Pattern Glossary

Minervini's signature setup. A series of progressively tighter price contractions inside a base, each with lower price range and declining volume. The stock shakes out weak holders and builds a tight coil before exploding.

O'Neil's classic setup from 'How to Make Money in Stocks.' A rounded U-shaped base (the cup) followed by a short, shallow pullback (the handle). The handle shakes out the last weak holders before the breakout.

A tight, orderly pullback after a sharp vertical advance. The flag trades sideways or slightly downward on declining volume, then resolves with a breakout that continues the prior uptrend.

Similar to a bull flag but with converging trendlines forming a small symmetrical triangle. After a sharp flagpole advance, the stock consolidates in a narrowing range before breaking out.

O'Neil's rarest and most powerful pattern. The stock nearly doubles in 4–8 weeks, then pulls back only 10–25% over 3–5 weeks in a tight flag. This indicates extraordinary institutional demand.

A bullish continuation pattern where price makes higher lows while testing a flat resistance level repeatedly. Each test of the flat top shows accumulation; the breakout comes when demand overwhelms supply.

A strong uptrending stock pulls back to a key moving average (10, 21, 50, or 200-day) on declining volume, then bounces. The moving average acts as dynamic support, and institutions often buy these dips.

An early entry technique developed by O'Neil disciples Kacher and Morales. A pocket pivot occurs when a stock moves up from a base or key moving average on volume that exceeds any down-volume day in the prior 10 sessions.

An add-on buy point identified by O'Neil. Three consecutive weekly closes within 1–1.5% of each other, usually 15–20 weeks into a move. It signals strong institutional holding — nobody is selling.

A pattern of lower highs and lower lows with converging trendlines that slope downward. Despite the apparent downtrend, volume contracts and the stock resolves with a breakout above the upper trendline.

A generic breakout from a period of price consolidation (a 'base'). The stock trades in a defined range for several weeks, then breaks above the upper boundary with a significant increase in volume.

A stock in the process of building a base after a prior advance. Not yet a completed pattern — the setup is still forming. Weinstein's Stage 2 analysis: flat to rising 30-week MA, rising RS.

Nicolas Darvas's signature method from 'How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market.' Price forms a rectangular box (defined high and low over several weeks) after a strong prior advance. Breakout above the box top on surging volume signals continuation. Darvas used a stop just below the box bottom.

One of O'Neil's most reliable patterns. After a prior advance, the stock consolidates sideways in a tight, flat range for at least 5 weeks. The flat base shows that institutional holders are not selling — supply is absorbed. The breakout is typically low-volatility and precise.

Minervini's term for a stock that surges powerfully out of a tight base on explosive volume — often 3–5× normal — signaling decisive institutional commitment. The move is so forceful that the breakout itself is the signal; the stock rarely returns to the exact breakout point.

The Spring is the key entry signal in Wyckoff's Accumulation schematic. After a long base, price dips briefly below a prior support level — shaking out weak holders — then recovers sharply on improved volume. This false breakdown confirms that large operators (the 'Composite Man') are absorbing supply and preparing a mark-up phase.

The Sign of Strength (SOS) is the breakout from a Wyckoff accumulation range on expanding price spread and increasing volume. It confirms that large operators have finished accumulating and are marking prices up. The Last Point of Support (LPS) — a pullback after the SOS on low volume that holds above the breakout level — provides a lower-risk re-entry.

No specific chart pattern was detected, but the stock passes all Minervini Trend Template criteria: strong uptrend, above all key MAs, RS rank in top quartile. Monitor for a specific entry pattern.