Breakaway Gap
A breakaway gap is a gap that occurs at the edge of a consolidation, carrying price out of the range and starting a new trend. It differs from an ordinary gap by location: it happens at a structurally meaningful level and usually on heavy volume.
- Bias
- Bullish
- Category
- Gaps & Islands
- Scan cadence
- Every close
What has to be true for a Breakaway Gap to trigger
- A prior base or defined range
- A gap carrying price beyond the boundary of that range
- Heavy volume confirming the break
- The gap holding rather than filling immediately
How PatternGrade grades it
A better-defined prior range, a larger gap and heavier confirming volume raise the grade.
Every scanner grades its hits A+, A or B from the pattern's own measurable structure. The grading is deterministic — the same chart always produces the same grade. It describes how closely the chart matches the pattern, not how likely anything is to happen; no hit rate or probability is attached to a grade. The reasoning is set out in the methodology.
What a Breakaway Gap looks like in practice
A stock spends nine weeks between $30 and $34 on steadily declining volume. It closes at $33.60 and opens the next session at $36.40, clear of the entire range, on volume five times average, then closes at $37.10. The range that contained it for two months is now entirely below, and price never re-enters it over the following sessions.
How a Breakaway Gap fails
Price falls back into the range within a few sessions. That converts what looked like a breakaway into an exhaustion gap, and a failed gap out of a long base is a genuinely bearish development. Everyone who bought the gap is now trapped. The tell is the close: a breakaway gap that closes near the low of its session, having given back most of the opening move, rarely holds.
What this pattern is telling you
Breakaway gaps are only identifiable as such in hindsight. The same gap becomes an exhaustion gap if the move ends there instead of beginning.
PatternGrade is not a financial advisor and does not give buy or sell recommendations. Targets and stops shown on a pattern are reference levels derived from its geometry, not advice.
How to scan for Breakaway Gap setups
PatternGrade rescans every liquid US stock (~4,500 names) for this pattern after every close and returns the hits as a graded list, with the pattern drawn on each chart, so you review setups rather than hunt for them.
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Breakaway Gap FAQ
What is a breakaway gap?
A gap that carries price out of a consolidation on heavy volume, typically marking the start of a new trend rather than a pause within one.
What makes a gap a breakaway gap?
Its position. It must occur at the edge of a consolidation and carry price out of that range, ideally on heavy volume. The same size gap in the middle of an existing trend is a runaway gap, and at the end of an extended move it is an exhaustion gap. Location is what distinguishes the three.
Do breakaway gaps get filled?
Less often than ordinary gaps, which is the main practical reason the distinction is drawn. The argument is that a genuine repricing has occurred, so there is no reason for the stock to return. That said, 'less often' is not 'never', and the range floor is still the level that matters.
What volume should a breakaway gap have?
Heavy. Several times average is typical, and volume is the primary evidence that the move reflects real repricing rather than a thin open. A breakaway gap on ordinary volume is the version most likely to fill.
How do I tell a breakaway from an exhaustion gap?
Mostly by what preceded it. A gap out of a long, quiet base is a breakaway; a gap after an already extended run is far more likely to be exhaustion. In real time the distinction is genuinely ambiguous, which is why PatternGrade weights the prior consolidation and the trend leading into it.
Patterns a Breakaway Gap is mistaken for
- Gap Up
- A gap up can happen anywhere. A breakaway gap specifically exits a defined consolidation, which is what gives it structural meaning.
- Consolidation Breakout
- A consolidation breakout clears the range with a close. A breakaway gap clears it by opening beyond it. Same event, different mechanics, and the gap version leaves no orderly retest.
- Island Reversal
- An island needs a second, opposing gap. A breakaway gap is one-directional and continues the move.
Last reviewed . Structure and grading for the Breakaway Gap are reviewed against the scanner's own rules.