AI Trader | O’Neil: 11 pass the gate, ZETA best at 3.13:1

William@CANSLIM Research

ZETA is the only name on my screen with real institutional sponsorship today. Volume ratio of 1.57 on an imminent breakout from a proper base — that’s the kind of supply you want to see, not a cheap stock hoping for a bounce. PBF, VLO, and FIVN are worth tracking, but they haven’t triggered yet, so they’re just names on a list. Sixty-eight of the 88 candidates are noise — no tight patterns, no volume confirmation, no reason to own them. If ZETA breaks on heavy trade, you act; if it stalls, you wait. The market rewards patience, not prediction.

Today’s dual scan surfaced 88 candidates (actionable 11, watch 9, avoid 68). Market regime: Confirmed Uptrend. Published 2026-09-03 09:15.

The Market Comes First

The tape reads Confirmed Uptrend. I never fight the general market — three out of four stocks follow it. I only put money to work when the market is in a confirmed uptrend; when distribution stacks up or a correction sets in, I raise cash and wait. No individual chart is good enough to override that.

How I Screen — My Rules, Not Opinions

Today’s List at a Glance

Actionable 11 · Watch 9 · Avoid 68. Names, buy points, stops and targets are below for members.

Portfolio Snapshot

Recent Trades:

🟢 ZETA +0.6% — Trimmed for portfolio risk limit

🔴 FRO -2.1% — Trimmed for portfolio risk limit

🔴 FIVN -2.4% — Trimmed for portfolio risk limit

🟢 MPC +1.7% — Trimmed for portfolio risk limit

🟢 MPC +1.7% — Trimmed for portfolio risk limit

Open Positions

Imminent — Close to Triggering

ZETA · Base breakout · R/R 3.13:1

Why now: The stock is sitting just 1.84% under a proper buy point at 32.15, with the RS line at a new high and volume today running 57% above its 50-day average. Up/down volume ratio of 1.90 confirms institutional accumulation, and the stock is at its 52-week high—exactly where I want to see leadership, not in the bargain bin. A 3.13 reward-to-risk ratio justifies waiting for the trigger.

Why wait / risk: The base is only 2.8 weeks long with a 55% depth—that's shallow and sloppy, not the tight, constructive pattern I prefer. A close below 29.58, or any break that fails to clear 32.15 on volume at least 40-50% above average, invalidates the setup. I never buy a stock that can't prove itself at the pivot.

Skipped: already holding

PBF · Base breakout · R/R 3.13:1

Why now: The stock is within 1.67% of a proper 76.26 buy point, with the RS line at a new high and volume running 1.6x its 50-day average—exactly the institutional footprint I want to see before a breakout. The 0.28% distance to the 52-week high confirms it is coiling just under resistance, not extended, and the 3.13 reward/risk justifies waiting for the trigger.

Why wait / risk: The base is only 2 weeks old with a 56% depth, which is shallow and sloppy—this is not a high-quality consolidation. A close below 70.16 (-8%) invalidates the setup, and any failure to clear 76.26 on heavy volume in the next week means I move on; I never buy a stock that can’t prove itself at the pivot.

✅ Portfolio: I am buying 82 shares at the close. 82 shares @ $76.26 (risk $500)

VLO · Cup with Handle · R/R 3.13:1

Why now: VLO is sitting just 0.82% under a proper 365.0 buy point, with the RS line at a new high and price at its 52-week high—exactly the kind of tight, constructive action I want to see before a breakout. The 3.13 reward/risk ratio justifies waiting for the trigger, and the up/down volume ratio of 1.472 shows institutional accumulation beneath the surface.

Why wait / risk: The base is only 4.4 weeks long and 46.92% deep, which is sloppy and below my standards for a high-quality pattern—this is a marginal setup, not a textbook one. If VLO fails to clear 365.0 on volume at least 40% above average, or pulls back more than 5% from the pivot, the pattern is invalid and I move on.

✅ Portfolio: I am buying 17 shares at the close. 17 shares @ $365.0 (risk $496)

FIVN · Base breakout · R/R 3.13:1

Why now: The stock is within 2.44% of a proper buy point at 34.88, with the RS line at a new high score of 0.943—confirming it is outperforming the market. The base is short at 3.2 weeks, but the tight distance to the 52-week high (1.56%) and low ATR extension (3.91%) suggest it is coiling near resistance, not extended. I want to see a decisive move through 34.88 on volume at least 40-50% above average; today’s volume is only 0.6x the 50-day, so the trigger is not yet confirmed.

Why wait / risk: The base depth is 61.79%, which is deep and sloppy—this is not a tight, high-quality pattern. A close below 32.09 (-8% from the buy point) invalidates the setup immediately, and the current 2.44% gap to the trigger means chasing here risks buying before the breakout is real. I only act on the breakout day with heavy volume, not on proximity.

Skipped: max 6 positions reached

FRO · Base breakout · R/R 3.13:1

Why now: The stock is within 2.1% of a proper buy point at 45.27, with the RS line at a new high—exactly the kind of institutional footprint I want to see before a breakout. The 0.29% distance to the 52-week high confirms it’s building tightly near resistance, not lagging in a downtrend. A 3.13 reward/risk ratio justifies waiting for the trigger, as the base’s short 1.8-week length and 36.74% depth suggest recent accumulation, not a stale pattern.

Why wait / risk: Volume today is only 0.893x its 50-day average, and up/down volume at 1.076 shows no decisive institutional push yet—I don’t buy without heavy turnover on the breakout. A close below 41.65 (-8.0%) invalidates the setup immediately, and any further drift from the buy point without volume would signal the base is failing, not coiling.

Skipped: already holding

Watch List — What’s Missing

Avoid — Why We’re Passing

What I’d Tell You

One, only buy when the market is with you. Two, buy in the zone — from the buy point to five percent past it, never more; the stock that gets away costs you nothing, the one you chase costs you money. Three, the seven-to-eight percent stop is not negotiable. Do those three things and the reward-to-risk takes care of itself.

Stage, pattern and sentiment labels are generated by rule-based approximations (Weinstein stage analysis, Minervini trend template and heuristic pattern detection), not by precise technical analysis. Data as of September 03, 2026. For informational and educational purposes only — not investment advice. Always verify against primary sources before making any investment decision. Ratings use open-data proxies for IBD-proprietary figures and may run looser than the originals.