
Sort
The pages are initially sorted by Symbol. You can re-sort the page by clicking on any of the column headings.
Signal Strength
The signal strength is a long-term measurement of the strength of the signal compared to the strength of the signal historically. The strength can be one of the following readings:
- Top 1%
- Maximum
- Strong
- Good
- Average
- Soft
- Weak
- Minimum
Maximum is the strongest this signal has been in the historical period, and minimum is the weakest the signal has been in the historical period. The stronger a signal strength, the less volatile the signal. For example, a maximum buy signal is less likely to change to a hold or a sell signal than a weak buy signal.
A hold signal does not have any strength.
Signal Direction
Buy/Sell Signal Direction
The signal direction is a short-term (3-day) measurement of the current movement of the signal. Direction is a short indication of how the signal is performing based on most recent available data.
It compares the current divergence of the signal against the divergence of the nearest 3 trading sessions, and if the divergence is increasing this signifies a strengthening of the trend, whereas if the divergence is decreasing this signifies the trend is weakening.
The buy/sell direction can be one of the following readings:
- Top 1%
- Strongest
- Strengthening
- Average
- Weakening
- Weakest
A buy signal with a "strongest" direction means a buy signal which is becoming stronger. Similarly, a sell signal with a "strongest" direction is becoming stronger. The direction goes with the signal.
Hold Signal Direction
The signal direction of a hold signal is a short-term (3-day) measurement of where the signal is heading, be it toward a buy signal or a sell signal. The hold direction can be one of the following five readings:
- Bullish
- Rising
- Steady
- Falling
- Bearish
A bullish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading toward a buy configuration, and a bearish hold signal indicates that the signal is heading toward a sell configuration.
Screen
Available only with a Barchart Plus or Premier Membership, you can base a Stock Screener off the symbols currently on the page. This lets you add additional filters to further narrow down the list of candidates.
Example:
- Click "Screen" on the page and the Stock Screener opens, pulling in the symbols from the Signal Strength/Direction page.
- Add additional criteria in the Screener, such as "20-Day Moving Average is greater than the Last Price".
- View the results and save them to a Watchlist, or save the Screener to run again at a later date.
- Running a Saved Screener at a later date will always present a new list of results. Your Saved Screener will always start with the most current set of symbols found on the Signal Strength/Direction page before applying your custom filters and displaying new results.
