A stock screener for volatility helps traders find the volatile stocks they want to trade. It can scour through thousands of stocks quickly, returning with a handful of tickers that match their trading criteria.
Volatile stocks can change prices drastically in a really short time. Wasting time might mean losing out on potential trading opportunities — which is why stock screeners are essential when trading volatile stocks.
What are the best volatile stock screeners and why? Let’s get into it!
What Is Volatility in Stocks?
Volatility in stocks refers to the amount a security’s price changes over a certain time period.
Many traders and investors fear volatility — which is normal because volatility represents the unknown. We fear what we don’t understand.
But remember — volatility leads to opportunity. Frequent price changes give you more trading entry and exit points, increasing your likelihood of making money. Trading volatile stocks also encourages you to understand risk and sharpen your trading skills.
Embrace volatility — make it your friend. See the opportunity it provides instead of fearing the potential losses it can lead to.
How to Evaluate Volatile Stocks
You can evaluate volatile stocks by checking the indicators. Here are two example indicators used when evaluating stock volatility:
- Average True Range: This indicator shows a stock’s daily trading range over time. A high average true range means the stock is more volatile because its trading range is wider.
- Bollinger Bands®: This indicator consists of two lines or bands representing standard deviation, located above and below a line representing the 20-day moving average. Widening bands represent increased volatility while narrowing bands represent decreased volatility.
Some stock screeners also come in with built-in filters for high-volatility and low-volatility stocks. Here’s a quick overview of both filters:
- Stock screener for high volatility: This screener scans for the most volatile stocks of the day, meaning you’ll see stocks that have had big price swings over a certain time period.
- Stock screener for low volatility: This screener scans for the least volatile stocks of the day, meaning you’ll see stocks that have been relatively stable over a certain time period.
What Is a Stock Screener for Volatility?
A stock screener for volatility is a tool that helps you find the stocks that match your preferred volatility levels and other trading criteria. It cuts through the noise of thousands of stocks and presents you with the stocks that fulfill your trading criteria.
From there, you can dig deeper into the details of each stock and its issuing company to determine whether they’re worth trading.
A good trader should always know the tools of their trade. Read my article about the basics of stock screeners to learn more.
Importance of Using a Volatility Stock Screener
Using a volatility stock screener helps you find stocks that match your trading criteria. You can tweak the filter’s parameters according to your trading needs, so you’ll only find the stocks that match your strategy and nothing else.
Volatility is a trader’s best friend. Where there’s movement there will always be opportunity.
How's your Thursday morning going? Despite the $SPY bloodbath, there were some great opportunities on trades like $CARV which ran roughly 300%! This just goes to show that as long as there's volatility, there will still be opportinity! Did you take advantage of any movers?
— StocksToTrade (@StocksToTrade) July 8, 2021
Why Do You Need a Stock Screener for Volatility?
If you’re a trader, you need a stock screener for volatility to find stocks that are really moving!
Some of these stocks will show up on a top gainers scan.
Others will only show up on a volatility scan…
These are stocks that could fly under the radar until they break out!
Different stock screeners are good for different types of trades. Check out my choices of the best stock screeners for 5-year performance and the best premarket stock screeners. You can also read my list of the best overall stock screeners.
Advantages of Volatility Stock Screeners
The biggest advantage of a volatility stock screener is fine control over what you’re screening for. You can input as many search criteria as you want to find the stocks that fit your trading preferences.
Your stock screener can also save multiple filter configurations, so you don’t have to make them from scratch every day. You can save all the filters you frequently use and deploy them as the situation requires.
How We Evaluated These Best Stock Screeners for Volatility
There are lots of stock screeners on the market — but not all of them are cut out to screen for volatility. You gotta separate the wheat from the chaff before making your picks.
Here are two criteria for evaluating volatility stock screeners:
- Pricing: Almost all volatility stock screeners are paid products. Find a screener that caters to your needs while still being within your budget.
- Customizability: A stock screener lives and dies by its indicators. Find a stock screener that’s customizable enough and offers indicators that cater to your trading strategies.
These aren’t the only criteria I use when evaluating screeners. Check my guide to the best stock screener criteria for more ways to refine your search.
Best Volatility Stock Screeners
Here are my picks for the best volatility stock screeners:
- StocksToTrade — Best Overall Volatility Stock Screener
- Finviz — Best Web-Based Volatility Stock Screener
- MarketScreener — Best Volatility Stock Screener With Pre-Built Screens
- Market Chameleon — Best Volatility Stock Screener for Trade Recommendations
- Volafy — Best (Future) Volatility Stock Screener for Options Trading
1. StocksToTrade — Best Overall Volatility Stock Screener
My first volatility stock screener pick is StocksToTrade.
StocksToTrade is my favorite stock screener — I use it all day. It’s a killer screener that’s insanely customizable, meaning you can screen for any criteria you want. Naturally, it scans for volatility indicators like Average True Range and Bollinger Bands®. StocksToTrade also comes with trader-built screens, so you can trade like the pros.
What’s more, StocksToTrade has the Oracle algorithmic chart analysis tool. It’s a cool piece of technology that gives you actionable trade signals based on the day’s most tradable stocks. Get a taste of Oracle now with our NO-COST Oracle trade alerts!
Take StocksToTrade for a spin — see how it changes the way you trade. Sign up for a 14-day StocksToTrade trial for just $7!
2. Finviz — Best Web-Based Volatility Stock Screener
My second volatility stock screener pick is Finviz.
Finviz is a lightweight and simple web-based stock screener. With a free registered account, you can already screen thousands of stocks, save screener configurations, make watchlists, and read news streams.
Upgrading to a paid account gives you everything I’ve mentioned, plus extra perks that help it compete against other paid screeners. Some features you can access as a paid Finviz user include real-time market data updates and advanced screener features.
One knock against Finviz — it doesn’t have pre-built screeners. You need to make your own setups before scanning.
3. MarketScreener — Best Volatility Stock Screener With Pre-Built Screens
My third volatility stock screener pick is MarketScreener.
MarketScreener’s web stock screening tool comes with a pre-built filter that shows you the most volatile stocks. From this simple filter, you can tweak the parameters to refine your searches further and find the stocks that fulfill your trading criteria.
MarketScreener also scans for shares traded outside American exchanges, so you can still use it if you want to branch out from American markets.
4. Market Chameleon — Best Volatility Stock Screener for Trade Recommendations
My fourth volatility stock screener pick is Market Chameleon.
Market Chameleon is more of an options screener, but it’s still got a robust stock screener that lets you spot trading opportunities.
However, one of its most interesting features is its trade cards that give you potential trading ideas. You still need to do some research to determine whether the recommendations are worth following, but it’s a great way to start.
5. Volafy — Best (Future) Volatility Stock Screener for Options Trading
My fifth volatility stock screener pick is Volafy.
Volafy is a robust enough stock screener for volatility, even if it’s still in active development. Since it’s primarily designed for options trading, you can screen for volatility metrics like historical volatility and implied volatility.
You don’t have to worry about paying for an incomplete product, either — Volafy is completely free for the time being.
Final Thoughts
Volatility stock screeners help you find the stocks that match your preferred volatility levels and other trading criteria. There isn’t a “best volatility stock screener” that works for everyone — only the ones that work for you. Try out as many stock screeners as you can and stick with the ones that work best for you.
Here’s another great stock screener to consider: the Alpha Scanner by millionaire trader Matt Monaco. He brought his old software engineering skills back to build a stock screener that mirrors his profitable trading style.
Matt’s packed the Alpha Scanner full of live mentoring sessions, trade alerts, and more. Can his life’s work give you an edge in trading? Here’s how you find out…
Sign up to join the next Alpha Scanner LIVE broadcast for more information!