Stocks Like This (Trade Ideas): reverse-engineer filters from real moves¶
Most people build scanners backwards: they guess filters, get junk, then tweak forever.
“Stocks Like This” flips the workflow: start with a real move you care about, then use Trade Ideas to show you what that stock looked like at that moment.
What you’ll build¶
- A simple research routine (15 minutes) to extract:
- the lane (price + liquidity + float + time)
- the trigger (alert condition)
- the triage (columns that help you decide)
- A repeatable window you can refine over time
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Who this is for¶
- You’ve had at least a few “clean” trades you’d like to repeat.
- You’re tired of endless filter tweaking without a concrete reference.
- You want scanners tied to real behavior, not theory.
Before you start¶
- Pick 3–5 examples of the same “type” of move (don’t mix everything):
- gappers that trend
- mean-reversion dips
- opening range breakdowns
- Write down the exact timestamp you care about:
- “When it became tradable” (breakout/reclaim/breakdown)
- Not “at the close” after the story is over
Step 1 — Open Stocks Like This and choose a reference move¶
Open the tool and enter: - ticker - date - time (as close as you can to the moment you would have acted)
Tip: do not cherry-pick only the perfect examples. Include one that failed so you can see what was different (often liquidity/time-of-day).
Step 2 — Identify the “lane” (your baseline constraints)¶
Your lane is the answer to: “What kind of stocks am I even willing to look at?”
Typical lane components: - Price $ - Dollar Volume - Average Daily Volume (3M) - Float Shares - Time of Day
Related: - Filters that matter (lane) - Liquidity filters deep dive - Float and short float
Step 3 — Identify the “trigger” (what caused the scan to matter)¶
Once the lane is right, your trigger can be simple: - a specific alert condition (e.g., open-range event) - a gap threshold + volume surge
Related: - Alert Window tutorial - Alert hygiene (stop spam)
Step 4 — Build the window (Top List first, Alert second)¶
Start with a Top List so you can see the universe and sanity-check quickly. Then convert it into alerts once it feels clean.
Recommended order: 1. Top List (lane + ranking) 2. Alert Window (trigger + lane) 3. Columns for triage
Related: - Top List Window: build a gap list - Columns that matter
Step 5 — Sanity-check your work (1 tweak per day)¶
The biggest mistake is changing 6 things at once.
Pick one knob: - tighten liquidity - narrow time window - add/remove a single filter
Watch the output for a few sessions, then change one more thing.
Troubleshooting¶
“Everything looks different in my window”¶
That usually means your lane is too broad. Narrow: - liquidity (dollar volume / ADV) - time of day - float range
“I can’t reproduce the move”¶
Some moves are catalyst-driven and won’t repeat daily. Use the process to build a category of move, not a single unicorn example.
FAQ¶
What is “Stocks Like This” in Trade Ideas?¶
It’s a research tool that shows you what alerts/filters matched a specific stock at a specific moment, so you can reverse-engineer the conditions that produced a move.
Do I start with Top List or Alert Window?¶
Top List first to see and refine the universe, then Alert Window to convert it into signals.
What’s the biggest mistake when using Stocks Like This?¶
Using only one example. Use multiple examples (including a failure) so your lane isn’t built on a fluke.
Next¶
Next step
Turn this into a repeatable workflow
If you only do one thing next, tighten your lane and reduce noise. That's how Trade Ideas becomes usable.
