Use Case · Technical

Bollinger band squeeze alerts

4 min read · Use case

The Bollinger band squeeze is the textbook coiled-spring setup. Volatility compresses, the bands narrow, and a breakout — in either direction — usually follows within days.

What is a Bollinger squeeze?

A Bollinger squeeze happens when the upper and lower Bollinger bands narrow to a historic minimum. Volatility has dropped. Price is consolidating in a tight range. This compression rarely lasts — markets resolve compression with expansion, and the resulting move is often sharp.

Why this matters

Bollinger squeezes precede many of the largest swings in any chart. The challenge is timing: the squeeze itself can last days or weeks, and you need to be watching when it finally releases. Most traders miss the entry because they stop watching.

How Tickerbot does it

Tickerbot precomputes Bollinger band width on every ticker every five minutes and flags the moment width drops below a configurable percentile of the prior 60 sessions. You get pinged on the squeeze itself, then again on the release.

Squeeze in progress

Any S&P 500 stock with Bollinger bands narrower than the 5th percentile of the last 60 sessions

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WMT band width at 4th percentile. Compression for 11 sessions.

The release: where the trade lives

Breakout from compression

Bollinger squeeze release on volume — bands expanding from a multi-week low

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CRWD bands expanding, +3.2% on 2.1× volume. Squeeze released.

Variants worth setting up

"Bollinger squeeze on watchlist stocks lasting more than 10 sessions"
"Bollinger squeeze release with volume above 2× average"
"Bollinger squeeze on any stock approaching its 52-week high"
"Squeeze release with directional confirmation: above 20-day MA = bullish, below = bearish"

Set up your first squeeze alert

Tickerbot watches for the compression. You take the breakout.