As of 12/20/2024
Indus: 42,840 +498.02 +1.2%
Trans: 15,892 +32.54 +0.2%
Utils: 986 +14.76 +1.5%
Nasdaq: 19,573 +199.83 +1.0%
S&P 500: 5,931 +63.77 +1.1%
|
YTD
+13.7%
0.0%
+11.9%
+30.4%
+24.3%
|
 44,200 or 41,750 by 01/01/2025 16,100 or 17,700 by 01/01/20251,050 or 975 by 01/01/202520,500 or 19,300 by 01/01/20256,100 or 5,775 by 01/01/2025 |
As of 12/20/2024
Indus: 42,840 +498.02 +1.2%
Trans: 15,892 +32.54 +0.2%
Utils: 986 +14.76 +1.5%
Nasdaq: 19,573 +199.83 +1.0%
S&P 500: 5,931 +63.77 +1.1%
|
YTD
+13.7%
0.0%
+11.9%
+30.4%
+24.3%
| |
|
44,200 or 41,750 by 01/01/202516,100 or 17,700 by 01/01/20251,050 or 975 by 01/01/202520,500 or 19,300 by 01/01/20256,100 or 5,775 by 01/01/2025 | ||
Statistics updated on 8/27/2020.
For more information on this pattern, read
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns Second Edition
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Pipe tops are good performers in both bull and (especially) bear markets, but I used the weekly scale for these guys. Discovered by Thomas Bulkowski in 1998.
Pipe Top Pattern
|
The above numbers are based on more than 4,000 perfect trades. See the glossary for definitions.
| Characteristic | Discussion |
| Weekly chart | Pipes appear on the daily scale but the ones on the weekly charts perform better. Use the weekly chart. |
| Price trend | Usually upward leading to the pattern. |
| Shape | Twin and adjacent upward spikes. On a bar chart, the two price bars look like spikes. On a candlestick chart, the candles can be any shape (from doji to Marubozu). In other words, don't let the term spike mislead you. |
| Spikes | The spikes should be longer than most others in the past year, but be flexible. They should tower over the surrounding price landscape. |
| Overlap | The spikes should have a large price overlap. |
| Variation | The price variation between tops is usually small but can vary up to $1 or more for high price stocks. The average difference is 20 cents. |
| Volume | The right spike has lower volume when compared to the left spike. This is an observation, not an identification requirement. |
| Obvious | The pipe should stand-alone and be obvious on the chart. |
| Retrace | The best performing pipes appear at the top of a retrace in a prolonged downtrend. |
| Confirmation | The pattern confirms when price closes below the lowest price in the pattern. |
| Trading Tactic | Explanation | 
The Measure Rule
|
| Measure rule | Compute the height of the pattern from the highest high (point B in the Measure Rule figure to the right) to the lowest low (A) then multiply it by the above 'percentage meeting price target.' Subtract the difference from the lowest price in the pattern (A) to get a price target (C). | |
| Downtrends | The best performing pipes occur during downtrends. Price bounces upward, forms a pipe, and then continues the decline. | |
| Trends | Avoid pipes that appear after a long downtrend. The pipe may signal the end of the trend. | |
| Yearly low | Pipes with breakouts within a third of the yearly low show the best performance. |
The above figure shows an example of a pipe top in the midst of a downward price trend. This is an example of the preferred setup, where a pipe top occurs when price is trending downward. The chart shows that price dropped from a low of about 8 to below 6.
-- Thomas Bulkowski
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