Methodology
Six factors. Exact weights. Public record.
Every score is a transparent weighted blend of six published factors — no black box, no mystery AI, no chat assistant required. You see each contribution on every ticker.
The six factors
Composite = weighted sum of 6 sub-scores
Trend
Slope of 20/50/200-day moving averages, MACD direction, distance from 200DMA.
Relative strength
Price performance vs SPY and sector ETF over 3M, 6M, 1Y.
Fundamentals
Revenue growth, margin trend, P/E, debt/equity, ROE, EPS surprises.
Smart money
Insider net buying, institutional holdings change, Congressional activity.
Macro
Current market regime, sector rotation, rate direction, VIX level.
Momentum
RSI, Bollinger Band width percentile, volume expansion, breakout proximity.
The formula
score = 0.25 × trend
+ 0.20 × relative_strength
+ 0.15 × fundamentals
+ 0.15 × smart_money
+ 0.15 × macro
+ 0.10 × momentumEach sub-score is normalised to 0–100 using factor-specific rules. Weights are fixed and visible. We publish changes before rolling them out, tracked on the public scorecard.
Per-ticker confidence
Not every signal has the same evidence behind it.
We surface a confidence percentage on every row. It varies based on which underlying data feeds returned data for that ticker — not every ETF has a P/E, not every stock has recent insider filings, not every name has analyst coverage.
Signal labels
Descriptive, not prescriptive.
Each score maps to a label that describes the state of factor data. We never tell you what to do with it.
Common questions
Methodology FAQ
How is the Tapeline Score calculated?
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Each ticker gets six sub-scores (Trend, Relative Strength, Fundamentals, Smart Money, Macro, Momentum), each normalised to 0-100. The composite is a weighted sum: 25% Trend + 20% Relative Strength + 15% Fundamentals + 15% Smart Money + 15% Macro + 10% Momentum. Weights are fixed and public; any change ships through the public changelog.
What do the signal labels mean?
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Six descriptive tiers map to score ranges: HIGH CONVICTION (85-100), STRONG SETUP (70-84), CONSTRUCTIVE (55-69), NEUTRAL (40-54), CAUTION (25-39), WEAK (0-24). Labels are descriptive, not prescriptive — Tapeline is not a registered investment adviser and does not issue buy/sell calls.
How often does the score update?
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Scores re-tick every minute during market hours and persist between sessions. Most data feeds (price, volume, RSI, MACD, regime) update sub-60s; fundamentals refresh on company filing cadence; insider Form 4 within hours of SEC filing.
What is the per-ticker confidence percentage?
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Confidence reflects how many of the underlying data feeds returned data for a given ticker — not every name has fundamentals coverage, recent insider filings, or analyst coverage. 95%+ means full data on every signal feature; under 40% means sparse data and the score should be deprioritised.
Is the formula really public?
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Yes. The exact 6-factor weighted equation is published on this page and reproduced in our blog, with every weight change versioned in the public changelog. The moat is the data spine plus the public scorecard — anyone is welcome to copy the formula.
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