Alright, you got your trading account set up (I recommend that you start with Robin Hood), but now you don't which stock is a good trade. If you don’t have a stock to trade, you aren’t going to be a very successful trader. Finding stocks that are “in play”, and therefore good for trading, can require a significant amount of your precious time if you are not using the right tools. This list covers the five tools I use to hunt down stocks that are either already or soon-to-be “in play. They are listed from most favorite to least. If you still do not know where to start I recommend joining our group! Another post will be made on how I personally find stocks myself.
Finviz.com
I personally use Finviz. This site offers an excellent free scanner with many options. Whether you’re looking for fundamental or technical chart criteria to screen for, odds are, this scanner will be able to accommodate you in one way or another. I find it to be very user friendly. They do offer a premium version; however, I have never used it due to the fact their free tools accomplish my objectives
Trade-Ideas.com
This is another real time scanner designed for day traders. It does not collect data from penny stocks, so if you want to trade those, this is not the tool for you. As a big board scanner, the amount of scan criteria at your fingertips is mind boggling. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but given enough time and patience in learning how it works, it will transform into a tool that will save you boatloads of time. You can test it out on their site, but if you want to keep it long term, you will have to pay.
Equityfeed.com
If you plan on trading small cap and penny stocks, then this is a scanner you should at least give a try. The scanner is real time, so as soon as an event happens that you want to know about, the stock will automatically be alerted to you. It is not free; however, they do offer a 30 day risk free trial. I have used them in the past and their functions are indeed powerful, but since I no longer trade penny stocks much, I have moved on to use other tool.
stockcharts.com
Besides offering free technical stock charts, they also have some predefined scans that I find pretty useful for a starting point (all completely free). In the past I’ve used their paid service which allows for custom scans, so depending on how detailed you want your scans to be, their premium service may be a great option for you