The setups it looks for
A stock that already made a big move (30% or more in one to three months) rests in a tight, orderly range, often riding its rising 10 and 20-day averages. The trade is the move out of that range to new highs, ideally on rising volume.
A surprise, usually earnings or big news, makes a stock gap up 10% or more on enormous volume. The strongest come from stocks that had been ignored for months, so the news changes the story.
After a huge run in a few days, a stock can be stretched far above its averages. The idea is to bet on the pullback once it shows the first sign of exhaustion. It’s an advanced, risky setup: the screener lists these to watch.
His starting point: the top 1 to 2% of performers over one, three and six months that also move a lot each day. Most breakouts come from this group.
How the screener checks each one
- Breakout, near the pivot: a rise of 30% or more into a high within the last 60 days, a pullback of no more than 25% since, at least three days of basing, the last few days quieter than the run up, the price holding near its 20-day average with the 10, 20 and 50-day averages stacked and rising, and the close within about one day’s range of the high.
- Breaking out: the same base, with today’s price above the high. Volume of 1.5 times the average or more is marked.
- Episodic pivot: in the last five days, a gap up of 10% or more on at least 2.5 times the average volume, from a stock that rose less than 50% in the three months before, and still above the gap day’s low.
- Parabolic: up 50% or more from its lowest point in ten days, 20% or more above the 10-day average, with at least three up days in the last five. A red day or a break of the previous day’s low is marked as the first crack.
- Momentum leaders: a relative strength of 97 or more, meaning its 1, 3 or 6-month return is in the top 3% of everything scanned.
Crypto moves more, so it needs bigger moves: a 50% run for breakouts, a 20% up day on three times the volume for episodic pivots (crypto trades around the clock, so there are no gaps), and 80% for parabolic runs. Everything also has to trade at least $2 million a day.
How these setups are usually traded
Kullamägi has explained his approach many times: buy as the price breaks above the day’s opening range, put the stop at the low of the day, and risk only a small part of the account on each trade. After three to five days of gains he sells a third to a half of the position and moves the stop to break-even, then follows the rest with the 10 or 20-day average until it closes below it. Most trades are small losses; a few big winners make the year.
You can practise exactly this without risking money: FreeCharting’s paper trading has stop losses at the day’s low, sizing by risk, a second take profit that closes part of the position, and a move to break-even after the first.
Frequently asked questions
Is this made by Qullamaggie?
No. FreeCharting isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Kristjan Kullamägi. The screener looks for the setups he has described publicly, using our own rules, so its picks won’t always match his.
Which stocks does it scan?
About 680 US stocks: roughly the S&P 500 plus popular growth and momentum names. That isn’t the whole market, so some of the small caps he trades won’t show up. For crypto, it scans the 200 busiest USDT pairs on Binance.
Why does it need an Alpaca key for stocks?
Stock data is licensed, so it needs a key. Alpaca’s free market-data key returns many stocks per request, which is what makes a full scan possible for free. Crypto needs no key.
What is ADR, and why is there a minimum?
ADR (average daily range) is how much a stock typically moves from its low to its high in a day, averaged over 20 days. Kullamägi prefers stocks that move 4 to 5% a day or more, because a breakout in a slow stock rarely goes far. The default minimum here is 3%, since the list includes many large companies that move less.
Is a match a signal to buy?
No. It’s a list of charts worth a closer look, for learning and research. Most breakouts fail, which is why traders who use these setups risk a small, fixed amount with a stop at the day’s low. This isn’t investment advice.
How often does it update?
Each time you open the page or press Refresh. Stocks use daily candles, with Alpaca’s free data 15 minutes behind the market. Crypto uses live daily candles from Binance.