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Technical Indicators

Fri, Jun 6th, 2025
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The descriptions, formulas, and parameters shown below apply to both Interactive Charts and Snapshot Charts, unless noted. Please note that some of the parameters may be slightly different between the two versions of charts.
Studies noted with * are available only in Snapshot Charts and those noted with ^ are available only in Interactive Charts.
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Moving Average Ribbon

Indicator Type: Overlay

Chart Type: Interactive Only

The Moving Average Ribbon is simply a way to plot several moving averages with different look-back periods on a chart at once. The group of moving average lines look like a ribbon moving across the chart. These moving averages can be analyzed separately or as a group for trend identification and trend change signals.

Sample Chart:

Moving Average Ribbon

Since the Moving Average Ribbon is just a collection of moving averages, the interpretation is similar to that used with one or two moving averages. With single moving averages, you can look at the direction of the moving average and whether it is above or below the price bars. With two moving averages, you can look for crossovers of the short-term MA over the long-term MA and vice versa. The ribbon allows you to look at these relationships for multiple moving averages at once:

  • If all the averages are moving in the same direction, this indicates a strong trend. The longer- and shorter-term lines are all in agreement about the direction of the trend. If all the moving average lines in the ribbon are moving upward, prices are increasing in all timeframes and the security is likely in an uptrend.
  • If the shorter-term lines cross above the longer-term lines, this signals a new uptrend; a downtrend is indicated when shorter-term moving average lines cross below the longer-term ones. Chartists can also look for price bars to cross above or below the various moving average lines in the ribbon.

The ribbon's width - the distance between the moving average lines in the ribbon - can also provide information for traders:

  • When all moving average lines are running in parallel (the lines are evenly spaced over time), this indicates a strong trend.
  • If the ribbon is expanding (the moving average lines are getting farther apart over time), this could mark the end of the current trend.
  • If the ribbon is contracting (the moving average lines are getting closer together or even crossing), this can indicate the start of a new trend.

The responsiveness of the ribbon can be adjusted by changing the number of periods in the moving averages (MAs with fewer periods will react more quickly than those with more periods).

Calculation:

By default, the overlay uses 10 simple MAs, spaced 5 periods apart, ranging between 20 and 65 periods. The number of periods in the shortest moving average, the Increment of periods between each line, and the number of moving averages (Count) can all be adjusted to meet your technical analysis needs.

The line colors default to rainbow order with the shortest moving average set to red, the second shortest set to orange, and so on, but these line colors can also be adjusted.

Default Parameters:

Source: Close (Moving Averages are based on Open, High, Low, Close, HL/2, HLC/3, OHLC/4, HLCC/4)
Period: 20 (the period for the shortest Moving Average)
Increment: 5 (the number of periods between each Moving Average)
Count: 10 (the number of Moving Averages to show on the chart, valid values are 1-10)
Offset: 0

Source: https://school.stockcharts.com/

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