# Stock Search Deep Dive

The Stock Search tool lets you filter thousands of stocks using quality scores, financial metrics, and market sectors to find investment candidates. Master t...

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# Stock Search Deep Dive

The Stock Search tool filters stocks by quality, returns, and other metrics to help you find investment candidates that match your criteria.

![Stock Search Interface](/images/guide/platform/stock-search.png)

## Key Points

- \*\*Less is more\*\*: Start with 1-2 filters and add more only if needed
- \*\*Start broad, go narrow\*\*: Review results before adding restrictions
- \*\*Use Quick Screens\*\*: Sweet Spot Stars gives instant quality results
- \*\*Save what works\*\*: Build a library of successful screens

## Getting Started

Access Stock Search via \*\*Stock Screen\*\* in the main navigation:
- \*\*Stock Screens\*\*: Browse Quick Screens and your Saved Searches
- \*\*Build Custom Screen\*\*: Create screens with all available filters

\*\*Important\*\*: Start simple. One or two filters often produces better results than a complex screen with many restrictions. You can always narrow down if you get too many matches.

## Quick Screens

The Quick Screens tab offers pre-built searches for common investment goals. \*\*Sweet Spot Stars\*\* is the most popular — it finds high-quality stocks (Quality ≥ 80) in the Sweet Spot range.

Click any Quick Screen to instantly see matching stocks.

## Available Filters

Stock Search provides 13 metric filters plus special toggles and sector/industry filtering.

### Toggle Filters

| Filter | What It Does |
|--------|-------------|
| \*\*Sweet Spot\*\* | Auto-sets PAR range to MIPAR+5% to MIPAR+10% |
| \*\*Triple Play\*\* | Filters for high PAR, Quality, and PROVE combined |

### Sector & Industry

Filter by economic sector and/or specific industries. Select one or more sectors, then optionally narrow to specific industries within those sectors.

### Metric Filters

All metric filters accept minimum and/or maximum values:

| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| \*\*PAR\*\* | Projected Annual Return (%) |
| \*\*Quality\*\* | Overall quality score (0-100) |
| \*\*PROVE\*\* | Projected Return on Value (%) |
| \*\*Manifest Rank\*\* | Overall ranking percentile (0-100) |
| \*\*Financial Strength\*\* | Balance sheet health (0-100%) |
| \*\*Growth Forecast\*\* | Projected sales growth (%) |
| \*\*Revenue (TTM)\*\* | Trailing twelve months revenue |
| \*\*EPS Stability\*\* | Earnings consistency score (0-100) |
| \*\*% From 52 Week Low\*\* | Distance from yearly low (%) |
| \*\*RSI\*\* | Relative Strength Index, momentum (0-100) |
| \*\*Projected Yield\*\* | Expected dividend yield (%) |
| \*\*Core Score\*\* | Core investment quality metric |
| \*\*Current Price\*\* | Stock price per share |

## Building Effective Screens

### The "Less is More" Approach

1. \*\*Start with one filter\*\*: Try Quality \> 70 or enable Sweet Spot
2. \*\*Review results\*\*: See how many companies match
3. \*\*Add another filter only if needed\*\*: Too many results? Add one more criterion
4. \*\*Repeat until manageable\*\*: Stop when you have a reviewable list

### Example: Finding Quality Stocks

\*\*Step 1\*\* — Start simple:
- Quality: \> 70
- \*Result: ~200 companies\*

\*\*Step 2\*\* — Still too many? Add PAR focus:
- Quality: \> 70
- PAR: \> 12%
- \*Result: ~80 companies\*

\*\*Step 3\*\* — Want fewer? Add one more:
- Quality: \> 70
- PAR: \> 12%
- Financial Strength: \> 75%
- \*Result: ~40 companies\*

\*\*Stop here.\*\* 40 companies is a reviewable list. Adding more filters risks eliminating good candidates.

### Sweet Spot Strategy

The simplest effective screen: Enable \*\*Sweet Spot\*\* and set \*\*Quality \> 80\*\*. This targets the optimal PAR range with high-quality companies — often the best starting point.

## Filter Guidelines

### Quality Score
| Range | Level | Typical Use |
|-------|-------|-------------|
| 80+ | Excellent | Core holdings, conservative portfolios |
| 65-80 | Good | Balanced approach |
| 50-65 | Average | Speculative positions only |
| \<50 | Below Average | Generally avoid |

### Financial Strength
| Range | Strength | Guidance |
|-------|----------|----------|
| 80%+ | Excellent | Ideal for core holdings |
| 60-80% | Good | Acceptable for most portfolios |
| 40-60% | Moderate | Use caution, smaller positions |
| \<40% | Weak | Generally avoid |

### PAR vs. MIPAR
- \*\*MIPAR+5% to MIPAR+10%\*\*: Sweet Spot — ideal buying zone
- \*\*Above MIPAR+10%\*\*: Investigate thoroughly — projections may be optimistic
- \*\*Below MIPAR+5%\*\*: Likely overpriced relative to market expectations

## Common Mistakes

### Over-Filtering
The most common mistake. If your screen returns few or no results, remove filters rather than loosening thresholds. Quality candidates get eliminated by too many restrictions.

### Ignoring MIPAR Context
PAR targets should relate to current MIPAR. A 15% PAR means different things when MIPAR is 8% vs. 12%. Always consider PAR relative to market conditions.

### Chasing High PAR
Don't sacrifice quality for high PAR. A 25% PAR with 45 Quality often signals problems with the underlying projections.

## Saving and Managing Screens

- \*\*Name descriptively\*\*: "Quality 70+ Sweet Spot" beats "My Screen"
- \*\*Save successful screens\*\*: Build a library for different market conditions
- \*\*Review periodically\*\*: MIPAR changes daily, affecting PAR-based screens

## Learn More

- [Stock Analysis Fundamentals](/guide/getting-started/reading-company-page) - Evaluate screen results
- [Portfolio Construction](/guide/making-decisions/portfolio-design) - Turn screens into portfolio additions
- [MIPAR and Market Timing](/guide/core-concepts/mipar) - Understand market context
- [Quality Rating Deep Dive](/guide/core-concepts/quality-rating) - Master the quality system