Written by and copyright © 2005-2019 by Thomas N. Bulkowski. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: You alone are responsible for your investment decisions.
See Privacy/Disclaimer for more information. Some pattern names are the registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Updated on 11/28/2018.
For more information on this pattern, read
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns Second Edition ,
pictured on the right, pages 115 to 131.
If you click on this link and then buy the book (or anything) at Amazon.com, the referral will help support this site. Thanks. -- Tom Bulkowski
$ $ $
Horn tops are H-shaped chart patterns that perform best when found on the weekly charts. The
performance is good, especially in a bear market. Discovered by Thomas Bulkowski in 1998.
Important Bull Market Results for Horn Tops
Overall performance rank (1 is best):not ranked
Break even failure rate: 9%
Average decline: 19%
Pullback rate: 28%
Percentage meeting price target: 54%
The above numbers are based on 834 perfect trades. See the glossary for definitions.
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Horn Top Identification Guidelines
Characteristic | Discussion |
Weekly chart | Use the weekly chart to locate horns. |
Price trend | Upward leading to the pattern. |
Shape | Looks like a steer's horn, two parallel price spikes separated by a week. |
Spikes | The spikes should be longer than most in the past year, but be flexible. |
Confirmation | The pattern confirms as valid when price closes below the lowest price in the 3-week pattern. |
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Horn Top Trading Tips
Trading Tactic | Explanation |
Measure rule | See the Measure Rule figure to the right. Compute the
height between the highest high (A) and lowest low
(B) in the 3-week pattern and then multiply
it by the above “percentage meeting price target.” Subtract the result
from the lowest low (B) in the pattern to get
a price target (C). |
Downtrends | If the horn appears near the end of a downtrend, then avoid it. |
Confirmation | Wait for confirmation before placing a trade. |
Trend change | A horn top usually signals a trend change within 2 months. |
Pullbacks | Pullbacks hurt performance. |
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 The Measure Rule
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Horn Top Example

The above figure shows an example of a horn top chart pattern. The two spikes tower above the surrounding price
landscape, the trend to the chart pattern is upward and long, and price confirms the horn top when it closes below
the lowest low in the 3-week pattern. Shown on the weekly scale.
-- Thomas Bulkowski
Written by and copyright © 2005-2019 by Thomas N. Bulkowski. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: You alone are responsible for your investment decisions.
See Privacy/Disclaimer for more information. Some pattern names are the registered trademarks of their respective owners.
The name is Baud...James Baud.
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