growth_stock_screening v1.0.0

name: "growth_stock_screening" description: "Screen growth stocks with the CANSLIM, Minervini SEPA Trend Template, and VCP frameworks. Triggers when the user wants a growth-stock watchlist, a screening methodology, ticker vetting against classic growth criteria, or a filter for momentum leaders with real earnings."

Growth Stock Screening

Purpose

Turn a raw universe of tickers into a short, defensible watchlist using the three classic growth-stock frameworks: O'Neil's CANSLIM, Minervini's SEPA Trend Template, and the Volatility Contraction Pattern (VCP). A mechanical screen plus fundamental overlay plus a false-positive gauntlet. Screening is a filter, not a recommendation.

Workflow

1. Define the universe. Liquid names only: average daily volume above ~400K shares. Illiquid tickers fail every framework on slippage alone. Read candidates from args or a file (one ticker per line).
2. Run the Trend Template filter. The mechanical gate. Use bin/screen_growth.py:

bash
   python3 bin/screen_growth.py AAPL NVDA PLTR
   python3 bin/screen_growth.py --file watchlist.txt
   python3 bin/screen_growth.py --json AAPL NVDA   # machine-readable
   

The script fetches two years of daily data from Yahoo Finance (no key needed) and reports the eight Minervini template checks, an RS proxy vs SPY, a volume dry-up ratio, a contraction profile, and ATR. Treat its VERDICT as a first pass: REJECT means out, QUALIFIES and WATCH move forward.

1. Layer the CANSLIM fundamentals. Price action alone is half the job. For template-passing tickers, check the CANSLIM letters that data APIs can score: C (current quarterly EPS growth 25%+), A (annual earnings growth, ROE 17%+), N (a new product or catalyst you can name), I (rising institutional sponsorship). See references/canslim.md for the checklist. A stock with a perfect template and shrinking earnings is a trader's stock, not a growth stock.
2. Check the base on a chart. The script cannot count bases or confirm a VCP. Pull up the chart yourself: look for 2-5 tightening pullbacks with higher lows, drying volume in the final leg, and a clean pivot. See references/vcp.md for the anatomy and the disqualifiers.
3. Run the false-positive gauntlet. Most template passes still get cut here. See references/false-positives.md. The common kills: 4th-or-later base, extended more than 15% above the 50dma, Stage 3 distribution, expanding volume on the way down, market in correction.
4. Gate on market direction. O'Neil's M and Minervini's regime rule agree: in a correction, even perfect setups get shelved. Check SPY against its own 200dma before acting on any watchlist.
5. Deliver the watchlist. Follow the Output Contract. Every entry carries its verdict and, for rejects, the exact failed checks. No ticker appears without a reason.

Output Contract

A watchlist with one block per ticker:

• ticker, price, and date of the screen
• Trend Template result: pass/fail per line (8 criteria), RS proxy value
• fundamental notes: C/A/N/I status from the CANSLIM pass
• base read: estimated base count, contraction tightening, volume dry-up ratio, ATR
• verdict: QUALIFIES (enter only on a chart-confirmed pivot break), WATCH (what would change it), or REJECT (which checks failed)
• market regime line: SPY vs its 200dma, uptrend or correction

Operating Rules

• This is educational screening methodology, not investment advice. Never present a watchlist as a buy recommendation. Say so plainly whenever the output goes to a user.
• Accuracy rule, verbatim: "Every factual claim in a skill must be verified via web search or a primary source. Never invent numbers, dates, quotes, or events. Unverifiable = cut it or frame as opinion. No confident unverified claims, ever."
• RS in this skill is a proxy: trailing 12-month return vs SPY, not Investor's Business Daily's RS Rating. Label it as such whenever you report it. The Minervini bar is an IBD RS Rating of 70+.
• Never claim a base count or a confirmed VCP from the script alone. Base counting and pattern confirmation need a human looking at a chart.
• If price data cannot be fetched for a ticker, report the gap and move on. Never backfill with stale or invented data.
• Style law: no em dashes ever, no ChatGPT-speak. Plain, direct sentences.