Cup And Handle Pattern: What Is It & How to Trade It Leave a comment

So, we will discuss the Cup and Handle pattern; the opposite applies to the inverse pattern. Thomas J Catalano is a CFP and Registered Investment Adviser with the state of South Carolina, where he launched his own financial advisory firm in 2018. Thomas’ experience gives him expertise in a variety of areas including investments, retirement, insurance, and financial planning. Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more.

• There are many ways to trail your stop such as ATR and using a moving average.
• In this post, we will explore the Cup and Handle pattern, its structure and types, its significance, how to trade it, and the limitations.
• A price forms this pattern as a retest of the previous high, causing selling pressure from traders who bought an asset near it.
• The pattern displays clearly defined entry and risk levels, but because volume metrics in the crypto markets are dispersed, it can be challenging to interpret the pattern.

In most cases, the handle should not dip below the top third of the cup for it to be a cup and handle pattern. We want to clarify that IG International does not have an official Line account at this time. We have not established any official presence on Line messaging platform. Therefore, any accounts claiming to represent IG International on Line are unauthorized and should be considered as fake.

What is a ‘cup and handle’?

Yep, this is a bullish pattern and can be a technical indicator for traders of a potential upcoming breakout. ✅This pattern is not as popular among traders as “Head and Shoulders”, “Double Top” and other classic patterns of technical analysis. In fact, the “Cup & Handle” pattern is in no way inferior to the above patterns in its reliability and, if used correctly, can bring considerable benefits to the… The stoploss is placed below the second part of the chart pattern (below the ‘Handle’). This is a fairly large stoploss as this setup speculates on a breakout above the existing resistance which, however, has not yet occurred.

In general this will mean that you will usually use a risk/reward ratio of 2/1 since one of the basic rules is that the low of the handle may not exceed 50% of the total cup distance. A retest of prior resistance doesn’t need to touch or be several ticks away from the old high. However, the further https://www.bigshotrading.info/ the handle’s top is from the highs, the bigger the breakout must be. The U shape or cup form represents a sharp decline followed by a recovery that brings the price back to where it was before it declined. Ask a question about your financial situation providing as much detail as possible.

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If the cup is in a V-shape, the reversal will be too sharp of a movement. As an example, we take the chart of the Edwards Lifesciences Corp. stock on date of June 09, 2021 in which there is a Cup and Handle pattern since the end of May 2021. This trading manual discusses the value of patterns and how to develop a strategic trading approach to get the most out of them. We’ll go over the indicator’s specifics and some of its limitations. Our writing and editorial staff are a team of experts holding advanced financial designations and have written for most major financial media publications. Our work has been directly cited by organizations including Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Investopedia, Forbes, CNBC, and many others.

• These are the bullish cup with handle and the bearish cup with handle.
• So, we will discuss the Cup and Handle pattern; the opposite applies to the inverse pattern.
• The issuers of these securities may be an affiliate of Public, and Public (or an affiliate) may earn fees when you purchase or sell Alternative Assets.
• For the active traders who like to know in advance where the position will be closed there is the possibility to use a predefined price target.
• While some patterns may have a well-rounded bottom/top, like a bowl/dome, others just make a slight turn at the bottom/top, as the case the makes.

The first target is equal to the size of the channel during the handle. It begins with a price move in the bearish direction, which reverses gradually. In most cases, the handle is locked within a small bearish channel on the chart.

Drawbacks of the Cup and Handle

The heavy support level can potentially improve the odds of the price moving higher after a breakout. NGTF started the pattern at the end of November 2018 and went into February of 2019. Eventually, the stock finds a floor of support for weeks or longer before climbing again.

Apex Clearing Corporation, our clearing firm, has additional insurance coverage in excess of the regular SIPC limits. Like many big-buzz IPO stocks, Meta Platforms, then known as Facebook, got off to a rocky start following its May 2012 market debut. what does a cup and handle chart mean But the social media giant bolted out of a double bottom in July 2013 as its earnings growth rebounded. In the chart below, note the huge spikes in volume as Meta launched what eventually became a nearly 600% move over the next five years.

This breakout should occur with high volume to indicate that there is strong investor interest in buying the stock at these levels. Technical analysis is the practice of using past trading activity, such as price and volume, to predict a stock’s future price movement. For example, if a cup forms between $99 and $100, the handle should form between $100 and $99.50, ideally between $100 and $99.65. If the handle dives too deep and erases most of the gains of the cup, you should avoid trading the pattern. If a Cup and Handle forms and is confirmed, the price should increase sharply in short- or medium-term.

You need to enter a buy trade on the breakout of the handle’s resistance trend line. In this case, a trader should set the Stop Loss order slightly below the handle’s trendline. A profit target will be at the resistance trend line, connecting two highs of the cup.

After the cup is completed, a trading range develops on the right side — which forms the handle. A proper handle forms in the upper half of the base and is at least five trading days long, typically light in volume. Cup and handle chart patterns can last anywhere from seven to 65 weeks.

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• The cup is formed after an advance and looks like a bowl or rounding bottom.
• Rather, you must also know exactly when to buy for ideal, low-risk entry points.
• The 60-minute cup and handle pattern offers an excellent timing tool when looking to buy a larger-scale trend that doesn’t show a low-risk entry price on the daily or weekly chart.
• Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.