Moving averages identify whether prices are in an up trend or downtrend. When the short moving average (SMA) line is above the long moving average line (LMA), the stock is in an up trend. When the LMA line is above the SMA, the stock is in a downtrend. If you are searching for long positions, you may want to limit your search to securities that are in up trends, while short positions may be identified by searching for securities in downtrends.

Stock Filter lets you look at the short-term slope of the moving average to identify securities that may be changing direction.

Moving averages can be combined with other searches. For instance, if you are searching for consolidation patterns near a stock's 80 day high, you could set the Long Moving Average to, say, 100 days and set Price vs. LMA to greater (see Price Tab). This should eliminate consolidations near the bottom of the chart.

Short / Long Moving Average:

The number of days selected for short (SMA) or long (LMA) moving average calculations is entered here. Note that Stock Filter uses arithmetic moving average. The number of days selected for SMA and LMA are used for all moving average calculations under this tab and the "Price" tab.

Slope of SMA / LMA:

Slope identifies whether the moving average line is pointing up or down. The number of days (look back period) should be fairly short if this test is to be effective. The slope of the trend line often precedes price activity. For instance, if the slope of the SMA is negative while the slope of the LMA is positive, it is an indication that prices may weaken. On the other hand, if the slope of the SMA is positive while the slope of the LMA is negative, it may indicate that prices may be heading higher, especially if accompanied by above-average volume.

SMA Crossovers:

This setting identifies when moving average lines cross. If the SMA crosses the LMA from above, it is generally regarded as a negative sign. When the SMA crosses the LMA from the bottom, it is generally regarded as a positive sign. Crossovers are only identified on the day of the cross over and one day after the crossover, therefore it is suggested that you run this query frequently