How to Find the Best Momentum Stocks

Viking Holdings (VIK) jumped 2.6% Wednesday to clear a 37.25 buy point for an 11-week consolidation. Carnival Cruise stock vaulted 7% Wednesday to 20.20, clearing a 19.09 buy point for a cup-with-handle base. Royal Caribbean on Tuesday announced it changed itineraries for eight ships to avoid the storm.

Top five momentum indicators in technical analysis

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, AKAM should be on investors’ short list. Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. AKAM has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 0.7% over the past four weeks.

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Yes, momentum indicators can help traders identify potential trends, but they are not usually more than 60% accurate, according to our indicator research. As such, traders should always use caution when using momentum indicators and should factor in other indicators and market conditions to help them make the best decisions. Momentum indicators can also generate false signals, especially during market volatility. Traders should be cautious when relying solely on momentum indicators for their trading decisions.

What are popular momentum indicators in stock trading?

In fixed-income securities, falling interest rates can be a catalyst for price momentum. At the bottom of the RSI chart, settings of 70 and 30 are considered standards that serve as clear warnings of, respectively, overbought and oversold assets. A trader with today’s simple-to-use software may choose to reset the indicators’ parameters to 80 and 20. This helps the trader to be sure when making the decision to buy or sell an issue and not pull the trigger too fast.

How to Find the Best Momentum Stocks

Benzinga Pro is another excellent tool that combines stock screening capabilities with news feeds, charting and SEC filings. Explore our Trade Together program for live streams, expert coaching and much more. As its name suggests, when the lines converge, the price tends to continue in the direction of the trend. You may be surprised to learn that what looked like a big winner is actually just part of a broader bull market trend and isn’t all that special. Or worse, you may notice it’s lagging its competitors – and at risk of falling behind even if it’s still seeing shares move generally higher. Let’s use iconic electric vehicle company Tesla (TSLA) as a working example.

Risks and rewards of momentum stocks

However, the train moves but at a higher velocity because all of the momentum built up from accelerating is propelling it forward. They will get out and leave you and other unlucky folks holding the bag. If you do manage to time it right, you’ll still have to be more conscious of the fees from turnover and how much they will eat up your returns.

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However, even though it’s sound nice, riding the momentum is not that easy. It’s a skill that you might naturally have or one that you need to master. I mean, we pretty much know that some of the best traders in the world are those who know how to catch the wave and ride the momentum.

What Is The Difference Between Momentum Trading And Trend Following?

Perfect for day traders and active investors who want to stay ahead of the trend and make money. With a momentum scanner you can filter through thousands of stocks in seconds and find the ones that match your criteria, saving you time and improving your strategy. Overall, momentum indicators are powerful tools to help you make better trading decisions.

What is momentum?

• Hence, it’s advisable to use the RSI in conjunction with other technical indicators to gain a more comprehensive view of the market conditions.
• Traders should always use other indicators and tools with momentum indicators to confirm their signals.
• Rather than identifying overbought and oversold zones, many traders use the RSI to identify divergences.
• The long-short equity momentum factor is also a troublesome for hedging as a momentum factor is prone to “momentum crashes”.
• Numerous amended versions of the basic momentum strategy appeared after the 2008 bear market.
• It is essential that you do your research before making an investment decision.

Year to date, Meta Platforms has been one of the best-performing mega-cap stocks, gaining 35% in less than four months. The higher volumes can suggest that the stock is of continued interest, whereas low volume indicates a lack of interest in the security (lack of momentum). Without looking at the price of the S&P and only using momentum, we can see that it’s likely the S&P index rallied in tandem with the spikes above zero on the momentum indicator below.

Top 3 Momentum Trading Strategies

Citi also upgraded Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and opened a “90-day positive catalyst watch” for Royal Caribbean (RCL), as part of the earnings preview for the industry. A positive chart pattern named such because it resembles the outline of a coffee cup with a handle. The pattern can last from seven weeks to as long as a year, but most are three to six months.

Top 4 Best Momentum Indicators Explained & Tested

Not only did it deliver a 58% gain for investors through mid-April, but the company more than tripled over the past year. For U.S. Markets, only NYSE and NASDAQ stocks are included, excluding ETF’s. NYSE and NASDAQ stocks also exclude unit investment trusts, closed end funds, warrant stocks, preferred securities and any non-SIC classified stock. Often called RVOL, relative volume is the ratio of the average volume of the stock over the previous ten days divided by the average volume of the stock over the previous 91 days. It helps in understanding the demand for the stock in the market for the past few days. Momentum is the rate of acceleration of a security’s price—that is, the speed at which the price is changing.

So, if you feel you have the skill of identifying momentums in trading, then go ahead and try it. So, this strategy involves entering trades after a price retracement in the direction of the primary trend. The idea is to catch the “pullback” in a trend before it resumes its main direction. From the chart above, we can see that the price is forming a higher high.

• Momentum trading is designed to capitalize on trading opportunities presented by stocks that are strongly trending.
• While both strategies involve capitalizing on market trends, momentum trading specifically targets securities with strong recent performance, often over shorter time frames.
• Other indicators can be used along with RSI to strengthen this conclusion.
• All three cruise line industry leaders — Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line — are based in Miami, which is on Florida’s east coast and well south of Milton’s projected track.
• Always conduct your own due diligence before trading, considering your attitude to risk, experience in the market, and portfolio margin.

Norwegian Cruise shares rallied nearly 11% Wednesday, now significantly extended from a 20.65 buy point for a double-bottom base. NCLH has been mired in consolidation for 15 months, but the stock jumped 15% this year. CCL stock has been stuck below a ceiling near 20 over the last 15 months. The cruise giant expects net yields to increase about 10.4% compared to last year, up from its June guidance of 10.25% growth. Carnival Cruise sees adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increasing around 40% to about $6 billion, increasing from its Q2 guidance for $5.83 billion.

Are You a Momentum Investor? This 1 Stock Could Be the Perfect Pick

This functionality makes the momentum indicator a vital component in the toolkit of traders, especially for confirming the direction and strength of market trends. Momentum is used in trading to identify stocks with strong price movements and profit potential. Yes, momentum trading strategies have proven to be effective in various market conditions, especially in markets that exhibit strong trends. However, the success of momentum trading strategies mostly depends on the trader rather than the strategy. A momentum trader thrives in volatile and hectic markets, and has the ability to take and extend profits during trending markets.

Conversely, when a stock is oversold, the price has fallen too far, too fast, and is due for a rebound. Momentum indicators use mathematical calculations to measure the rate of change of a stock’s price over time. There are several types of momentum indicators, each with its unique formula and interpretation.

Market Momentum: What It Means and How It Works

We can then patiently wait for a bullish hidden divergence before entering a BUY trade. The stop-loss is placed just below the recent price swing, and the profit target is set at a key level that offers at least twice the risk. The use of ADX helps in distinguishing between strong and weak trends, allowing traders to make more informed decisions about entry and exit points​​.

What is the squeeze momentum indicator?

One common strategy is to use a moving average crossover, where you look for the shorter-term moving average to cross above or below the longer-term moving average. When the shorter-term average is above the longer-term average, it’s a bullish signal, indicating the trend is up. Conversely, when the shorter-term average is below the longer-term average, it’s a bearish signal, indicating that the trend is down. Trend following is a popular approach that involves identifying the direction of the market trend and then entering trades in the same direction. Momentum indicators can be particularly helpful in identifying trends and determining whether they are strong or weak. Momentum investing refers to buying and selling stocks that have the potential to yield brilliant returns due to a likely substantial jump in their prices in a short span of time.

Below are some of the popular momentum indicators technical analysts follow. For trending analysis, momentum is a useful indicator of strength or weakness in the issue’s price. History has shown that momentum is far more useful during rising markets than falling markets because markets rise more often than they fall.

Your selection of momentum indicator should depend on your trading strategy and investment goals. It is essential that you do your research before making an investment decision. On the chart below, two kinds of signals can be observed with the momentum indicator divergences (blue lines) and overbought and oversold signals (red circles). For example, traders are advised to avoid using a momentum indicator suited for sideways markets when a market is trending. Liberated Stock Trader, founded in 2009, is committed to providing unbiased investing education through high-quality courses and books.

Momentrum indicators are technical analysis tools used to determine the strength or weakness of a stock’s price trend. Common momentum indicators include the relative strength index (RSI) and moving average convergence divergence (MACD). You can use technical analysis tools like volume, moving averages, and trend lines to identify momentum stocks for intraday trading. You can also look for stocks with high relative strength and positive momentum indicators. Momentum indicators are technical analysis chart overlays to assist traders in identifying a stock price movement’s strength and direction.

It takes discipline to trade this way because the trade must be closed at the first sign of weakness, and the funds must be immediately placed into a different asset showing strength. To illustrate how momentum investing works, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario involving Stock A and Stock B. Some robo-advisor platforms now offer portfolio options that incorporate momentum strategies.

• In turn, this sets off buying or selling signals for observant players who jump in and are rewarded with instant profits.
• Kinsale had delivered a 36% gain year to date as of mid-April, but its momentum has essentially been going strong since its 2016 initial public offering (IPO).
• Rather than “buy low, sell high,” momentum trading follows a strategy of “buy high, sell higher.”
• Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism.
• For investors who want a more hands-on approach without full-time commitment, many financial and brokerage platforms offer momentum screening tools.
• By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different momentum indicators and incorporating them into your trading strategies, you can increase your chances of success in the stock market.
• You may be surprised to learn that what looked like a big winner is actually just part of a broader bull market trend and isn’t all that special.

We’d like to share more about how we work and what drives our day-to-day business. The MSCI momentum indexes are part of the company’s factor index series. Momentum indexes Stock Momentum include the MSCI USA Momentum Index and the MSCI World Index. This equation can lead to the drawing of a trendline with varying periods used in the calculation.

The following month, it climbs to $75; by the end of the third month, it reaches $85. The upward trend continues, with the price increasing to $90 in the fourth month, $95 in the fifth month, and finally hitting $100 in the sixth month. As a result, the investment in Stock A grows from $10,000 to $20,000, reflecting a remarkable 100% increase.

• Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, but it is often a good indicator of positive trends in a business, which can certainly lead to superior returns over time.
• Because they are dealing with stocks that will crest and go down again, they need to jump in early and get out fast.
• A Relative Strength Indicator (RSI) is a momentum indicator that is used to track the price changes in security.
• Momentum is used in trading to identify stocks with strong price movements and profit potential.
• It works similarly to RSI – 14D except for the exponential average of price close of stocks for the previous 14 tradable days is used.

Some stock scanners offer to simplify scanning for high momentum stocks with their own proprietary momentum indicator that combines several price action factors. Most of these indicators allow you to add your own custom screening criteria if you wish. In addition to these, the Average Directional Index (ADX) is also a valuable momentum indicator.

“With nearly half of 2025 booked and less inventory remaining for sale than the prior year, we are leveraging strong demand to achieve record ticket pricing,” Weinstein said in the release. “Likewise, 2026 is off to an unprecedented start achieving record booking volumes in the last three months.” The firm also expects Royal Caribbean to announce a long-term plan within the next two quarters, likely in conjunction with its Q3 or Q4 report. Citi said it doesn’t see any reason that the cruise operator can’t achieve $20 per share in earnings.

It is calculated using the difference between 12 and 26 days Exponential Price Average (EPA). Momentum is the rate of acceleration of a security’s price—that is, the speed at which the price is changing. Market momentum refers to the aggregate rate of acceleration for the broader market as a whole. Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance.

Overall lists include only NYSE, NYSE Arca and NASDAQ stocks, excluding ETF’s. NYSE, NYSE Arca and NASDAQ stocks exclude unit investment trusts, closed end funds, warrant stocks, preferred securities and any non-SIC classified stock. If the MACD line 1 has a negative value, it means the stock is in a downtrend. In this case, a positive line 2 value would mean a weak downtrend and a negative line 2 value would mean a strong downtrend.