ConceptUpdated 2026-10-19
Trailing stop: the daily close below the 8 EMA
After the first trims, the remainder rides until the stock closes a day below its 8 EMA. It's a rule that lets winners run without guessing the top.
A trailing stop follows price up, so you never have to guess where a move ends.
The rule I use
Once a position has been trimmed, the rest exits on a daily close below the daily 8 EMA. A close, not an intraday dip: the stock has to finish the day below it.
Alongside that sits a hard stop order, ratcheted up over time (see the stop). It protects against a fast drop during the day.
In the record
- MRVL: trimmed twice into strength, then the rest was trailed with the 8 EMA and a raised stop. The stop was hit during the October 8 risk-off day.
- The same trail was running on other names that day. See the October 8 market note.
Why a moving average
It's mechanical and visible to everyone, and it adapts as the stock moves. A fixed price target caps your winners. The trail lets the market decide when the move is done.
Trades that cite this
2 finished · win rate 100% · expectancy +2.93R · total +5.85R
Discussed in
Related
- Exits only from the planNo selling except a stop, a written trim, or the written trail. A discretionary sell is allowed only if it's logged the same day as a named exception.
- Moving averages: the 8, 21, 50, and 200-weekA moving average smooths price into a trend line. Four of them do most of the work in this record: the daily 8 EMA, 21 EMA, 50 SMA, and the 200-week VWMA.
- Partial profits and the break-even stopSell part of the position into strength, then move the stop on the rest to entry. The trade can no longer become a real loser, and the remainder gets room to run.