Stocks expected to gap up today

Screening Filters

1. Price: 3–150 USD

   • Purpose: Focus on reasonably priced, tradeable stocks and avoid extremes.
   • Rationale:
     • Stocks under ~$3 are often illiquid, highly speculative penny stocks where pre-market “gaps” can be random and hard to trade.
     • Very high-priced stocks (over ~$150) can move in dollar terms but are less accessible for many traders and may show different gap behavior.
     • This range targets a broad universe of mid/low-priced names that commonly show actionable gap moves.

2. Relative Volume ≥ 1.5

   • Purpose: Find stocks trading with significantly higher interest than usual.
   • Rationale:
     • Relative volume compares current volume to a stock’s average volume.
     • A value ≥ 1.5 means the stock is trading at least 50% more than its normal activity, which often signals news, catalysts, or institutional interest.
     • When you’re looking for stocks “expected to gap up today,” elevated activity helps confirm that the pre-market move has real participation behind it.

3. Volume ≥ 200,000 shares

   • Purpose: Ensure minimum liquidity so the gaps are tradable.
   • Rationale:
     • Thinly traded names can show large price gaps that are mostly noise and difficult to enter/exit without big slippage.
     • A floor of 200k shares traded (typically on recent sessions or intraday) focuses the list on stocks where a typical trader can realistically participate.

4. Gap Pattern: GapUp

   • Purpose: Directly target stocks opening significantly above their prior close.
   • Rationale:
     • A “GapUp” pattern means the pre-market or indicated open price is above yesterday’s closing price.
     • This is the core of your question—stocks that are expected to open higher than the previous close.

5. Pre-market Price Change ≥ 3%

   • Purpose: Filter for meaningful expected gap-ups, not tiny noise-level moves.
   • Rationale:
     • A minimum 3% move in pre-market indicates a notable shift in sentiment, often in response to news (earnings, guidance, upgrades, etc.).
     • This removes marginal 0.5–1% gaps that may not be tradable or may close quickly after the open.

6. Exchange: XNYS, XNAS, XASE (NYSE, NASDAQ, NYSE American)

   • Purpose: Restrict to major U.S. exchanges.
   • Rationale:
     • These exchanges list more regulated, better-followed companies with more reliable data and liquidity.
     • Excluding OTC and very small venues reduces the chance of highly manipulated or extremely illiquid “gap” names.

Why Results Match Your Request

• You asked for stocks expected to gap up today.
• The GapUp pattern plus pre-market price change ≥ 3% directly capture stocks whose indicated open is significantly above yesterday’s close.
• The relative volume and volume filters make sure these gaps are backed by above-normal trading activity and sufficient liquidity, increasing the likelihood that the gap is meaningful and tradable.
• The price and exchange filters keep the universe focused on mainstream, accessible stocks where pre-market gaps are more reliable and less driven by random, illiquid prints.

Together, these filters narrow the list to liquid, actively traded U.S. stocks showing a significant pre-market move higher, aligning with “stocks expected to gap up today.”