Momentum Breakouts — Qullamaggie scans.

Qullamaggie teaches momentum breakout, episodic pivot and parabolic short setups. The starting point is a liquid stock that moved strongly over the last 1–6 months and has enough daily range, measured with ADR%. A breakout follows tight consolidation; a pivot needs a catalyst such as earnings. Entries can come off moving average pullbacks, with risk measured against the low of day.

How the setup works

Breakouts start with leadership. The stock should be one of the biggest movers of the last one to six months, with an average daily range large enough to pay for the risk. After the run it pauses: higher lows, a tightening range and drying volume, often for weeks. The entry is the day price leaves that range on rising volume, with the stop near the low of that day.

An episodic pivot is different. A stock that has been ignored gaps up hard on news that changes the story, often earnings, on volume many times normal. Traders buy the strength early in the day and use the day's low as the line in the sand. Both setups aim for a few large winners that pay for many small losses.

Scans to try

• Four Qullamaggie-style starters ship in the Scan Playground: Qullamaggie Breakout♥ Episodic Pivot♥ 52-Week AVWAP Leaders♥ VWAP Fail Short♥. Favorite one and it's yours to edit.
• 90-Day Leaders♥ is the leader universe these setups start from: the strongest multi-month movers with real daily range.
• Coiled Spring♥ finds the quiet part: consolidation with a volatility squeeze firing, range about to expand.
• The method's numbers as filters: daily ADR %, ATR $ and ATR %, distance to year/3-month/month highs, 1M/3M/6M change.
• Weekend scanning works. The scanner holds Friday's session while the market is closed, so weekend prep shows real data, not an empty screen.

A ZenBot workflow

1. On the weekend, open 90-Day Leaders♥ to see the momentum leaders.
2. Filter for range: ADR % above 4 or 5 keeps names that can move.
3. Narrow to the consolidating ones with Coiled Spring♥ and build a watchlist.
4. During the week, run the Qullamaggie Breakout starter and alert on it so the breakout day finds you.
5. For pivots, run Episodic Pivot at the open: big gaps with news and heavy volume.

What to watch for

Most breakouts fail or stall, which is why the stop sits at the low of the entry day. Breakouts work best when the market itself is trending up. In a weak market even good setups break down, and the usual answer is to trade less.