Flat Base Setup
O'Neil's second-stage setup. After a stock has already made a meaningful advance, it consolidates in a tight, flat range — no more than 15% depth — for at least five weeks. Flat is the key word: there's no rounding or dramatic dip. This shows the stock is under heavy accumulation and sellers can't push it down.
Sample still building: 25 eligible setups in the 2025-03-17–2026-09-04 source-bar window. Rates stay hidden until n=30. Historical and illustrative, not predictive.
How this is measured →Setup Criteria
- › Prior uptrend of at least 20% before the base
- › Base depth: maximum 15% from high to low
- › Base duration: 5+ weeks
- › Very tight weekly closes — almost no range
- › Volume dries up during the base, surges on breakout
Breakout above the flat base high on 40%+ above-average volume.
Just below the bottom of the flat base.
Worked Example
TECH — flagged as a Flat Base on Sep 11, 2026 (score 93). 26 weekly bars with the 10-week SMA.
Entry / stop / target annotations are drawn for Pro members. Unlock →
Historical detection shown for education — not a current recommendation.
Today's Flat Base Setups — 1 found
| Ticker | Setup score | RS score | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| TECH Bio-Techne Corp | 93 | 80 | ✓ |
