Stock Meadow · Metric glossary · Price trend
Price vs. Ichimoku Cloud: formula and how to read it
Ichimoku Kinko Hyo, developed by the Japanese journalist Goichi Hosoda in the 1930s and published in 1969, draws a band called the cloud (kumo) from the midpoints of 9-, 26- and 52-day price ranges, shifted 26 days ahead. The position of the price against the cloud is read as a quick summary of the trend.
What is Price vs. Ichimoku Cloud?
1 when the price is above the Ichimoku cloud, 0 inside it, -1 below it. The Ichimoku cloud is the band between two lines built from 9-, 26- and 52-day price ranges and drawn 26 days ahead. This is +1 when the latest close is above the cloud, 0 when it is inside and -1 when it is below.
Stock Meadow groups it under Price trend, and shows it in tables as Ichimoku cloud.
Formula and a worked example
Span A = average of the 9-day and 26-day range midpoints; Span B = midpoint of the 52-day range; both are plotted 26 days ahead. The cloud is the band between them; the metric is +1 above it, 0 inside it and −1 below it.
If the cloud covers $90 to $100 on the latest day and the stock closes at $104, the reading is +1. The numbers are made up for illustration.
How to read it
+1 means the close is above the cloud, which is usually read as an up-trend; −1 means below, a down-trend; 0 means inside, a transition. The cloud's thickness is often read as support or resistance. It is a filter only.
It can be used as a filter and as a column, but not for scoring: it describes a company rather than making it better or worse.
Common pitfalls
- The cloud is built from long windows, so it lags and needs at least 78 trading days of prices.
- Sideways markets leave the price inside the cloud for long periods.
- It is a state, not a forecast.
How Stock Meadow handles gaps. Usually blank when there are fewer than 78 days of prices.
Treat any single metric as one clue, and read the company's financial statements before drawing a conclusion. Stock Meadow's figures are research tools based on reported data, not investment advice.
Stock Meadow models that use it
No scoring model uses it. It is a filter and a table column only.
Read about every scoring model in How scores work.
Frequently asked questions
- What does it mean when the price is above the Ichimoku cloud?
- Traders read it as an up-trend, because the price is above the levels derived from its last 9, 26 and 52 days. The further above, the stronger the trend is said to be, but it does not predict what happens next.
- Can I score stocks on Ichimoku cloud?
- It can be used as a filter and as a column, but not for scoring: it describes a company rather than making it better or worse.
- Why is Ichimoku cloud blank for some stocks?
- It is usually blank when there are fewer than 78 days of prices. Stock Meadow leaves the figure blank rather than guessing it.
Use Ichimoku cloud in Stock Meadow
Filter the whole stock list on Price vs. Ichimoku cloud and show it as a column in the stock screener. Sign up free, no card needed.
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