How the Market Opportunity Scanner Works
The scanner is an anomaly detector for US stocks and ETFs. It looks for names behaving differently from their recent baseline, then ranks them by a combined opportunity score so research can start with the most unusual moves.
What the scanner tracks
Price movement and whether the stock is breaking out, breaking down, or drifting.
Volume versus the recent average, because large moves need participation to matter.
Opening gaps, intraday volatility, candlestick structure, options activity, and news sentiment.
A combined score that ranks abnormal activity; it is not a buy or sell recommendation.
Volume spike signals
Unusual volume in stocks means current trading activity is meaningfully higher than the recent average. A volume spike can confirm that a price move has real participation, but it still needs context from trend, news, liquidity, and risk.
Price breakout signals
A price breakout signal appears when a stock pushes beyond a recent trading range. Breakouts with strong volume tend to be more informative than breakouts that happen on thin trading.
Gap up and gap down signals
A gap up or gap down means the stock opened materially above or below the prior close. Gaps often point to overnight information, earnings reactions, macro moves, or sector-wide repricing.
Volatility surge signals
A volatility surge means the day's range is unusually wide versus recent trading. It can flag a fresh catalyst, forced positioning, or a market that is still trying to find fair value.
Candlestick pattern signals
Candlestick signals summarize price action such as strong closes, weak closes, engulfing patterns, doji candles, and rejection wicks. They are context clues, not standalone decisions.
Options flow signals
Options flow can show where short-dated speculation or hedging is concentrated. Put/call ratios, active strikes, implied volatility, and notional flow help confirm whether equity movement has derivative-market support.
News sentiment signals
News sentiment adds a catalyst layer by checking headline volume and tone. A large move with fresh headlines deserves a different read from a large move with no obvious news trail.
How to confirm a signal
Confirm a scanner hit by reading the signal drivers, checking liquidity, reviewing fundamentals or earnings, comparing peers, and deciding where the original thesis would be invalidated.
Example research workflow
Start with the top-ranked tickers, open the card details, identify whether volume, price, options, or news drove the score, then move to the stock fundamentals page or related market signal pages before taking action.
Data inputs and research handoff
The scanner is designed to create a research queue, not a standalone recommendation list.
Daily price movement, volume, gap, range, and relative volume are used to identify names behaving differently from their recent baseline.
Options flow and headline sentiment add confirmation layers. They help distinguish a quiet technical move from a move with derivative-market or news support.
A scanner hit should lead to a stock page, earnings report, Form 4 page, 13F page, or market signal article before the idea becomes a thesis.
FAQ
What is unusual volume in stocks?
Unusual volume is trading activity that is meaningfully above a stock's recent average. It can indicate fresh attention, but it should be confirmed with price action and catalyst context.
How do I read a breakout?
A breakout is more credible when price clears a prior range with strong volume and a clear catalyst. Weak-volume breakouts deserve more caution.
What does a gap up or gap down mean?
A gap means the market repriced the stock before regular trading began. Earnings, news, macro data, or sector moves are common causes.
How do I confirm a scanner signal?
Look for multiple agreeing signals, then check fundamentals, liquidity, valuation, news, peers, and risk before acting.