Pennant
A pennant is a brief continuation pattern: a sharp advance (the pole) followed by a small, symmetrical consolidation whose boundaries converge. It is the short, coiled cousin of the flag: the pause is tighter and resolves faster.
- Bias
- Bullish
- Category
- Chart Patterns
- Scan cadence
- Every close
What has to be true for a Pennant to trigger
- A sharp, high-volume advance forming the pole
- A small converging consolidation directly after it
- The pennant staying tight and brief
- Volume contracting sharply through the pennant
How PatternGrade grades it
A cleaner pole, a tighter and shorter pennant, and clearer volume contraction 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 Pennant looks like in practice
A stock jumps 18% in four sessions on volume five times its average. Over the following six sessions it makes a series of lower highs and higher lows, a tiny converging range spanning about 4% of price, while volume falls back to below average. The pennant occupies less than a week and sits near the top of the pole rather than sagging back into it.
How a Pennant fails
The consolidation deepens or drags. A pennant that retraces well past a third of the pole has stopped describing a pause, and one that lasts a month is a triangle, not a pennant. The whole idea is a brief hesitation inside an active move. Both failures show up as volume: a pennant should form on visibly declining volume, and rising volume inside the consolidation says supply is arriving rather than drying up.
What this pattern is telling you
Pennants are short by definition. One that drags on has become a triangle, and the continuation logic weakens the longer it takes.
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 Pennant 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.
Join the waitlist to be invited when sign-ups reopen and see the current Pennant list, or browse all 75 patterns.
Pennant FAQ
What is the difference between a flag and a pennant?
A flag drifts against the trend in a roughly parallel channel; a pennant converges into a small triangle. Both are short continuation pauses after a sharp move.
What is the difference between a flag and a pennant?
The shape of the consolidation. A flag drifts in a roughly parallel channel against the trend; a pennant converges to a point. Functionally they are treated as the same idea, a brief pause after a sharp move, and both are graded on pole quality, retrace depth, and volume contraction.
How long should a pennant last?
Typically one to three weeks on daily bars, and often less. Pennants are the shortest of the continuation patterns. Past about three weeks the momentum argument has weakened and the structure is better read as a triangle.
What is the target on a pennant?
The conventional measured move projects the pole's height from the breakout point. PatternGrade shows it as a reference level derived from the geometry. Poles are measured from the start of the sharp move, not from the prior base, and the projection is a geometric construction rather than a forecast.
Do pennants work in downtrends?
Yes. The bearish version is a brief converging consolidation after a sharp decline, which PatternGrade scans separately as a bearish pennant. The structure and grading logic are the same, inverted.
Patterns a Pennant is mistaken for
- Bull Flag
- A flag's boundaries are roughly parallel; a pennant's converge. Same pole, different consolidation shape, and in practice they are graded on the same qualities.
- Symmetric Triangle
- A pennant is short, days to two weeks, and requires a steep pole. A symmetrical triangle is a larger structure over weeks to months with no pole requirement.
- High Tight Flag
- A high tight flag needs a near-doubling in weeks. A pennant only needs a sharp move. The magnitude of the pole is what separates them.
- Inside Bar
- An inside bar is a single contained session. A pennant is a multi-session converging range. A pennant often contains inside bars.
Last reviewed . Structure and grading for the Pennant are reviewed against the scanner's own rules.