What Is a Stock Screener, and How to Use One to Find Opportunities
A stock screener filters hundreds of stocks by criteria you set — score, sector, rating, and more — instead of checking them one by one. A guide to using StockIQ's screener effectively.
The problem a stock screener solves
There are thousands of stocks trading on the S&P 500, NASDAQ, and NYSE alone — far too many to check individually. A stock screener turns the question from "which stocks are good?" into "which stocks meet the criteria I define?" — a filtering tool, not a recommendation engine. It narrows thousands of stocks down to a short list that's actually worth researching in depth.
Which criteria are worth combining
StockIQ's screener lets you filter by AI score range (0-100), sector, rating (Strong/Moderate/Weak), and sort by any of the 7 scoring categories. A common, useful combination: a score above 70 (Strong) within a specific sector you're interested in — that gives you a focused list instead of scrolling through hundreds of irrelevant results.
What a screener doesn't do
A screener filters based on data that already exists — it doesn't forecast future returns and doesn't replace deep analysis of the stocks it returns. A result that meets your criteria is a starting point for research, not a final conclusion. Always open the full analysis page for any stock that interests you from the results, rather than relying only on the summary row in the screener table.
A practical tip
Start broad (e.g., all sectors, score above 60) and narrow down gradually. Filtering too aggressively from the start (score above 85, for example) can return an empty or very short list, since very few stocks clear that bar simultaneously across every category.
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The information in this guide is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Full details on the disclaimer page.