TA software suitable for analysing CANSLIM stocks?

Hello!

I´m in the process of rereading Trading for a Living and Come Into My Trading Room by Alexander Elder + O´Neil´s How To Make Money In The Stocks (Second Edition).

In the January I´m going to order the AAII´s Stock Investor Pro CD (a useful recommendation by ajaskey) for fundamental screening, but I´m not sure yet, which software should I use for technical analysis.

I am deciding between Metastock 9.1 End Of Day ($500) + Reuter´s DataLink ($270/year) or subscription to StockCharts.com (Extra! subscription - $190/year)

I want to go into detailed TA, but without constructing my own formulas/indicators, only to use a few existing ones and the Elder´s Triple Screen as my main TA "trading system" - all this for examining stocks found by CANSLIM method.

So, based on your experiences, what do you think - should I buy the Metastock or is StockCharts.com enough for analysing CANSLIM stocks?

Thanks!

You may be interested to know that there is an Alexander Elder add-on package for Metastock to help trade his method. Also, you can buy very inexpensive software packages with no monthly subscription fees to download the data for Metastock without having to subscribe to Reuter's DataLink; however, you need to make sure you purchase the regular Metastock package (which I think you indicated that you are, since you are paying $500) rather than the subscription version, which is cheaper (I think it is free) but only works with a continuing subscription to Reuter's Data Link.

StockCharts.com is a great site, much of which is free. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, you may only need to use the free part. However, I suspect that you will be tempted to pay extra to get the really nice extra capability.

Metastock provides lots of power for the person who wants to design and back-test their own trading systems, ideas, or custom indicators. You can also perform powerful searches of the stock market to find stocks meeting your technical criteria.

I guess the bottom line depends on exactly what kind of capability you desire. It sounds like you plan to use the AAII software to do the fundamental screening according to the CANSLIM approach. In that case, if all you are looking for is to examine your watchlist of stocks for base break-outs, etc., according to O'Neil's methods, then I think the free part of StockCharts.com is all you need.

In addition, be sure to check out all the tools provided by the IBD website (www.investors.com) and also take a look at www.breakoutwatch.com. If you are really getting into the O'Neil way of trading, breakoutwatch.com provides some excellent tools. As a matter of fact, if you subscribe to that service, I don't think you need the AAII software nor the StockCharts.com. You get everything you need for the O'Neil approach to trading, both the fundamental screens and the technical. I am a current subscriber to their service, and I think the service provides more capability at less cost than all the extra services that IBD provides.

Hope this helps.

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to go into "detailed TA" (i.e., formulas/indicators) since CANSLIM doesn't?

--Db

@wdrobins: Hello! Thanks for the reply.

I managed to get a copy of Metastock 9.0 for a trial and I´m combining it with Stock Quotes Express to download End of Day data. I´ve also spent a few hours of watching Metastock Training videos, which were very helpful. I think that this setup will work just fine for me.

I´ve decided to go with the Metastock, since I can´t incorporate A. Elder´s indicators into the StockCharts.com and I would also like to learn to use his Triple Screen trading system.

Thanks for pointing out the possibility of buying his add-on package for Metastock. I searched for it on his web site and also found it on Metastock publishers website. But I´ll try to put in the formulas on my own.

I had a running trial of www.investors.com but did not decide to subscribe. I´ll try to do things completely on my own and try not to crash & burn :cheesy:

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to go into "detailed TA" (i.e., formulas/indicators) since CANSLIM doesn't?

Click to expand...

Hi! I´ll try to get an edge ;-) No, really, Alexander´s Triple Screen seems usable even for mid-term or long-term investing, so I´ll incorporate it in my trading strategy.

pirx said:

Hi! I´ll try to get an edge ;-) No, really, Alexander´s Triple Screen seems usable even for mid-term or long-term investing, so I´ll incorporate it in my trading strategy.

Click to expand...

"Seems" is the pivotal word here. You may want to investigate further before relying so much on faith.

--Db

Good luck.

Good luck with your investing. I also use Metastock. In addition to trading the CANSLIM way, I also dabble with other methods and use Metastock to test my strategies as well as searching for particular types of technical setups, etc.

I also agree with the Db's comment. The CANSLIM approach only requires checking the charts to time your entry and exits, so you don't need anything complicated for that. It appears from what you've said that you are interested in more than just the CANSLIM approach. Alexander Elder's approach is not a CANSLIM approach. Metastock can of course help you with Elder's approach.

If you are more serious about the CANSLIM approach, I would also encourage you check out www.breakoutwatch.com. They have put together a very nice set of research and monitoring tools as well as automatic alerts to help with the CANSLIM approach.

Happy investing!!

pirx said:

@wdrobins: Hello! Thanks for the reply.

I managed to get a copy of Metastock 9.0 for a trial and I´m combining it with Stock Quotes Express to download End of Day data. I´ve also spent a few hours of watching Metastock Training videos, which were very helpful. I think that this setup will work just fine for me.

I´ve decided to go with the Metastock, since I can´t incorporate A. Elder´s indicators into the StockCharts.com and I would also like to learn to use his Triple Screen trading system.

Thanks for pointing out the possibility of buying his add-on package for Metastock. I searched for it on his web site and also found it on Metastock publishers website. But I´ll try to put in the formulas on my own.

I had a running trial of www.investors.com but did not decide to subscribe. I´ll try to do things completely on my own and try not to crash & burn :cheesy:



Hi! I´ll try to get an edge ;-) No, really, Alexander´s Triple Screen seems usable even for mid-term or long-term investing, so I´ll incorporate it in my trading strategy.

Click to expand...

dbphoenix said:

"Seems" is the pivotal word here. You may want to investigate further before relying so much on faith.

--Db

Click to expand...

Well, I used a wrong word It is definite, that the Triple Screen can be used for any desirable time length.

pirx said:

Well, I used a wrong word It is definite, that the Triple Screen can be used for any desirable time length.

Click to expand...

True, it can be used for any time length desired. But whether it should be used or not is an entirely different matter, one which you'll have to determine through your own experience and testing rather than through claims of one sort or another.

In other words, keep your wallet in your pocket until you're thoroughly satisfied with the performance of this approach.

--Db

wdrobins said:

Good luck with your investing. I also use Metastock. In addition to trading the CANSLIM way, I also dabble with other methods and use Metastock to test my strategies as well as searching for particular types of technical setups, etc.

I also agree with the Db's comment. The CANSLIM approach only requires checking the charts to time your entry and exits, so you don't need anything complicated for that. It appears from what you've said that you are interested in more than just the CANSLIM approach. Alexander Elder's approach is not a CANSLIM approach. Metastock can of course help you with Elder's approach.

If you are more serious about the CANSLIM approach, I would also encourage you check out www.breakoutwatch.com. They have put together a very nice set of research and monitoring tools as well as automatic alerts to help with the CANSLIM approach.

Happy investing!!

Click to expand...

I wan´t to use the Triple Screen for defining my entry and exit points. I believe that TS is an excellent TA addition to the CANSLIM way of investing. I´m going to stick with that and try to maximaze the collaboration between these two.

From what I´ve seen on breakoutwatch.com, the site is likeable. But for now I´m sticking with IIAA´s Stock Investor Pro. Anyway, thanks!

Happy investing to both of you!

dbphoenix said:

True, it can be used for any time length desired. But whether it should be used or not is an entirely different matter, one which you'll have to determine through your own experience and testing rather than through claims of one sort or another.

In other words, keep your wallet in your pocket until you're thoroughly satisfied with the performance of this approach.

--Db

Click to expand...

This is exactly what I plan to do.

I also use Metastock. In addition to trading the CANSLIM way, I also dabble with other methods and use Metastock to test my strategies as well as searching for particular types of technical setups, etc.

Click to expand...

Oh, by the way, do you use EOD software to download prices or are you subscribed to a data vendor?

I currently use an EOD software (HQuote Pro) that downloads the EOD data from Yahoo! It will also download intraday data. The software will automatically locate your Metastock files and download the data in Metastock format. It also has some other capabilities. It is considered shareware. You can take a look at this software and try it for free at the following location: http://www.hquotes.com/

Good luck!

pirx said:

Oh, by the way, do you use EOD software to download prices or are you subscribed to a data vendor?

Click to expand...

wdrobins said:

I currently use an EOD software (HQuote Pro) that downloads the EOD data from Yahoo! It will also download intraday data. The software will automatically locate your Metastock files and download the data in Metastock format. It also has some other capabilities. It is considered shareware. You can take a look at this software and try it for free at the following location: http://www.hquotes.com/

Good luck!

Click to expand...

I´m using Stock Quotes Express from Trader-Tools.com. Also a fine piece of software. It´s default output format is Metastock and it let´s you download Intraday, Daily, Weekly and Monthly data from about 10 different sources.

wdrobins said:

In addition, be sure to check out all the tools provided by the IBD website (www.investors.com) and also take a look at www.breakoutwatch.com.

Click to expand...

Check out www.canslim.net. The free premium membership offers EOD breakouts reports and a basic screening tool. The pay premium membership offers Mid-Day breakout reports which I found very useful in the past (I no longer subscribe).

wdrobins said:

I currently use an EOD software (HQuote Pro) that downloads the EOD data from Yahoo! It will also download intraday data. The software will automatically locate your Metastock files and download the data in Metastock format. It also has some other capabilities. It is considered shareware. You can take a look at this software and try it for free at the following location: http://www.hquotes.com/

Click to expand...

http://www.eoddata.com/ is free for EOD data and they have a "how to" page that explains importing the info into MetaStock. They are also thinking of offering intraday data for $20 a month, but this has not been implemented yet.

stoxtrader said:

http://www.eoddata.com/ is free for EOD data and they have a "how to" page that explains importing the info into MetaStock. They are also thinking of offering intraday data for $20 a month, but this has not been implemented yet.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!