Too buy right now for quick gain

Note on “quick gains”

No screen can guarantee quick profits or identify a stock that “will” go up. What these filters can do is tilt the list toward stocks that, statistically or technically, may have a higher probability of a short-term move, while trying to avoid extremely illiquid or ultra-speculative names.

Screening Filters

1. Price: min 5, max 80

   • Purpose: Focus on reasonably priced U.S. stocks and avoid both penny stocks and very high-priced names.
   • Rationale:
     • Below $5 you often find illiquid penny stocks with extreme volatility, wide spreads, and higher manipulation risk—not ideal even if you’re chasing “quick gains.”
     • Above $80 you may get good companies, but the percentage move you’re looking for in the short term is harder to achieve and options/position sizing can be less flexible.
     • The $5–$80 band balances the potential for significant percentage moves with somewhat better quality and liquidity.

2. Monthly Average Dollar Volume: min 1,000,000 (≥ $1M traded per day on average)

   • Purpose: Ensure you’re looking at stocks with sufficient trading activity so you can enter and exit quickly.
   • Rationale:
     • Higher dollar volume = better liquidity and usually tighter spreads.
     • For “quick gains,” you need to be able to buy and sell without heavily moving the price yourself or getting stuck in illiquid names.

3. Relative Volume: min 1.5

   • Purpose: Find stocks currently trading with at least 1.5× their normal volume, indicating unusual interest or activity.
   • Rationale:
     • Elevated relative volume often signals something is happening (news, earnings, institutional buying/selling, momentum).
     • For short-term opportunities, you generally want names “in play” rather than quiet, inactive stocks.
     • Higher current volume can precede sharp price moves—up or down—so these are candidates where quick gains could occur if the trend is favorable.

4. RSI Category: moderate

   • Purpose: Avoid stocks that are extremely overbought or oversold, focusing instead on those with room to move.
   • Rationale:
     • If RSI is very high (overbought), a stock may be at risk of a pullback after a big run, which is risky if you’re just entering now.
     • If RSI is very low (oversold), while there can be “bounce” opportunities, the stock might also be in a strong downtrend, which can continue.
     • A moderate RSI (neither extreme) suggests the price still has reasonable room to move higher without being stretched, aligning with a more balanced short-term setup.

5. Region: United States

   • Purpose: Restrict the universe to U.S. companies, matching your request for U.S. stocks.
   • Rationale:
     • Ensures consistency in regulations, trading hours, and access for typical U.S.-based brokers.
     • Eliminates FX risk and market-structure differences that you’d face with foreign exchanges, focusing the results where you explicitly asked: U.S. stocks.

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

   • Purpose: Include only major U.S. exchanges.
   • Rationale:
     • NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX tend to have better transparency, reporting standards, and liquidity.
     • Excludes OTC and pink-sheet names, which are more prone to manipulation and illiquidity—especially dangerous if you’re aiming for fast trades.

7. One-week Predicted Return: min 5 (≥ +5% forecast over 1 week)

   • Purpose: Focus on stocks where a model or ranking system estimates at least a +5% potential return over the next week.
   • Rationale:
     • Directly aligns with your desire for “quick gains” by targeting names with a positive short-term outlook.
     • While forecasts are never guaranteed, this filter prioritizes candidates the model believes have relatively stronger upside potential in the near term.

Why Results Match Your Request

• Short-term upside focus: The one-week predicted return filter (≥ +5%) explicitly targets stocks expected to have upside over a very short time frame, which is aligned with “quick gains.”
• High activity & tradability: The minimum dollar volume and relative volume filters ensure the stocks are actively traded and currently “in play,” so price moves can materialize and you can enter/exit efficiently.
• Balanced risk vs. reward: The price range and RSI moderate category try to avoid the most extreme, unstable setups (penny stocks, overbought blow-offs, or collapsing names) while still leaving room for meaningful short-term moves.
• US-only, major exchanges: Region and exchange filters ensure you get U.S. stocks on major, liquid exchanges, exactly matching your geographic and market preference.

Together, these filters don’t promise quick profits but refine the universe to U.S. stocks that are liquid, currently active, and statistically tilted toward potential short-term upside.