Forex Trading

Shooting Star: What It Means in Stock Trading, With an Example

Trading this candle involves looking for confirmation of the reversal, such as a bearish candle following the pattern. Traders often set stop-loss orders above the shooting star’s high and target profit levels near key support zones or previous lows. The hanging man suggests that selling pressure is starting to outweigh buying interest.

Inverted Hammer vs. Shooting Star

A red body strengthens the bearish outlook, while a green one slightly weakens it. As a bearish reversal pattern, the Shooting Star is a great pattern to watch for when the price is on a downtrend. Ideally, to increase the accuracy, we want to trade the Shooting Star candlestick pattern by combining it with other types of technical analysis or indicators. The following week, the market closes below the shooting star’s low, with a bearish candlestick, and the stochastic oscillator completes the bearish crossover, together offering strong confirmation.

In candlestick analysis, the shooting star pattern is a bearish reversal pattern that consists of just one candlestick and forms after a price swing high. The hanging man is a one-bar bullish continuation candlestick pattern. You’ll get a hanging man candle if you flip a shooting star on its head.

Psychology of the Pattern

Integrating volume analysis and technical indicators to confirm the pattern is essential for traders. False signals are common in strong uptrends and low-volume markets, making it essential to assess the broader market. A shooting star is a candlestick that signals a potential bearish reversal.

The classic shooting star does not have a lower shadow or is too short. In the above chart, one can find that the formation of the shooting star candlestick took place on November 1, 2022, at 5 pm. The long upper wick, which is more than twice the size of the body and the lack of a lower shadow make it easily identifiable among even new traders. In continuation with the already existing upswing, the bulls pushed the price up and may even drive it to a new high. However, the bears stepped in and put up a big fight, forcing the price back down to close around the open price. The Shooting Star is a straightforward candle formation that warns traders about possible weakness after a bullish run.

What is a shooting star candlestick pattern?

When trading the shooting star pattern, profit targets can be set based on key support levels or using a predetermined risk-reward ratio. The inverted hammer candlestick pattern appears at the bottom of a downtrend and resembles the shooting star, with a small body and long upper shadow. The shooting star candlestick pattern typically occurs during an uptrend, signaling a potential reversal. However, with the shooting star or other bearish reversal candlestick patterns, you can enter a trade at the swing high preceding the breakout or at the retest shooting star candlestick of the breakout level. The reliability of a shooting star pattern in predicting market trends depends on various factors, such as the prevailing market conditions, volume, and confirmation from other technical indicators. It is considered more reliable when it appears after an extended uptrend and at significant resistance levels.

The second candlestick is the Star with a short real body that gaps … Finally, volume should also be considered as the pattern is more reliable if the volume on the first candlestick is lower and the volume on the third candlestick is higher. The Star is followed by the third candlestick in the pattern, which must be a bearish, dark-colored candlestick that closes well into the real body of the first candlestick. In chart analysis, a candlestick represents the price movement during a single trading session, which can be an hour, 30 minutes, four hours, a day, or whatever, depending on the timeframe of the chart. As a price action trader, there are many things to look out for when using the shooting star pattern to identify a trading opportunity.

  • Steve Nison found that there are certain patterns in the chart that Japanese traders use to identify trading opportunities.
  • It’s characterized by a small lower body and a long upper wick, appearing after an uptrend.
  • This pattern becomes more significant if it appears at a resistance level or after a prolonged price advance.
  • The resulting candlestick would have a small body near the bottom of the day’s range with a long upper shadow, forming a shooting star stock pattern.

The goal is to provide a user-friendly approach for beginners while still offering enough depth for experienced traders. StocksToTrade in no way warrants the solvency, financial condition, or investment advisability of any of the securities mentioned in communications or websites. In addition, StocksToTrade accepts no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis of any investment decision, should it be construed as advice designed to meet the investment needs of any particular investor. It’s also important to consider the overall market context and other technical indicators.

That way we can make sure that the market has gone up enough to improve our odds of success. The overall performance is a mid list 55, where 1 is best and 103 is worst.The best average move 10 days after the breakout belongs to shooting stars after an upward breakout in a bear market. I consider moves of 6%or more to be good, so the shooting star falls well short. The numbers suggest that this candle looks better than it performs.

Enhanced Risk Management

In my experience, this is especially important when trading the shooting star candlestick pattern. Some price action traders will trade shooting star candlesticks that don’t occur at the absolute top of an uptrend, but in my experience, these signals aren’t strong enough to be consistently profitable. The conservative approach is suited for traders who prefer to minimize risk and avoid false signals. This strategy involves waiting for additional confirmation before entering the trade, ensuring that the shooting star pattern truly indicates a bearish reversal. The shooting star candlestick pattern is one of the most widely traded bearish reversal candlestick patterns. Also know as the bearish pin bar, the shooting star candlestick pattern is a bearish reversal formation that consists of just one candlestick and usually forms after a price swing high.

  • Price action patterns that occur on higher time frames are more meaningful.
  • It is important to mention that the shooting star candlestick pattern is even more reliable when it develops after three consecutive bullish candles.
  • However, one must be cautious and look for confirmation in subsequent candles or overlapping technical analysis tools.

Day traders that I know depend on the shooting star more often than I think they should, but my statistics are based on the daily charts, not intra day ones. I found that the shootingstar candle acts as a bearish reversal 59% of the time. On top, this pattern is quite reliable with the support of other reversal patterns. However, a shooting star can give false signals in an uptrend at higher volumes. The first candlestick in the Advance Block formation is a large bullish candlestick that signifies the strength of the current uptrend. The Shooting Star pattern does not provide a clear profit target but previous levels of support or previous area of consolidation could be used as an initial price target.

Trade major, minor and exotic pairs with excellent trading conditions.

Just in case you’re completely new to the shooting star candlestick signal, we’ll start with the basics. I specifically chose to update the shooting star pattern next, because the proprietary filters and entry that I use are different than most other patterns that I trade. Second, I plan to eventually update my entire free price action course. I started with my favorite price action signal, the bearish engulfing pattern. Traders often enter short positions at this point, using stop-losses above the shooting star’s high.

Frequently Asked Questions on Shooting Star Candlesticks:

Smaller timeframes often have more noise, making patterns less clear. In general, higher timeframes tend to produce more reliable signals. Adding the shooting star to your toolkit can help you spot potential turning points and plan trades with balanced risk. If you’d like to deepen your understanding of this pattern and learn to apply it in live markets, you should consider joining WR Trading for more personalized guidance and educational programs.

In my experience, I have not had much luck trading them on time frames lower than the 15 Minute chart. That being said, I trade them on the 15 Minute chart regularly and successfully. The examples used in this article are geared toward the Forex market, but trading the shooting star is effective in any market. The best time to trade is after confirmation, typically when the next candle closes lower, confirming the reversal. This makes it a crucial pattern for traders looking to identify and act on potential market reversals. For instance, if you spot a shooting star and the price is moving away from a significant moving average like the 50-day or 200-day line, it could indicate a strong reversal is about to happen.