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Introduction to Screening Stock screening is the process of progressively applying fundamental and/or technical analysis criteria to all stocks in the market to arrive at a manageable number of stocks for further analysis.
You can create unlimited combinations of screening criteria and grid and chart settings for easy retrieval across all of your devices and locations.
Click 'Customize Criteria' to open or close the criteria customization panel.
In the customization panel you can save screen versions and make copies. If you are viewing one of your existing Screens click 'Apply Changes' to save or 'Copy' to build an additional Screen based on the one currently on display. Include and Exclude Symbol Groups Symbol Groups are the universe of symbols to search. Various different methods of selection are available including Exchanges, Sectors, Watch Lists, Specific Symbols, etc.
You can also choose to Exclude specific symbols or groups of symbols. If there is a recurring group of stocks you wish to exclude it may be better to set these up in a watch list and exclude the list. Criteria Basics In general, each filter criteria consists of a comparison between one fundamental or technical analysis value and another fundamental or technical analysis value, or a specific value.
You may have the following criteria:
- Close Price greater than or equal to 10
This simple criteria will return all stocks where the close price is greater than or equal to 10 dollars.
This criteria is not very selective so we could include an additional comparison as follows:
- Close Price greater than or equal to 10
- Close Price crossed above Simple Moving Average(200)
Now the criteria will return all stocks where the close price is greater than or equal to 10 dollars and the close price has crossed above the 200 day moving average. Criteria Conditions Equal to
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is exactly equal to the right.
Be careful with 'Equal to' and technical values as there may be rounding issues. For example, rather than having a criteria of 'Beta equal to 1', it may be better to use two criteria of 'Beta greater than or equal to .99' and 'Beta Less than or equal to 1.01'. Less than
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is less than the right. Less than or equal to
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is less than or exactly equal to the right. Greater than
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is greater than the right. Greater than or equal to
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is greater than or exactly equal to the right. Crossed above
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is greater than the right, but on the previous bar the left had been less than the right.
In last bars
You can also specify a number of bars to check in which case the criteria will pass if it is true on any one of the bars. Crossed below
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left is less the right, but on the previous bar the left had been greater than the right.
In last bars
You can also specify a number of bars to check in which case the criteria will pass if it is true on any one of the bars. Has been above
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left has been greater than the right on each of the number bars specified. Has been below
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria with the item on the right-hand side. The right-hand item can be a specific value.
The criteria will pass if the left has been less than the right on each of the number bars specified. Highest in
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria for the number of bars specified.
The critieria will pass if the latest value is greater than all the values for the previous bars. Lowest in
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria for the number of bars specified.
The critieria will pass if the latest value is lower than all the values for the previous bars. Increasing for
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria for the number of bars specified.
The critieria will pass if each value is progressively higher than the value for the previous bar. Decreasing for
compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria for the number of bars specified.
The critieria will pass if each value is progressively lower than the value for the previous bar. Occurred on latest or in previous
is used for date-based criteria and compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria for the latest bar and the number of previous bars specified.
For example, to include stocks which have traded on the latest trading day or on either of the two previous trading days you could specify 'Trade Date occured on latest or in previous 2 bars'. Stocks which have not traded for 3 days would be ignored. Present
is used for text-based criteria and compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria to see whether a value has been set.
For example, you could specify 'Sector present' to select stocks which have been assigned to Sectors. Not present
is used for text-based criteria and compares the item on the left-hand side of the criteria to see whether a value has been set.
For example, you could specify 'Sector not present' to select stocks which have not been assigned to Sectors. True
is used for pattern-based criteria.
For example, you may have created a Stock Pattern with various criteria and called it 'My Pattern'. In the screen criteria you would then specify a criteria of 'My Pattern true' and the criteria in the pattern would be evaluated in addition to the other criteria in the screen. Customize Criteria Enter as many criteria pairs as you need to narrow down your search. To enter a new criteria on the criteria builder first click 'New Criteria', choose your required Fundamental / Technical Indicator Item, then select the Condition to apply, and finally choose a right-hand Fundamental / Technical Indicator Item or Specific Value to compare to.
Click 'Apply' to save all of your changes and display the new results.
To adjust the settings of an existing left or right criteria Item just click on the Item to display the details popup. For example, to change an Item containing EMA(50) to EMA(100), first click on EMA(50), change the Period to 100, click an 'Apply...' button to save. Show Charts and Grid The results Grid will always show. You can also choose to show or hide stock charts of the results. Click 'Show Stock Charts' or 'Hide Stock Charts' on the menu bar to choose.
You can control the number of results shown using the 'Page Size' setting at the bottom of the Grid. Different settings are held for Grid only and Grid & Charts. So you could set the Grid to show 24 results per page then easily flip back and fore to a Charts & Grid display showing 4 per page. Sort Charts and Grid Whether you have the Grid only on display or both Charts & Grid, the sorting is controlled from the Grid. Click on a Grid column heading to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the sort.
If you need to sort by a column that is not shown, use 'Customize Grid Columns' first to add the column. For example, you could add SMA Average Volume to the Grid and then reverse sort by that to show results in descending volume order.
The page navigation links at the bottom of the Grid will vary depending on the sorted column. For example, you would see AAPL, etc if you sort by Symbol, APPLE INC, etc if you sort by Name, or 10,000,000 AAPL, etc if you sort by volume. Criteria Values on Charts and Grid Criteria values from both the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the criteria will automatically appear on Charts and the Grid.
For example, the following criteria will cause Close, SMA(50), and Volume to appear:
- Close greater than SMA(50)
- Volume greater than 100,000
If you have already added any of these values via 'Customize Chart Studies' or 'Customize Grid Columns' then they will not be added again. This way you can control colors, plot order, etc.
Criteria values will only appear when the Period of the value and the Period of the Chart match. For example, if you set the Chart Period to Weekly the above 3 values would not appear.
You can also limit the automatic inclusion via the 'Maximum number of criteria values to auto-include' setting under the 'Settings' options for Charts and 'Customize Grid Columns' for the Grid. A setting of 0 (zero) will disable any auto-inclusion giving you full control of the displays. Customize Chart Studies Click 'Customize Chart Studies' to open or close the Charts customization panel.
Charts consist of one or more Areas. The first Area is primarily reserved for the price Plot. And you can add additional Areas as you wish.
Click 'Overlay indicator' to add an additional Plot to an existing Area. For example, you may be showing Candlesticks in the first Area. You could then add an additional Plot to overlay a moving average. Use the Up and Down buttons to re-arrange the Plot order within the Area.
To add a completely new Area click 'Add indicator to new area'. For example, you may have a Chart with two existing Areas for Candlesticks and Volume. To add MACD, click 'Add indicator to new area', select MACD, close the details popup, and then 'Apply...' and the Chart will be extended to show MACD.
To adjust the settings of an existing Plot just click on the Plot to display the details popup. For example, to change a Plot containing EMA(50) to EMA(100), first click on EMA(50), change the Period to 100, and click an 'Apply...' button to save. Change Chart Duration and Period Click the duration settings button, Eg 'Daily 6 Months' directly above the Charts to change the chart Duration or Period.
Quick links are provided for Months and Years. For example, click on 3 Months to see a Chart covering that duration.
You can also choose specific dates using the Custom Date Range selector. If you set the From Date only and leave the To Date, the Chart will automatically extend for each new day.
Quick links are provided for the chart Period. For example, click 'Weekly' to see Weekly bars on the Chart. Resize Charts To change the size of Charts, hold your mouse pointer over the triangle icon at the bottom right of the first Chart and drag to the required size and let go.
If your device does not support this action you can adjust the size via the 'Settings' panel. Add Trend Lines Trend lines are used to show and monitor trends in a stock price.
They can help to show downward or upward trends and to monitor for trend breaks. This site allows you to add your own free-hand trend lines which will then show on any Chart for that stock.
Trend lines cannot be added when there are multiple Charts shown. To enable Trend lines ensure there is one Chart only on display.
To add a trend line just click 'Add Trend Line'. After a short pause you will see a horizontal line with two small end boxes. First drag one of the ends into the appropriate place. And then move the ends in turn until the line is drawn correctly. Click 'Save Changes' when done.
Chart Areas
A trend line has to be contained within the Price Area or a Study Area. On the first move of the end box make sure you drop it on the required area as it will be contained within that area thereafter. If you get it wrong just clear and start again.
Trend Line Attributes
Saved lines will appear on all Charts for the symbol provided that the chart is shown with the same Period setting. Adjust Global Chart Settings Click the 'Settings' button directly above the Charts to change global chart settings.
Settings are available for Price Bar Color, Volume Bar Color, Logarithmic Price Scale, Cross-hairs, and Empty Bars.
These settings apply to all of your Charts across the site. Customize Grid Columns Click 'Customize Grid Columns' to open or close the Grid customization panel.
To add a new Column click 'Add New Column'. For example, you may wish to add Volume to the Grid. First click 'Add New Column', select Volume, close the details popup, and then 'Apply...' and the Grid will be extended to show Volume.
Use the Up and Down buttons to re-arrange the Column order within the Grid.
To adjust the settings of an existing Column just click on the Column to display the details popup. For example, to change a Column containing EMA(50) to EMA(100), first click on EMA(50), change the Period to 100 and click an 'Apply...' button to save. The Number of static Columns setting determines how the Grid is laid out and is especially useful to prevent horizontal scrolling on devices with narrow screen width.
- the default setting of 'Auto' will mean that an assessment of device width will be made to determine how many static columns can fit with any excess columns shown in 2x2 form format.
- a setting of, for example, 4 will result in the first 4 columns appearing in column format with any subsequent columns shown in 2x2 form format
- a setting of 'Never' will result in no collapsing to form layout
This setting is held at the device level and applies to all Grids across all views. Set As Of Date The Selection Date is the as of date used to display the data for this view. Usually you can just leave this value and it will automatically change each day as the latest data is loaded. However, you can also select a historic date to see the view as of then. The label will change to 'Custom Date' and will show in Red. Please ensure you change it back to the latest date when done as this setting is remembered! The date will not affect the date range for Charts but the Chart will show a horizontal line on the historic date. Data Update Price history is updated for all exchanges shortly after the close. The first load is provisional but is followed later by further updates.
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