how can you tell which premrkt stocks will move and which won't?

Hi,

Every morning before the regular session I keep track of all the premarkt movers. But then in the regular session some of them become duds that don't hit my entry prices.

So how can I tell which will move ...OR

Is there any software out there that can alert me to a change from the open price (such as .25 or .50 from the open)? (It's kinda tough trying to keep track of 5-10 stocks - I actually almost entered a $10K trade I wasn't supposed to!) Can esignal do this?

Thanks!

 

There is no definite answer but if the pre market price is up or down related to earnings and if the earnings had a significant surprise there is very high probability of follow through.
Look at zacks every day to look for earning surprise.
Same way gap ups in unknown stocks during earning seasons are related to block buster earning reports. Stocks which have no analyst following but have a earning growth of 100% plus are ideal for follow through.

 

excel

 

Easy - the ones you didn't buy will move up rapidly....

The ones you bought will fizzle or drop like a rock after a short spike....

 

lol exactly
often when the market gives you plenty of time to enter it's a bad trade.

 

Here's a good link for stocks on the major exchanges in heavy pre-market action:

http://tradingday.com/c/afterhourstrading/ehpm.html

M.

 

This is like asking "how do you know exactly when to buy xyz and when to sell xyz." The ones who are very good at it, are not likely to spill too much, b/c picking the stocks to watch is just as critical as timing decisions you make. You choose crappy stocks, there will be little movement off which to profit.

The best (non)answer is trial and error. Try different methods of selection research (charts, news..., and what style and specifics within these categories) until you find something that gives you, on average, a fair portion of nicely moving stocks. It's your job, while trading, to weed out teh crappy ones of those, and focus your energy on the ones that are working.

 

Sounds like a great site. will try it tomorrow.

Thanks Shark

 

stocks with opening gaps due to take-over reports usually don't have much follow-through, as opposed to news which leads to uncertainty, like a cfo who quit and stuff like that.

 

Did you write your own program or is there something that can be downloaded? Also, can it be automated? Thanks.

BD