Two breakouts can clear the same pivot on the same day and end very differently. One keeps going for weeks; the other reverses before lunch. 2LYNCH is a short checklist, popularised by Pradeep Bonde of Stockbee, for telling them apart before you buy. Each letter is a quality check on the setup; the more it passes, the cleaner the breakout.
2LYNCH grades the chart, not the company. A high score means the breakout has the shape of the ones that follow through; a low score means something about the move is off, however strong the stock looks.
The six checks
2: Not up two days in a row
The two sessions before the breakout day should not both be up days. A stock already up two days running has spent some of its move before you enter, and the breakout day becomes the third push rather than the first. The breakout day itself is not counted; it is the day you buy.
L: Linear prior move
The advance before the base should be smooth and orderly, not a jagged series of spikes and collapses. A linear move shows steady demand. One common way to measure it is price efficiency: the net change over the period divided by the total distance travelled. A reading near 1 is a straight line; near 0 is noise. SwingTradeScanner asks for 0.35 or better over the prior 60 sessions.
Y: Young trend
The trend should be early, not late-stage. A stock that broke above its 50-day average recently has room to run; one that has been extended for a year is closer to exhaustion. The scanner treats a trend as young if price has closed below its 50-day average within the last 90 sessions.
N: Narrow or negative day before
The day before the breakout should be quiet: a narrow-range day, or a small down day. That is the calm before the expansion, and it often sets a tight, low-risk stop just under its low.
C: Clean consolidation
The base should be orderly: few sharp down days, and volume drying up as it tightens. The scanner allows at most one 4%+ down day inside the base and requires base volume to be lighter than volume during the prior advance. See volatility contraction patterns for why tightening matters.
H: Closed near the high
On the breakout day, the close should sit in the top 30% of the day's range. A stock that breaks out and closes near its low has met sellers at the new level; one that closes near its high has buyers in control into the bell.
How to read the score
- 5–6 of 6: a high-quality setup. Every major quality check passes.
- 4 of 6: acceptable, but look at which check failed. A failed H (weak close) matters more than a failed Y on a strong leader.
- 3 or fewer: something is off. Treat it as a stock to watch, not to buy, until the setup improves.
2LYNCH and the setup score
The 2LYNCH count and the breakout score measure different things. The score rewards momentum and trend: how far the stock has run and how cleanly it holds its moving averages. 2LYNCH grades the shape of the specific breakout. A high score with a low 2LYNCH count is a strong stock with a messy entry; the best setups score well on both.
Using it in SwingTradeScanner
The Momentum Breakouts scan shows every result's 2LYNCH count out of 6 and the letters it passed. Hover the number to see a check-by-check breakdown, or sort the column to bring the cleanest setups to the top.
Common mistakes
- Treating 6/6 as a buy signal. The checklist grades the setup; the market regime and the stock's relative strength still matter.
- Ignoring which letter failed. A 5/6 that failed H on a big-volume reversal is weaker than a 4/6 that failed Y.
- Counting the breakout day in the "2" check. The check looks at the two days before it.
See every setup graded
Momentum Breakouts shows each result’s 2LYNCH count, the checks it passed, and its chart.
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