Trend following examines whether a price direction may persist. This site ranks evidence about that direction; it neither executes orders nor predicts future returns. Reading “passes eight conditions” as “profitable to buy now” introduces an assumption the screen does not test.
A watchlist is not a strategy
On 2026-10-02, 523 of 4,809 screened U.S. stocks passed all eight conditions. Of those, 95 closed down on the day. The trend conditions and a one-day return measure different horizons. Another 85 passers were more than 10% above their 20-day average. Their entry distances and volatility were not interchangeable.
A hypothetical trade exposes missing rules
An entry at 100 and planned exit at 95 imply risk of 5 per share. An exit at 110 gives 2R before costs. A gap to 90 and fill there gives −2R. The observation that a stock had a strong trend says nothing about which order was used or the achievable fill. These are arithmetic examples, not actual trades.
A practical investigation sequence
- Record the market, date and ranking denominator.
- Check extension, volume and missing observations on the chart.
- Specify entry, exit, holding period and costs before measuring results.
- Apply the rules to failures as well as winners, then test a separate period.
The model book retrospectively selects large advances. It cannot supply the strategy success rate in step four. Excluding failed or delisted stocks introduces survivorship bias.
Orders do not behave like chart lines
The SEC's order-type guide explains that a market order does not guarantee its execution price. This screener does not contain bid–ask spreads or actual fills, so order mechanics require a separate investigation.
Data and corrections
See the methodology for calculation rules and the 2026-10-02 signal-disagreement study for the frozen sample. Report a date and URL through contact when you find an error.