Breakouts

Screening Filters

1. Relative Volume ≥ 3 (relative_vol: {min: 3})

   • Purpose: Find stocks trading with unusually high volume compared to their normal activity.
   • Rationale: Breakouts that are more likely to be sustainable typically occur on strong volume. A relative volume of 3+ means the stock is trading at least three times its average volume, suggesting institutional interest or a strong shift in supply/demand—hallmarks of potential breakout moves rather than random noise.

2. Market Cap ≥ $10B (market_cap: {min: 10000000000})

   • Purpose: Focus on larger, more established companies (large caps).
   • Rationale: Large-cap breakouts are generally more liquid, less prone to manipulation, and more suitable for many investors. This filter steers you away from thinly traded micro-caps, where “breakouts” are often erratic or driven by illiquidity. It aligns the breakout search with higher-quality, institutionally followed names.

3. Price Breaking Resistance (support_resistance_relationship: ['PriceBreakResistance'])

   • Purpose: Identify stocks that are breaking above a known resistance level.
   • Rationale: By definition, a technical “breakout” is a move through resistance. This filter directly targets that behavior—stocks crossing above a prior ceiling where sellers previously stepped in. That’s the core of a breakout setup the user is asking about.

4. Price Above 200-Day Moving Average (moving_average_relationship: ['PriceAboveMA200'])

   • Purpose: Ensure the stock is in a long-term uptrend.
   • Rationale: Many traders only take breakouts in stocks already above their 200-day moving average, because it confirms broader strength rather than a counter-trend rally. This helps filter out “breakouts” occurring in long-term downtrends, which tend to fail more often.

5. New 52-Week High (new_high_low: ['52w_High'])

   • Purpose: Find stocks making fresh one-year highs.
   • Rationale: Strong breakout candidates often occur when price pushes into new 52-week high territory—there’s less overhead resistance, and it signals strong momentum. This aligns perfectly with the idea of “potential breakout opportunities” by focusing on names already proving significant strength.

Why Results Match:

• The screen combines technical breakout criteria (breaking resistance, new 52-week highs) with confirmation factors (high relative volume, price above the 200-day MA), which are classic elements of breakout trading.
• By adding a large-cap filter, it narrows results to liquid, higher-quality stocks, making the identified breakout opportunities more practical and potentially more reliable for most investors and traders.