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How to Read the US Technical Screener Card

A field-by-field guide to every element on a Technical Screener card — verdict badges, trade levels, Entry Quality, moving averages, and how to act on each signal.

⏱ 5 min read 📊 US Technical Screener 🟢 Beginner friendly

In this article

What the Technical Screener measures
Verdict Badges
Card Header — Ticker, Price, Performance
Score & Signal Chips
Trade Levels — Stop, Exit Target, Risk%
Entry Quality
Moving Averages
12M Analyst Target
Watchlist, Sort & Verdict History
Quick Decision Guide

1. What the Technical Screener measures

The US Technical Screener checks price momentum and trend alignment across 11 rules — moving averages, MACD, volume, and short-term price action. Every rule scores 1 (pass) or 0 (fail). The total score determines the verdict.

Coverage: Russell 1000 stocks (≥ $10B market cap). Refreshed daily after market close.

💡 How to use the screener efficiently

Use the filter pills — STRONG / WATCH / RECOVER / CAUTIOUS — to narrow the list, then expand individual cards for detail. Start with STRONG. These are stocks where all 11 rules pass simultaneously.

2. Verdict Badges

Every card carries a verdict badge — a top-level summary of the stock's score:

STRONG

All 11 rules pass. Highest conviction — best starting point for research.

WATCH

9–10 rules pass. Most signals aligned — worth monitoring for a full STRONG setup.

RECOVERING

6+ rules with positive MACD and rising SMA20. Early momentum building — good for a watchlist.

CAUTIOUS

Multiple rules unfavourable. Not a sell signal — simply means the setup is not yet favourable for a new entry.

⚠ Snapshots, not forecasts

Verdict badges reflect the most recent screener run. A stock can move between tiers as market conditions change. Always combine with your own research before making any decision.

3. Card Header — Ticker, Price, Performance

GOOGL

Alphabet Inc. · Comm Services

$400.80

+28.3% (6M)

STRONG ✓ 11/11 rules 📅 Earns 18d ⚠ Ext

Stop

$381.53

Exit Target

$438.54

Risk

4.8%

Mkt Cap

$4,901B

SMA20

$371.20

SMA100

$178.40

SMA200

$163.80

P/E

19.8

Entry Quality Slightly Extended ⚠️ Ideal entry: $371.20 SMA10 −1.2% away

💡 Limit order at ideal entry, or enter now with smaller size.

Field	What it means	How to use it
Ticker / Name	Exchange symbol and company name	The sector label helps you compare against industry peers
Price	Latest closing price in USD	Data from the most recent trading session — not real-time
6M Performance	Price return over the last ~126 trading days	Positive 6M return is one of the 11 rules — confirms medium-term momentum

4. Score & Signal Chips

Chip	What it means
11/11 rules	How many of the 11 technical rules pass right now. STRONG requires all 11.
Δ+2 / Δ−1	Score delta vs the last screener run. Δ+ means the stock is improving — more rules passing than before.
⚠ Extended / ⚠ Ext	Price is running significantly above its 20-day average. See Entry Quality below.
📅 Earns Xd	Earnings in X days. Only shown within 30 days — a reminder of binary event risk.
⚡ ATR Spike	Volatility is unusually elevated. Stops may be wider than usual — size conservatively.
SMA10 −X.X% away	Shown on STRONG and WATCH cards where price is above SMA10. The 10-day average is X.X% below current price — a natural short-term pullback target. Tap the chip on mobile (or hover on desktop) for a tooltip explanation.
✓ All criteria passed	Shown on STRONG cards only — confirms every rule passes with no exceptions.
★ / ☆ (star)	Add the stock to your personal watchlist (Trial/Premium). Stars persist across sessions and across screener tabs.
📊 (detail button)	Opens the full stock detail popup — all metrics, signals, rules, history, and analyst data on one screen without leaving the screener.

5. Trade Levels — Stop, Exit Target, Risk%

These are rule-based levels calculated from the stock's own volatility (ATR14), not analyst forecasts. They provide a structured framework for managing the trade.

Field	What it means	How it's calculated
Stop	Suggested stop-loss — the point where the technical setup is invalidated	Lower of: (Price − 1.5 × ATR14) or Parabolic SAR. Adapts to each stock's volatility.
Exit Target	Profit target at 2:1 risk/reward	Price + 2 × (Price − Stop). Not a forecast — it's where the trade pays 2× what you risk.
Risk %	Distance from current price to stop, as a percentage	Risk% above 6% is flagged. Use this to size your position — risk the same dollar amount regardless of Risk%.

💡 Exit Target ≠ Analyst Price Target

Exit Target is a rule-based 2:1 level — a short-term trade exit framework. 12M Analyst Target is the Wall St. consensus for the next 12 months. They will often differ significantly. Don't confuse the two.

6. Entry Quality

Entry Quality tells you whether now is a good time to enter, or whether the stock hasn't yet reclaimed the key trend averages — or has moved too far from its baseline. The screener runs two checks in order.

Step 1 — SMA gating (checked first)

Before showing an entry zone, the screener checks whether price is above its key trend averages:

Condition	What it shows	What to do
Price below SMA200	Below SMA200 🔴 — long-term trend is broken	⏳ Below long-term trend — patience recommended. No entry target is shown.
Price below SMA100	Below SMA100 ⚠️ + distance chip — medium-term trend not yet confirmed	💡 Awaiting SMA100 reclaim — watch for price to recover above this level before planning an entry.

Step 2 — Entry zone (SMA-aligned stocks only)

For stocks above SMA20, SMA100, and SMA200 (the full MA stack), Entry Quality measures how extended price is relative to the 20-day moving average:

Badge	Meaning	Action tip shown
Near SMA20 ✓	Price is close to its 20-day average — a clean entry zone	✔ Good entry zone — near moving average baseline.
Slightly Extended ⚠️	Price has moved above its average but not dangerously far	💡 Limit order at ideal entry, or enter now with smaller size.
Extended 🔴	Price is significantly above its 20-day average	⚠ Overextended — wait for pullback to ideal entry.

Below the badge, a short action tip gives specific guidance based on both the extension level and the verdict. WATCH stocks receive more cautious tips — they haven't passed all 11 rules yet, so the entry guidance reflects that additional uncertainty.

Ideal Entry & SMA10 anchor

For Slightly Extended and Extended stocks, an Ideal Entry price is calculated and displayed. It is anchored to SMA10 (if the gap between SMA10 and SMA20 is smaller than ATR14) or SMA20 (if SMA10 has moved further ahead). This makes the ideal entry more responsive to recent price behaviour than a fixed percentage above SMA20.

💡 SMA10 distance chip

On STRONG and WATCH cards where price has moved ahead of SMA10, you may see a blue SMA10 −X.X% away chip. This shows how far the 10-day average sits below the current price — a natural short-term pullback target. A small gap (e.g. −0.5%) means price is very close to the 10-day baseline; a larger gap (e.g. −3%) means it has run further ahead. Tap the chip for a tooltip on mobile.

7. Moving Averages

The card shows SMA10 (10-day), SMA20 (20-day), SMA100 (100-day), and SMA200 (200-day). For a STRONG stock, price should be above all four, with the short-term averages sitting above the long-term ones: SMA20 > SMA100 > SMA200. This "MA stack" confirms the uptrend across short, medium, and long timeframes simultaneously. SMA10 is used specifically in the Entry Quality section to anchor the Ideal Entry price — the gap between SMA10 and SMA20 determines which average is used as the reference level.

The P/E (trailing) is also shown alongside the MAs for a quick fundamental sanity check — useful for spotting if a technically strong stock is trading at an extreme valuation.

8. 12M Analyst Target

Wall St. consensus from covering analysts — includes the mean price target, low/high range, consensus recommendation (BUY, HOLD, SELL), and analyst count. Hover the label (ⓘ) for a tooltip reminder that this is a 12-month forecast, not the rule-based Exit Target above.

9. Watchlist, Sort & Verdict History

Watchlist (★)

The star icon on every card lets you save stocks to your personal watchlist (available on Trial and Premium plans). Your watchlist syncs across devices and persists between sessions. Use the Watchlist filter pill at the top of the screener to show only your starred stocks across any screener tab.

Sort Dropdown

The sort dropdown (above the card list) lets you reorder all stocks by different signals. Options include: Stars ↓ (score highest first, default), Δ Score ↓ (biggest recent improvers first), Analyst Upside ↓, Analyst Rating ↑, Earnings ↑ (closest earnings first), P/E ↑ (cheapest by P/E first), Mkt Cap ↓, and 6M Perf ↓. Sorting applies on top of any active verdict or sector filter.

4-Week Verdict History (Premium)

Expand any card and scroll to the 4-week history row. It shows the verdict label for each of the past four weekly screener snapshots — letting you see at a glance whether a stock has been consistently STRONG, recently upgraded, or drifting. A stock that shows STRONG → STRONG → STRONG → STRONG has sustained momentum; one that oscillates WATCH → STRONG → WATCH → STRONG is less reliable. This feature requires a Trial or Premium plan.

10. Quick Decision Guide

If you see…	What it suggests	Next step
STRONG + Near SMA20	All signals aligned, price at a reasonable entry point	Review trade levels. Check earnings date. Consider entering with full size.
STRONG + Extended 🔴	Good setup but overextended — chasing may mean a tight stop	Set a limit order at the Ideal Entry price and wait for a pullback.
WATCH + Δ+2	Improving rapidly — may reach STRONG on the next run	Add to watchlist. Check back after the next daily update.
Any verdict + Below SMA100 ⚠️	Medium-term trend not confirmed — SMA100 is acting as resistance	No ideal entry shown. Wait for price to close above SMA100 before planning a position.
Any verdict + Below SMA200 🔴	Long-term trend is broken — price below the key trend average	Patience recommended. Only reconsider once price reclaims SMA200.
STRONG + ⚡ ATR Spike	Good setup but volatility is elevated — stops will be wider	Risk% may be high. Reduce position size to keep dollar risk consistent.
Any verdict + 📅 Earns Xd	Earnings within 30 days — binary event risk	Decide whether to enter before or wait until after the announcement.
RECOVERING + Δ+3	Momentum building fast — potential WATCH candidate	Add to watchlist. Look for MACD confirmation on next update.

⚠ This is a tool, not advice

Technical signals identify setups based on systematic rules. They do not account for news, macro conditions, or your personal situation. Every signal is a starting point for your own research — not a buy or sell recommendation.

Also in Investing Education: How to Read the US Value Screener Card · How to Read the Combined Screener Card

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