The X-Ray Score is a quantitative put-selling research indicator on a 1-10 scale. It aggregates multiple market dimensions into a single number that reflects how attractive a stock currently looks for Cash-Secured Put strategies. It is not a recommendation to trade — it is a research filter to narrow down 600+ tickers to the strongest candidates.
Selling a put option on a stock you would be willing to own, backed by cash. You collect a premium upfront. If the stock stays above the strike price, you keep the premium. If it drops below, you buy the stock at a discount. It is a popular income strategy for patient investors. Read more in our Cash-Secured Put explainer.
Regime — Whether the stock trades above (Bullish) or below (Bearish) its 200-day moving average. Put-selling performs significantly better in bullish regimes because trend acts as a tailwind. Stocks below their SMA200 receive a score penalty. Read more about SMA200.
SMA200 Distance — How far the current price sits from the 200-day average, expressed as a percentage. A stock 15% above its SMA200 is in a strong uptrend. A stock barely above it might be on the edge. Extreme distances in either direction reduce the score because they signal overextension.
Volatility — Current price volatility relative to the stock's own 100-day historical norm (ATR rank). High volatility means richer premiums but also higher assignment risk. Low volatility means thin premiums but more predictable behavior. The score rewards balanced volatility regimes.
Momentum — Direction and acceleration of recent price movement. Accelerating upward momentum earns a bonus; decelerating or turning momentum reduces the score. This is measured through a combination of MACD histogram delta, RSI positioning, and Stochastic %K behavior.
Candlestick reversal patterns are detected on recent daily candles — Hammer, Morning Star, Bullish Engulfing, Doji at support, and others. Patterns found near SMA200 support receive additional weight because they often mark turning points. Bearish patterns (Black Cloud Cover, Hanging Man) reduce the score.
The score gives additional weight to crossover confirmations — situations where momentum indicators have just turned from bearish to bullish (or vice versa). A stock that is rebounding from an oversold condition earns an origin bonus. A stock that has been overbought for weeks receives an origin malus. This prevents the score from rewarding stale conditions.
All layers combine into a raw score which is then clipped to the 1.0-10.0 range and rounded to one decimal. The result:
The X-Ray Score deliberately excludes: earnings risk windows (checked separately before any trade), implied volatility rank (requires options chain data not available for free), insider transactions, and fundamental valuation. These are handled by our X-Ray tool's earnings warning or belong in a separate research layer.
Scores are recalculated every night after market close on 600+ US-listed stocks. Past scores do not predict future outcomes. The methodology is fixed but the underlying data moves every session. A stock that scored 9 last week can drop to 4 today if its momentum turned.