How to use the StocksXray technical scanner

The StocksXray technical scanner lists stocks in the S&P 500 universe that currently match a preset chart setup, such as a golden cross or a Bollinger squeeze. Its purpose is to narrow roughly five hundred charts down to a short list worth looking at. A scanner result is a starting point for research, not a recommendation, and the most useful habit is to treat every hit as a question to investigate.

The presets at a glance

Open the scanner and pick a preset. Each one targets a familiar chart idea. The descriptions below use the conventional meaning of each term. Tools can define signals slightly differently, for example whether a cross counts only on the day it happens or for a few days afterward, so treat the preset names as descriptions of the idea and look at the chart to see the signal yourself.

If an indicator is new to you, the series explains the main ones: RSI, the golden cross and death cross, and the broader framework in technical analysis basics.

A step-by-step way to vet a result

1. Decide what you are looking for. Pick a preset that matches a question. Trend change? Try the crossovers. Pullbacks in stocks you follow? Try oversold. Unusual attention? Try volume spike.
2. Open the stock page and look at the chart. Confirm the signal by eye. A golden cross that happened after a long steady climb looks different from one in a stock that has been bouncing sideways for months.
3. Check the time frames. The stock page includes a technical summary for daily, weekly and monthly time frames. A signal that agrees across frames is generally more notable than one that appears only on the daily chart.
4. Look at the business. Technical signals say nothing about the company. Check the X-Ray Score, which blends valuation, growth, profitability, financial health and dividends, and see how the X-Ray Score works for how to read it. Then look at the fair value label, which treats fair value as a range, not a point, and the red flags (Beneish M-score, dilution, negative equity, dividends above free cash flow).
5. Check the context. Compare the stock with its peers and sector, and open Market Compass to see whether the broader market is calm or stressed.
6. Read the filings. Recent SEC filings are listed on the stock page. A sharp move often has a reason, such as earnings, guidance or an acquisition.
7. Keep what survives. Add stocks you want to follow to your watchlist and revisit them after the next close.

Example (illustrative numbers)

A hypothetical stock, Company XYZ, shows up on the volume spike preset. Walking through the steps:

• The chart shows that the stock rose 6% on volume about three times its norm. That is a large move on high participation, though it does not say whether the news was good.
• The stock is also close to a 52-week high, so it appears to be breaking out of a long range. The article on breakouts and false breakouts lists the filters to apply: a close beyond the level, a margin, and a retest.
• On the stock page, the fundamentals checklist rates growth as Average, and the fair value label reads Overvalued. That does not make the breakout false, but it raises the bar: a strong trend can continue even when valuation is rich, and the margin for error is smaller if it turns.
• Recent filings show an earnings release on the day of the spike.

The outcome is a more complete picture: a high-volume, earnings-driven move to a new high in a richly valued stock. It is information, not an instruction. Whether it fits your own approach is your call.

Limits to keep in mind

• End-of-day data. StocksXray uses end-of-day prices, so results reflect completed sessions and not intraday moves.
• Universe. Scanner results come from the S&P 500 universe, not from small caps or the whole market.
• Signals cluster. In a broad selloff, many stocks may appear on oversold or death cross lists at once, which reflects the market more than each company. Market Compass can help separate the two. Its hints describe past tendencies, not forecasts.
• Lists change. Results can differ from one close to the next, and a stock can drop off a preset after a single session. That does not mean the idea failed or succeeded.
• No guarantee of follow-through. Technical setups describe past price behavior. All of them, golden crosses included, fail often enough that no single signal should drive a decision.
• No options or ownership data. StocksXray does not include options or insider and institutional ownership information, so those views are not part of the scanner.

Key takeaways

• The scanner narrows the S&P 500 universe to stocks matching a chosen chart setup; it does not tell you whether a stock is a good investment.
• Each preset corresponds to a standard technical idea, so learn the idea before relying on the result.
• Always open the chart, check multiple time frames and look at fundamentals, red flags and context before drawing any conclusion.
• Results use end-of-day data and can change from one close to the next.
• Treat a hit as a prompt for research, not a signal to act.