Signals
Real-time event detection for new highs, lows, volume spikes, crossovers, and pattern formations. Get notified the moment specific market events occur.
The Scanner shows you what is. Signals tell you what just happened. This distinction matters more than it might seem. A Scanner snapshot reveals stocks matching your criteria right now - useful for building watchlists and surveying the market. But trading often demands something different: knowing the precise moment a stock breaks to a new high, completes a reversal pattern, or experiences a volume explosion. That moment is when edge exists. Signals capture it.
Think of Signals as a tireless assistant watching thousands of stocks simultaneously, alerting you the instant any of them does something specific - crosses a moving average, prints five consecutive green candles, rotates 50% of its float. You define what matters; Signals notify you when it occurs. This transforms your trading from hunting for setups to responding to them as they form.
This guide covers everything about Signals: the 14 event types Scanz detects, how to configure them with filters that eliminate noise, and complete ready-to-use setups for different trading styles.
Understanding the Signals Interface
The Signals workspace resembles the Scanner but operates on a fundamentally different principle. Where the Scanner continuously displays all stocks matching criteria, Signals streams discrete events as they occur - each row represents something that just happened, not a static condition.
The Sidebar organizes your saved Signal configurations. Each configuration combines an event type (what to detect) with filters (which stocks to watch). You can create multiple configurations for different trading approaches and switch between them instantly. Scanz also provides prebuilt Signal configurations as starting points.
The Configuration Panel appears when you create or edit a Signal. Here you select the event type from the 14 available options, then add filters to narrow which stocks trigger alerts. This is where the real power lies - combining the right event type with the right filters produces actionable alerts instead of noise.
The Results Stream displays events as they fire. Each row shows the symbol, the event that occurred, and key metrics at the moment it triggered. Unlike Scanner results that update in place, Signal results accumulate - each event is a historical record of something that happened. Click any row to open QuickView and analyze the stock’s current state.
Above the stream, you’ll see controls for sound alerts (critical for active trading), the ability to pause the stream, and options to clear historical events and start fresh.
How Signals Differ from Scanner and Alerts
Understanding when to use each tool prevents confusion and improves your workflow.
The Scanner answers “what matches now?” It’s a continuous filter over the entire market, showing every stock meeting your criteria at this moment. Use Scanner when you’re prospecting - building watchlists, surveying the market’s character, finding candidates to watch.
Signals answer “what just happened?” They detect discrete events - transitions and triggers - across the market. Use Signals when timing matters. A stock might have been above VWAP for hours (Scanner would show it), but you want to know the instant it crosses above VWAP (Signals catches that moment).
Alerts answer “did this specific stock hit my level?” They’re targeted notifications for stocks you’ve already identified, watching for specific price or condition triggers. Use Alerts when you’re tracking known opportunities and want notification when your entry criteria are met.
In practice, these tools chain together. Scanner finds candidates. You set Alerts on the most promising ones. Meanwhile, Signals surface new opportunities you weren’t watching - stocks suddenly meeting your event criteria from anywhere in the market.
Creating and Configuring Signals
Building effective Signals requires two decisions: which event type to detect, and which stocks should trigger it.
Starting a New Signal
Click “New Signal” or the plus icon to open the configuration panel. You’ll first select an event type - the specific market occurrence you want to detect. Each type has its own parameters (like the number of consecutive candles or the crossover indicators to compare).
After selecting the event type, add filters to define your universe. This step is critical. A “New High” signal without filters fires hundreds of times daily - useless noise. Add price range, volume minimums, and float constraints to narrow results to the stocks you’d actually trade.
The Signal + Filter Formula
Raw signals generate too much noise to be actionable. The solution is combining event detection with stock filtering:
Event Type + Universe Filters + Quality Filters = Actionable Alerts
Universe filters establish basic tradability: price range, minimum volume, exchange preference. Quality filters narrow to high-probability setups: relative volume, float size, technical conditions. The event type determines what you catch; the filters determine the quality of what you catch.
Saving and Managing Signals
Once configured, save your Signal with a descriptive name. Good names identify both the event and the filtering approach: “New Highs - Low Float Momentum” or “First Green - Oversold Bounce.” Your saved Signals appear in the sidebar and persist across sessions.
You can run multiple Signal configurations simultaneously by adding multiple signal blocks to a single configuration - more on this in the Advanced Usage section.
The 14 Signal Types
Scanz detects 14 distinct market events, each suited to different trading approaches. Understanding what each signal actually catches helps you deploy them strategically.
Breakout Signals
New High detects when a stock’s price exceeds the highest price of the selected period. This is the quintessential breakout signal. When a stock makes a new high, there’s no overhead resistance from previous holders waiting to break even - everyone who owns the stock is profitable. This creates favorable conditions for continuation as shorts cover and momentum traders enter.
Each session variant serves a different purpose. Pre-Market New Highs catch overnight gaps pushing into new territory before most traders are watching. Regular Hours New Highs surface intraday breakouts during peak liquidity. After Hours New Highs flag earnings reactions and news-driven moves. Full Day New Highs combine all sessions for the complete picture.
New Low detects the opposite - price falling below the lowest price of the period. Breakdown traders use these for short entries. Contrarian traders watch for extreme new lows on high volume as potential capitulation - the moment when sellers are finally exhausted and a bounce becomes likely. Context matters: new lows in a bull market often recover; new lows in a bear market often continue.
Momentum Signals
Consecutive Gain Candles fires when multiple candles in sequence close higher than the previous candle’s close. Three consecutive gains indicate persistent buying pressure. Five or more often precede a pullback as the move becomes extended. Trend traders use lower thresholds (3-4) for entry confirmation; reversal traders use higher thresholds (5+) to spot exhaustion.
Consecutive Loss Candles works in reverse - each candle closes lower than the previous. Extended losing streaks often precede bounces as sellers exhaust their supply. The pattern helps identify potential capitulation points where mean reversion becomes likely.
Consecutive Green Candles differs subtly from Gain Candles. This signal fires when multiple candles close above their open (bullish candle bodies) regardless of the gap between candles. A stock could gap down significantly but still print a green candle by closing above that day’s open. This measures buyer dominance within each period rather than cumulative progress.
Consecutive Red Candles detects sustained seller dominance - candles closing below their opens. The distinction from Loss Candles matters: Red Candles show intraday bearish behavior even if the stock gaps up between sessions.
Pattern Signals
Consecutive High Candles fires when multiple candles make successively higher highs. This confirms uptrend structure - each period pushes into new territory. Trend followers use this for adding to positions in confirmed uptrends. The pattern breaking (a candle failing to make a higher high) often signals trend exhaustion.
Consecutive Low Candles detects the downtrend equivalent - successively lower lows. Useful for confirming breakdown momentum or identifying potential exhaustion when the pattern finally breaks.
Reversal Signals
First Green Candle catches the potential turning point after sustained selling. It fires when a candle closes above its open following a series of red (bearish) candles. After three, four, or five red candles, buyer presence reasserts - the first green candle marks that moment. Combined with high volume on the green candle, this pattern often signals the beginning of a bounce.
The most reliable First Green signals come after extended red streaks with elevated volume on the reversal candle. This suggests buyers are stepping in with conviction rather than merely pausing the decline. Smart traders wait for the next candle to confirm before committing size.
First Red Candle identifies potential tops. After a series of green candles, the first red signals buyer exhaustion. Useful for taking profits on long positions or initiating shorts on overextended stocks. Like its counterpart, confirmation matters - one red candle doesn’t make a top, but it warrants attention.
Technical Signals
Crossover detects when one indicator crosses above or below another. This is the most configurable signal type, supporting comparisons between:
- Moving averages (9 EMA crossing 20 EMA for short-term momentum shifts)
- Price and moving averages (price crossing above 50 SMA for trend change)
- Price and VWAP (crossing above VWAP for intraday trend confirmation)
- RSI and thresholds (RSI crossing above 30 for oversold bounce)
- MACD and signal line (classic momentum crossover)
Crossover signals excel at catching trend transitions. The challenge is filtering out noise - choppy stocks generate frequent crossovers without follow-through. Add momentum and volume filters to identify crossovers with conviction.
Volume and Activity Signals
Relative Volume detects volume spikes relative to the stock’s historical average for that time of day. This normalization is important - a stock that typically trades 100K shares pre-market showing 500K is more notable than a stock that typically trades 10M showing 12M. Relative Volume catches the unusual activity that often precedes significant moves.
Typical thresholds tell different stories. RVOL of 2x indicates elevated interest worth watching. RVOL of 3x suggests significant unusual activity. RVOL of 5x or higher means something major is happening - news, institutional positioning, or anticipation of an event. You want to know about these situations early, before the price move completes.
Float Rotation measures what percentage of the tradeable float has changed hands during the session. This signal fires when rotation exceeds your threshold. At 50% rotation, half the float has traded - significant interest. At 100%, every publicly available share has theoretically changed hands at least once. Combined with price strength, extreme rotation signals supply exhaustion and potential continuation.
Float rotation matters most for low-float stocks where supply constraints create explosive dynamics. A 10M float stock at 100% rotation has different implications than a 500M float stock at the same level.
Block Trades detects large institutional orders - typically 10,000+ shares executed in a single transaction. Institutions can’t hide their activity entirely, and block trade patterns reveal their positioning. A series of block buys suggests accumulation; block sells suggest distribution. This signal helps you follow smart money, though single blocks shouldn’t drive trading decisions (they could be index rebalancing or other routine activity).
Signal Configurations by Trading Strategy
These complete configurations demonstrate how to combine event types with filters for specific trading approaches. Each is ready to use - configure it and start receiving alerts.
Breakout Day Trading
Purpose: Catch stocks breaking to new highs with volume confirmation before the move extends.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | New High (RH) | Intraday breakouts |
| Last Price | >= $5 | Liquid stocks |
| Last Price | <= $50 | Day trading range |
| Relative Volume | >= 2 | Unusual interest |
| Volume RH | >= 500,000 | Tradeable liquidity |
| Percent Change RH | >= 3% | Meaningful momentum |
How to trade it: When the signal fires, immediately check the chart. Look for a clean breakout (not just a wick above prior high) with building volume. Enter on the first pullback to the breakout level with a stop below it. The RVOL filter ensures you’re catching breakouts with conviction, not random new highs on light volume.
Low Float Momentum
Purpose: Catch low float stocks as they start rotating their float - a signal of imminent explosive moves.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | Float Rotation (0.3) | 30% of float traded |
| Float | <= 10,000,000 | Supply squeeze potential |
| Percent Change RH | >= 10% | Real momentum |
| Relative Volume | >= 5 | Exceptional interest |
| Last Price | >= $2 | Minimum liquidity |
| Last Price | <= $20 | Volatile range |
How to trade it: These move fast. Have your plan before the signal fires. Look for consolidation patterns (flags, tight ranges) to enter. Scale out into strength rather than trying to top-tick. Keep position size small - the same dynamics that create 50%+ squeezes work in reverse.
Warning: Low float momentum is high risk. The setup works because limited supply amplifies moves in both directions. Size accordingly.
Reversal Plays
Purpose: Catch oversold stocks showing first signs of buyer interest.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | First Green Candle | Reversal trigger |
| Percent Change RH | <= -5% | Meaningful pullback |
| RSI (14) | <= 35 | Oversold condition |
| Relative Volume | >= 1.5 | Activity on reversal |
| Last Price | >= $5 | Quality threshold |
| Market Cap | >= $500,000,000 | Established companies |
How to trade it: Check for news first - avoid reversal plays on fundamental bad news. Look for hammer or doji patterns on the first green candle. Enter with a tight stop below the candle low, targeting prior support levels as resistance. The market cap filter keeps you in quality names rather than death spirals.
Volume Spike Alert
Purpose: Catch unusual volume before the price move completes.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | Relative Volume (5) | 5x normal volume |
| Last Price | >= $5 | Quality threshold |
| Volume RH | >= 500,000 | Real liquidity |
| Trades RH | >= 1,000 | Sustained interest |
How to trade it: This is an attention signal, not a direction signal. When it fires, immediately check news for the catalyst. Analyze price action - is this accumulation or distribution? Check Level 2 for size on bid and ask. Enter only with clear direction confirmation.
Exhaustion Pattern (Fade Setup)
Purpose: Catch overextended stocks showing first signs of exhaustion.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | First Red Candle (after 5+ green) | Exhaustion trigger |
| Percent Change RH | >= 15% | Extended move |
| Relative Volume | >= 3 | Volume-driven run |
| Last Price | >= $3 | Tradeable |
| Float | <= 20,000,000 | Quick reversal potential |
How to trade it: Confirm the first red candle has meaningful body (not just a doji). Wait for the next candle to confirm direction - don’t front-run. Enter short on break of the first red candle’s low with stop above high of day. Target VWAP or 50% retracement.
Warning: Fading momentum is dangerous. These stocks can run further than logic suggests. Size conservatively.
Technical Crossover
Purpose: Catch momentum shifts as indicators confirm direction change.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | Crossover (9 EMA > 20 EMA) | Momentum shift |
| Last Price | >= $5 | Quality threshold |
| Relative Volume | >= 1.5 | Participation |
| Volume RH | >= 500,000 | Liquidity |
| Last Price | > VWAP | Bullish context |
How to trade it: Confirm the crossover is clean (not choppy, whipsaw action). Check higher timeframe trend alignment. Enter on pullback to the crossed moving averages with stop below the MA cluster. The VWAP filter ensures you’re catching bullish crossovers in stocks already showing strength.
Institutional Activity
Purpose: Track where large money is positioning.
| Filter | Value | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Signal Type | Block Trades | Institutional orders |
| Last Price | >= $10 | Institutional interest |
| Market Cap | >= $1,000,000,000 | Institution-worthy |
| Volume RH | >= 1,000,000 | Active trading |
How to trade it: Note block direction - buys versus sells. Look for clustering (multiple blocks same direction suggests positioning). Don’t trade on single blocks alone - use block activity to confirm other signals. Institutional accumulation over multiple sessions is more meaningful than a single large order.
Multiple Signal Blocks
A single Signal configuration can contain multiple signal blocks, streaming all events into one results feed. This lets you monitor several setups simultaneously without switching between configurations.
Morning Momentum Dashboard Example:
Block 1: New High (Regular Hours)
- Float < 20M
- RVOL > 3
- Percent Change > 5%
Block 2: First Green Candle
- Percent Change < -5%
- RSI < 35
Block 3: Float Rotation (> 0.5)
- Float < 15M
- Percent Change > 10%
Each block operates independently. When any stock triggers any block, it appears in the stream. This approach works well for the opening hour when multiple setup types can fire.
Color-code your blocks or note which signal type fired in each result - different signals demand different entry tactics. A New High breakout is traded differently from a First Green reversal.
Sound Alerts
Sound alerts transform Signals from something you watch to something that watches for you. Enable sounds for any Signal you’re actively trading to get notified without constant screen monitoring.
Configure distinct sounds for different Signal configurations. This lets you identify which setup fired by the audio alone - you’ll know a New High alert from a Volume Spike alert without looking. Critical for traders running multiple screens or taking occasional breaks from charts.
Access sound settings through the Signal configuration panel. Test your sounds to ensure they’re audible over other applications.
Quick Reference: Signal Selection by Style
| Trading Style | Primary Signals | Key Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Breakout Day Trading | New High, New Low | RVOL, Volume, Price range |
| Low Float Momentum | Float Rotation, RVOL | Float < 15M, High RVOL |
| Reversal/Mean Reversion | First Green/Red Candle | RSI, % Change, Market cap |
| Trend Following | Consecutive Candles, Crossover | MA positions, VWAP |
| Institutional Tracking | Block Trades, RVOL | Market cap, Volume |
| Exhaustion/Fade | Consecutive Candles (5+), First Red | Float, % Change > 15% |
Tips and Best Practices
Master One Signal Before Adding More
Start with a single signal type. Understand what triggers it, how often it fires, and how to trade the resulting setups. Only after you’re profitable with one signal should you add complexity. Most traders run too many signals and can’t respond effectively to any of them.
Filters Are Not Optional
Raw signals are useless. A “New High” signal without filters fires for hundreds of stocks daily - you can’t possibly evaluate them all, and most won’t be tradeable anyway. Always add universe filters (price, volume, exchange) and quality filters (RVOL, float, technical conditions) to narrow results to actionable alerts.
Signals Tell You to Look, Not to Trade
A signal firing doesn’t mean “buy now.” It means “something just happened - evaluate this stock.” Apply your trading plan. Check the chart. Confirm the setup. Execute if it meets your criteria. Signals surface opportunities; you decide which to take.
Match Session to Your Trading
Use Pre-Market signals during pre-market, Regular Hours signals during the day, After Hours signals after the close. A PM signal firing at 2 PM is stale. Ensure your signal configuration matches when you’re actually trading.
Context Still Matters
Signals don’t know about support and resistance levels, market conditions, or sector rotation. A technically perfect signal in a broader market selloff may fail. Overlay your market awareness on every signal before acting.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Too many signals firing | Filters too loose | Add RVOL, tighten price/volume constraints |
| No signals firing | Filters too tight, wrong session | Loosen values, check session matches market hours |
| Signals feel random | Wrong signal type for strategy | Match signal type to your trading style |
| Missing obvious setups | Filters excluding them | Review filter values, ensure they capture your target stocks |
| Sound alerts not working | Audio settings | Check system volume, test sounds in configuration |
| Stale signals | Wrong session selected | Match signal session to current market period |
Related Features
Signals connect to the broader Scanz workflow:
- Scanner - Find stocks matching criteria now (Signals catch the transition moment)
- Alerts - Set notifications on specific stocks you’re tracking
- News - Check catalyst when a signal fires
- QuickView - Analyze any signal result with chart, L2, and news
- Watchlists - Filter signals to only watch specific stocks