Finding good swing trade candidates used to require hours of manual chart review. Stock screeners changed everything. With the right filters, you can scan thousands of stocks in seconds and find setups that match your exact criteria. In this guide, you will learn how to use stock screeners effectively for swing trading.
What is a Stock Screener?
A stock screener is a tool that filters stocks based on criteria you specify. You set the rules, and the screener shows you only the stocks that match. This saves hours of manual work and ensures you never miss a potential setup.
Why screeners matter: There are thousands of tradeable stocks. Without a screener, you would spend all your time searching and no time trading. Screeners let you focus on the best opportunities.
Essential Screener Criteria for Swing Trading
Not all screener filters are useful for swing trading. Here are the criteria that actually matter.
Price and Volume Filters
Start by filtering for stocks that are liquid enough to trade and priced appropriately for your account size.
Recommended Base Filters
- Minimum price: $10 (avoids penny stocks)
- Maximum price: $200 (unless you have a large account)
- Average volume: Above 500,000 shares daily
- Market cap: Above $1 billion (for stability)
Trend Filters
These filters help you find stocks that are trending in the direction you want to trade.
- Price above 50-day MA: Stock is in a medium-term uptrend
- Price above 200-day MA: Stock is in a long-term uptrend
- 50-day MA above 200-day MA: Bullish trend structure
- New 52-week high: Strong momentum stocks
Pullback Filters
These help you find stocks that have pulled back to potential entry points.
- Price within 5% of 20-day MA: Short-term pullback
- Price within 10% of 50-day MA: Medium-term pullback
- RSI between 30-50: Oversold but not collapsing
- Price near support level: Potential bounce zone
Pre-Built Screener Templates
Here are complete screener setups for different swing trading strategies. Copy these exactly or modify them for your needs.
Pullback to Moving Average Screener
Finds stocks in uptrends that have pulled back to key moving averages.
Filter Settings
- Price above $10
- Average volume above 500,000
- Price above 200-day MA
- Price within 3% of 50-day MA
- 50-day MA above 200-day MA
- RSI(14) between 40 and 60
Breakout Candidate Screener
Finds stocks consolidating near highs that might break out soon.
Filter Settings
- Price above $15
- Average volume above 750,000
- Price within 5% of 52-week high
- Volatility decreasing (ADX below 25)
- Volume trending lower (consolidation)
- Price above all major moving averages
Oversold Bounce Screener
Finds quality stocks that have been oversold and might bounce.
Filter Settings
- Price above $20
- Market cap above $5 billion
- RSI(14) below 30
- Price above 200-day MA
- Down 10-20% from recent high
- Volume spike (1.5x average)
Popular Screener Platforms
Many platforms offer stock screening capabilities. Here are some of the most popular options for swing traders.
Free Screeners
- Finviz: Excellent free screener with many filters and visual charts
- TradingView: Good screener integrated with charting
- Yahoo Finance: Basic but functional screener
- Barchart: Solid free options with preset screens
Paid Screeners
- Trade Ideas: Advanced AI-powered scanning
- TC2000: Fast scanning with excellent charting
- Finviz Elite: Real-time data and more filters
- ThinkorSwim: Powerful scanner included with TD Ameritrade
How to Use Screener Results
Running a screener is just the first step. Here is how to process the results effectively.
Step 1: Run Your Scan
Run your screener at the same time each day, preferably after market close when all data is finalized.
Step 2: Quick Visual Review
Look at each result chart for 10-15 seconds. Eliminate any that do not look right visually. Trust your pattern recognition.
Step 3: Detailed Analysis
For stocks that pass the visual test, do a complete multi-timeframe analysis. Check weekly, daily, and hourly charts.
Step 4: Add to Watchlist
Stocks that pass all tests go on your watchlist. Set alerts for your entry triggers.
Efficiency tip: A good screener should return 10-30 stocks. If you get hundreds of results, your filters are too loose. If you get zero results, they are too tight.
Advanced Screening Techniques
Once you master basic screening, try these advanced approaches.
Sector Relative Strength
Find stocks that are outperforming their sector. These tend to lead when the sector rallies and hold up better in pullbacks.
Volume Pattern Screening
Look for unusual volume patterns that suggest institutional accumulation:
- Volume higher on up days than down days
- Decreasing volume during pullbacks
- Volume spikes on breakouts
Multi-Day Pattern Screening
Some screeners let you look for patterns across multiple days:
- Three consecutive higher lows
- Inside day following a big move
- Flag pattern with declining volume
Common Screening Mistakes
Avoid these errors that trip up many traders.
Too Many Filters
Adding too many criteria eliminates good stocks. Start with 5-7 essential filters and add more only if needed.
Ignoring Context
A stock might meet all your criteria but still be a bad trade if earnings are tomorrow or the sector is collapsing. Always check the context.
Over-Optimizing
Do not keep tweaking filters to match past winners. This leads to curve-fitting and poor future results.
Running Scans at Wrong Times
Intraday scans catch stocks mid-move. Run your main scans after hours for complete data.
Track Your Screener Performance
Pro Trader Dashboard helps you analyze which setups from your screeners actually perform best. Improve your filters based on real data.
Summary
Stock screeners are essential tools for finding swing trade candidates efficiently. Start with basic price and volume filters, add trend criteria to find stocks moving in your preferred direction, and use pullback filters to find entry opportunities. Process your results systematically, and always verify setups with manual chart analysis before trading.
Now that you know how to find trades, learn how to organize them with a proper trading watchlist, or discover the importance of position sizing for your trades.