Back to dashboardUser Guide
How to read SignalEvo signals, understand the indicators, and manage risk. This is a research and education tool — not financial advice.
1. Getting Started
SignalEvo is a single-ticker decision tool. You bring the ticker — we give you a Buy / Wait / Sell verdict, a confidence number, and entry, stop, and target levels. Everything needed to decide is on one screen.
Reading a verdict
Bullish ↑
Indicators lean bullish. Consider opening a long position at the entry level.
WAIT —
Indicators are mixed or the setup is poor. Stay on the sideline and watch for a cleaner entry.
Bearish ↓
Indicators lean bearish. Consider exiting a long or opening a short at the entry level.
Confidence bands
The confidence number summarises how strongly the indicators agree. Use it as a filter — not every signal deserves action.
Below 35
Weak signal. Skip unless you have a very specific reason to override.
35 – 59
Moderate conviction. Valid setups exist but size down and respect the stop.
60 and above
Strong agreement across timeframes. Higher-probability setups live here.
Entry, Stop, and Target
- Entry — the price at which the setup makes sense. If price has moved well past it, the setup may already be extended.
- Stop — the level where the idea is wrong. If price hits your stop, exit without hesitation. Never widen a stop to avoid being wrong.
- Target — a realistic level where the move is likely to stall. You don't need to hold all the way to target; taking partial profits is valid.
Stop and Target are calibrated for a 2–20 day swing hold — structure-aware, anchored to nearby support / resistance and ATR-based volatility.
2. Indicators Explained
Every SignalEvo card shows several indicators side-by-side. None of them is a silver bullet — traders read them together. Here's what each one measures and how to use it when reading a card.
RSI — Relative Strength Index
What it measures
Momentum, on a 0 – 100 scale. Calculated from the size of recent up-moves vs down-moves over 14 periods.
How to read it
Above 70 is overbought (price has run too far, pull-back more likely). Below 30 is oversold (bounce more likely). Between 40 and 60 is neutral.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
Use it as a sanity check on the verdict. A Bullish read while RSI is above 75 is entering an extended move — the setup may work but leaves less room.
MACD — Moving Average Convergence / Divergence
What it measures
Trend + momentum. Compares a fast moving average (12-day EMA) to a slower one (26-day EMA), with a 9-day signal line on top.
How to read it
A cross of the MACD line above its signal line is a bullish signal. A cross below is bearish. A growing histogram means the trend is accelerating.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
MACD is best at confirming direction. A fresh bullish cross alongside a Bullish verdict is supportive. A bearish cross against a Bullish verdict is a caution flag.
Williams %R
What it measures
A faster momentum oscillator, on a 0 to −100 scale. Very similar to RSI but more sensitive — catches reversals earlier.
How to read it
Above −20 is overbought (may pull back). Below −80 is oversold (may bounce). Between −20 and −80 is neutral.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
When RSI and Williams %R both flag the same extreme at once, the reversal signal is stronger than either alone. Use them together.
EMA 9/21 — Short-term Trend
What it measures
Two exponential moving averages — a fast 9-day and a slower 21-day. Their relationship describes short-term trend direction.
How to read it
A bullish cross (9 above 21) confirms upward momentum. A bearish cross (9 below 21) confirms downward. No recent cross = trend is not changing right now.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
Use it as a direction filter. A fresh cross in the same direction as the verdict is supportive; a cross against the verdict is a caution flag.
Bollinger Bands
What it measures
Volatility envelope. A 20-period moving average with bands placed at 2 standard deviations above and below.
How to read it
When the bands tighten into a squeeze, price has coiled — a sharp move usually follows, but the direction isn't guaranteed until it resolves. Near the upper band means extended; near the lower band means compressed.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
Treat an active squeeze as a volatility warning. The setup may be valid but the breakout direction should be confirmed by the other indicators before sizing up.
Fibonacci Retracement
What it measures
Horizontal price levels derived from the ratios 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, and 78.6%. Drawn between a recent swing high and swing low.
How to read it
These levels often act as support or resistance during pullbacks. The 50% and 61.8% levels are the most commonly watched.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
If a stop or target lines up with a Fib level, that level has a real reason to hold. Treat it as confirmation — Fibonacci alone isn't a trigger.
Volume
What it measures
How many shares traded in a given bar. The fuel behind price movement.
How to read it
A breakout on above-average volume is more convincing than one on thin volume. Heavy volume on a down-bar is distribution; heavy volume on an up-bar is accumulation.
Using it on a SignalEvo card
Use it to gut-check breakouts. A Bullish read that breaks out on weak volume is more likely to fail than one that breaks out on heavy volume.
3. Swing Signals & Market Context
SignalEvo is built around a single question: over the next 2–20 trading days, does this stock have a high-probability setup or not? The master verdict is a swing-trading decision, computed once per trading day from the close of the prior session and refreshed three times daily as news and macro context evolve.
Swing horizon
Multi-day trend, next 2–20 sessions. Reads from completed daily bars only — today's still-forming bar is excluded so the verdict doesn't flicker as price moves around during the session.
Market context
No stock trades in isolation. SignalEvo factors in broader market context: how volatile the market is overall (VIX), whether the S&P 500 is trending up or down, and how the sector ETF for the stock is behaving. When the market is calm and trending, signals are more reliable. When volatility is elevated or the market is chopping sideways, signals are more likely to whipsaw and you should tread carefully.
The verdict card surfaces any notable context — VIX elevated, market closed, after-hours — so you can adjust how aggressively you act on a signal.
4. Risk Management
Good setups lose money when risk is managed badly. These are the fundamentals — none of them are unique to SignalEvo.
Size by risk, not by dollar amount
Decide up front how much you're willing to lose on a single trade (1% of your account is a common starting point). Your position size is then a function of the distance from entry to stop — not a fixed dollar amount. A tight-stop trade lets you size larger; a wide-stop trade forces you to size smaller. The loss if you're wrong stays the same.
Never widen the stop
2:1 reward-to-risk
SignalEvo aims for setups where the distance to target is at least twice the distance to stop. That way, even a coin-flip win rate is profitable. Check the entry / stop / target distances on every card — if the ratio doesn't look right to you, skip the trade.
When to wait
- Low confidence — below 35 is usually noise.
- Data quality flagged — “Partial” means some sources are stale or unavailable; “Mock” means simulated data. Don't trade a mock signal.
- After-hours — signals reflect the last completed daily bar. Overnight gaps can open the market well away from the entry level.
- Setup filtered — if the card shows a filtered warning (price near key support/resistance), the setup has a known weakness.
5. FAQ & Glossary
Frequently asked
What do the market-status labels mean?
Open — regular US market hours, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET. Pre-market — before 9:30 AM ET; price moves but volume is thin. After-hours — after 4:00 PM ET; same caveats as pre-market. Closed — weekend or holiday; signals reflect the last trading session.
What does the data-quality badge mean?
Live — all data sources up to date. Partial — one or more sources are stale or unavailable; the signal is still usable but read with caution. Treat Live signals as higher confidence than Partial ones.
Why was my signal downgraded to WAIT?
Most common reason: price is sitting right at a known support or resistance level, where breakouts often fail and where stops would be tight enough to whipsaw out on normal noise. The card's explainer block names the specific reason for that signal. The underlying setup may still resolve — just not yet.
How often do the signals update?
Signals regenerate every time you look up a ticker. Prices on the dashboard refresh automatically — every 2 minutes on Free, 30 seconds on Pro, 15 seconds on Elite.
What are the daily lookup limits?
Free: 3 per day. Pro: 300 per day. Elite: unlimited. The counter resets 24 hours after your earliest lookup in the current window.
Is SignalEvo giving me financial advice?
No. SignalEvo is a research tool. All trades and outcomes are your own responsibility. See the disclaimer you accepted during signup for the full legal language.
Glossary
- Support
- A price level where buyers have historically stepped in. Often acts as a floor.
- Resistance
- A price level where sellers have historically stepped in. Often acts as a ceiling.
- Breakout
- When price clears a support or resistance level on decisive volume.
- Whipsaw
- A rapid reversal that stops out both buyers and sellers.
- Swing high / low
- A local peak or trough in the price chart. Used to identify support/resistance zones.
- Overbought / Oversold
- Price has run too far in one direction, making a reversion more likely.
- SMA / EMA
- Simple / Exponential Moving Average. EMA reacts faster to recent prices.
- VIX
- The market's volatility index. High VIX = fearful, volatile market. Low VIX = calm.
- ATR
- Average True Range. How much a stock typically moves per day. Used to size stops and targets.
- R:R (reward-to-risk)
- The ratio of potential gain (to target) vs potential loss (to stop).