Penny cockpit

The penny cockpit puts the three things a low-priced stock trader checks before the open on one page: who is moving, who is halted, and who is selling new shares. It covers stocks priced $0.30 to $5.00 that have moved 5% or more with tradable volume.

How to run your pre-market check

1. Click Penny Cockpit in the left menu, under Screeners. The scanner's top strip also has an OPEN_COCKPIT button.
2. Read Penny movers first. Note who is up big and on what volume.
3. Scroll to Halt queue. Halted names on the movers list are the ones to watch on resume.
4. Scroll to the filings feed for share sales that could cap a rally.
5. Click a symbol to open its drill-down, or its research page.

How to read the movers

1. Penny movers lists stocks from $0.30 to $5 that moved 5% or more, with volume over 500,000 and RVOL of 2 or more.
2. RIPPERS are the ones going up. PUKERS are the ones going down.
3. Each row shows symbol, price, % change, volume and RVOL.
4. Look for chips beside a symbol. LF marks a low float. A halt tag means the stock is halted right now. A filing tag means an active share sale. A short-interest chip shows how crowded the short side is.

The list refreshes about every 15 seconds. Quotes on the movers and halt lists are delayed at least 15 minutes. The drill-down stream is live.

How to read the halt queue

1. Each row has the symbol, a code such as T1, the reason in words, the halt time and the resume time.
2. A stock that is also on the movers list carries a marker. A halt on a mover is a setup to watch on resume.
3. A stock that is halted and has an active share sale is a fade candidate, because the company is selling into the move.
4. Hover the resume cell to see when it resumed, or that it is still halted.

The codes are explained in Halts.

How to check dilution risk

1. Look at the filings feed. It lists FORM, TICKER, COMPANY and FILED.
2. Forms such as S-1, S-3 and 424B are the paperwork for selling new shares. A recent one means more shares may hit the market.
3. Click a row to open the SEC filing.
4. The feed checks for new filings about every five minutes.

In the scanner you can also switch on the Dilution column group from COLS to see SHARES 12M, SHELF OPEN and OFFERING beside every row.

How to open Level 2 and the tape (Pro)

1. Click a row in Penny movers or Halt queue.
2. A window titled with the symbol and Level 2 & Tape opens. It shows the top of the book by venue, the print tape and a small chart with VWAP and premarket high and low.
3. Use the link inside to jump to full research.

Level 2 and the tape need Pro.

What Free accounts see

Everyone can open the page. On Free and for logged-out visitors, the first row in each list is clear and the rest are blurred, with an Upgrade to Pro button. Pro and Terminal see every row.

If something doesn't work

• The lists are empty early in the morning: the movers list needs stocks that meet the volume and RVOL rules, which usually appear after 4:00 AM ET.
• A stock you expect is missing: it may be outside $0.30 to $5, or below the volume rule.
• A blurred list: upgrade or start the trial to see every row.