MRNA shows an interesting consolidation in the chart below. After a large price jump, the stock is holding at a higher level. The question is whether it can break higher from there. For now, that is an observation, not a confirmed breakout.
But how do you find stocks like this? You can click through hundreds of charts. Or you can narrow your search step by step. That is why we built the daily routine in WickedDesk: market, groups, scanner, chart, watchlist and then review.
Let me walk you through it. The screenshots come from WickedDesk and show the German interface. MRNA is an example, not a recommendation to buy. The images were captured before the US open on September 9, 2026, with the last daily candle dated September 8.
Start with the market
Before looking for individual stocks, get an overview. Are many stocks rising, or are a few large companies holding up the index? Which news is moving trading? Are there scheduled events that could change your preparation?
Market breadth helps answer the first question. It describes how many stocks participate in a move. A rising index does not necessarily mean that most stocks are rising with it.
The market overview combines several observations. Read the individual sections, not just the color of the market signal.
This is not permission to buy. It helps you understand the environment in which you are looking for stocks. You still need to assess each stock separately.
From the group to the stock
Next, open groups. Compare sectors and industries across several timeframes. A group can fall for a day and still be among the stronger groups over several weeks. Looking only at the daily color would miss that.
Within an interesting group, you can sort stocks by relative strength. This compares their price performance with other stocks. A high rank tells you which stocks have performed better so far. It does not tell you whether the next entry is well placed.
MRNA appears in the Health and Pharma stock view. This is one way to find the name before opening its chart.
The scanner only finds what your filters allow
The scanner lets you narrow the selection further. The focus view is a starting point. Look at relative strength, trading volume and the price move so far. Then open interesting stocks in the chart.
Check your active filters too. A missing result does not necessarily mean a stock is uninteresting. It may simply fall outside your search criteria.
MRNA makes this clear: the ADR filter from 3 to 8 percent excludes the stock in this view because its displayed value is higher. It remains visible in the group view. We did not find MRNA using this exact scanner filter.
ADR describes the average daily trading range. A stock with a high ADR has wider daily swings. That may suit a particular strategy, but it also requires appropriate position sizing and loss limits. Widening the filter just to include a particular name is not a good reason by itself.
What the chart actually shows
For our search for stocks to trade on the long side, the first condition is that price is above the 200 day SMA. This is the simple average of the closing prices from the last 200 trading days. In WickedDesk's default settings, it is the red line.
That condition initially excludes stocks below their longer term average. It is a rule for this approach, not a guarantee of rising prices. A stock far above its 200 day SMA can still fall sharply.
MRNA on the daily chart. The red line is below price. After the large jump, the stock is trading sideways at a higher level.
Now look more closely. The recent candles are smaller than the candle of the large jump. Volume is considerably lower too. That fits the observation of a consolidation: a period of sideways trading following a move.
It does not establish that another advance will follow. We want to see whether price can move above the recent highs and hold there. If it falls below the recent lows instead, we need to reassess the idea. An attractive pattern alone is not enough to justify buying.
Write down what you are waiting for
A watchlist with ten names leaves the most important question unanswered: why are those stocks on it?
For MRNA, the note could be brief: can this consolidation break higher? Record the area you are watching and what would argue against your assumption. A price alert can draw your attention to that area. It does not decide the entry for you.
Before an observation becomes a trade, you also need a planned exit and a maximum acceptable loss. Only then can you determine an appropriate position size. The distance to your stop, your intended exit if the idea is wrong, matters more than how many shares you would like to own.
Keep the chart for your review
Save the view with your observation. In Atlas, you can connect a chart to the journal, a Model Book, a playbook or a plan. You can also save an observation as a chart study.
The save menu in Atlas. You keep the view that supported your thinking, not just the ticker.
Later, compare your expectation with what happened. Did you anticipate a breakout too early? Had the stock already moved too far? Did you overlook a filter? Include the ideas that failed. Otherwise you end up collecting only the examples that look obvious in hindsight.
That is what the daily routine is for. Keep up with the market, narrow your search and record what you learn from your observations. The guides are there to make WickedDesk easier to use. Follow the steps in the daily routine guide. The article on chart studies, the journal and Model Books explains how to return to saved views.
Further reading: Fidelity explains trends and consolidations.