Stock scanners are designed to help investors identify stocks that match their customized requirements. With more than 6,000 companies listed on the US exchanges, it is practically impossible to identify ideal stocks matching investor requirements manually. Over the past year, stock scanners have emerged as a popular tool among retail investors, given their diverse benefits and low costs.
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Importance Of Stock Scanners
The best stock scanners provide multiple filters to allow investors to narrow down their search. These include screening equities on the basis of valuation multiples or price performance. Given the current market volatility, investors might want to single out stocks that performed relatively well during market corrections in the past. Also, value investors might set their stock scanners to look out for stocks having a low price/earnings multiple, compared to industry peers.
Out of the large volume of publicly traded stocks, only a handful are discussed on popular investing journals or news sites, while the majority remain overshadowed. Stock scanners help investors identify such lesser-known companies with immense growth potential, thereby allowing them to capitalize on new market trends before they become mainstream. Also, these scanners assist in drowning out “investment noise”, by helping investors focus on the fundamental aspects of companies rather than market trends.
Popular Stock Scanners
1. StockstoTrade
StockstoTrade scanner is developed using a robust trading algorithm- Oracle, which allows investors to deploy thousands of customized intricate search variables to filter out ideal stocks fitting requirements perfectly. Users can integrate their broker to the platform directly, thereby executing trades that match the pre-set criteria perfectly.
It also provides real-time updates of the markets and unlimited access to multiple charts to help investors determine the past share price performance of companies. The platform offers commission-free trading through Tradier capped at $14.99 per month. The StockstoTrade scanner is available for a two-week trial at $7.
2. FinScreener
FinScreener is known for its diverse stock scanners. Its most popular scanners include OTC Most Active Screener, Opportunity Screener, Best Momentum Stocks Screener, and Top Gainers Screener. The platform allows investors to set customized filters on the basis of fundamentals, financial strength, profitability, valuation, technical ratios, management effectiveness, revenue, dividends, insider trades, and Volume.
The premium version of FinSCreener is priced at $14.99 per month or $139.99 per year. The paid version allows users to maintain and track multiple portfolios, analyze correlations, leverage advanced charting, and develop portfolio visualizations.
FinScreener website contains an ‘Analysts’ tab, which displays consensus earnings and revenue estimates for a company, as well as median price targets for the near term. Investors can access insider trades history, as well as backtest a stock for up to 20 years to determine its performance history.
3. Ziggma Portfolio Tracker
Ziggma is one of the best stock scanners available in the market. With real-time updates and customized parameters, Ziggma is commonly used by financial analysts for its professional-grade financial data segregated on the basis of industries. The platform also provides ETF screening services. Ziggma’s proprietary scores also help investors identify ideal stocks to trade.
Investors can view a company’s profile, fundamentals, and financials through the QuickView option before adding them to the respective portfolios. Moreover, the search results on the scanner are continuously updated as and when the markets move, allowing investors to capitalize on any ongoing trends instantaneously.
4. Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance’s stock screener is one of the oldest stock scanners available in the market. However, the free version of the screener has limited functions available, with several predetermined screeners listed on the website. Top Yahoo Finance screeners with more than 50 matches include most shorted stocks, undervalued growth stocks, day gainers, day losers, most active, undervalued large caps, aggressive small caps, top mutual funds, conservative foreign funds, and high yield bonds.
Yahoo Finance also offers additional ETF Screeners, Futures Screeners, and Index Screeners. The premium version of the software is priced at $34.99 per month, or $349.99 per year, following a 14-day free trial.
5. Trading View
Trading View offers specialized screeners for multiple forms of securities, including crypto screeners and forex screeners. Its basic filters include momentum and beta, valuation, dividends, margins, income statements, and oscillators. The platform is known for its extensive technical analysis coverage, best suited for technical traders.
Trading View’s Strategies section highlights the individual analysis and coverage provided by experienced traders, making it ideal for novice investors gauging the fundamentals and growth potential of stocks. Trading View offers real-time data for stocks listed in major exchanges across the world.
Conclusion
With surging market volatility and unprecedented market trends, novice investors having preliminary knowledge about the stock markets should witness higher returns on investment upon using a stock screener. Moreover, as the number of IPOs rises amid the bullish markets, stock scanners can prove to be a beneficial tool for most equity traders.
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