Power Play: Tight Consolidation and Re-Entry After Doubling in 8 Weeks
A faithful guide to Minervini's Power Play: a 100%+ move in under 8 weeks, a shallow <=20% consolidation with Tight Closes and volume dry-up, and re-entry only after a pivot breakout or Follow-up Buy Point.
- Power Play definition (Minervini's own words): the stock gains 100%+ within 8 weeks on huge volume, then enters a consolidation that does not correct more than 20%, lasting about 3–6 weeks (as little as 10–12 days).
- The catalyst can be earnings, an FDA approval, or a major contract — or no news at all (unexplained strength), which is often the most telling of all.
- Consolidation quality rests on three things: ≤20% depth, weekly volume dry-up, and Tight Closes (narrow weekly closes that hold high in the range).
- Add only after the stock breaks the prior high of the consolidation (the pivot): the volume-backed breakout, and the Follow-up Buy Point on the pullback after it. Never jump in mid-consolidation.
- The strongest Power Plays follow a Primary Base (M-04) — no overhead supply, and the second leg tends to be the most explosive.
A Power Play is a strong-stock re-entry pattern after a major advance. It is not a chase signal: first the stock must rise 100% or more in less than 8 weeks, then digest the move in a shallow consolidation of 20% or less, and only then offer an entry after a volume-backed breakout above the prior high.
- Core structure
- High-volume flagpole → tight flag → pivot breakout.
- Valid traits
- ≤20% depth, volume dry-up, Tight Closes, and closes holding high.
- Entry rule
- Buy only after the breakout, or after the post-breakout Follow-up Buy Point.
- Failure signs
- Too deep, volume expands during the flag, or late-stage climactic action.
What Is a Power Play?
Most SEPA patterns are about getting positioned before the big move. The Power Play is the opposite scenario: the stock has already posted a stunning gain in a very short time, and you must judge whether there's still a valid way back in. Mark Minervini describes the Power Play as a pattern with a precise, three-part definition:
- An explosive price move on huge volume — the stock shoots up 100% or more in less than 8 weeks.
- The run-up may be driven by a major catalyst (FDA approval, litigation resolution, a new product/service, an earnings report) — or on no news at all (unexplained strength).
- The stock then moves sideways in a tight range, not correcting more than 20%, over roughly 3–6 weeks (some emerge after only 10 or 12 days).
The bar is high. A stock that doubles in under 8 weeks is already a rare bird — it signals a powerful force stepping in over a very short window. Minervini cites these cases repeatedly: Burlington Stores (+430% in 4 years), LinkedIn (+118% in 7 months), Best Buy (+947% in 19 months), TASER (+329% in 16 weeks), Pharmacyclics (+100% in 48 days, +2,600% in 43 months), Acacia Communications (+85% in 20 days). After the big move, each one printed a tight, low-volume consolidation that held high — and that consolidation is the re-entry window the Power Play hands you.
"When a stock doubles in 8 weeks, don't assume the story is over. The key is how it consolidates — if it's shallow, tight and on dry-up volume, very few want to sell up here, and you shouldn't be in a hurry to either." — paraphrased from Mark Minervini
Why Minervini Designed It This Way: Five Key Principles
Minervini distills the operating philosophy of the Power Play into a handful of questions and rules. Understand these and you won't mistake a Power Play for "chase anything that's running":
| Principle | What it means |
|---|---|
| Why require a "shallow" correction? | The shallower the pullback (≤20%), the less willing holders are to sell. A deep correction means supply is hitting the market — and the "strength" premise is broken. |
| Why hold longer than normal? | Power Plays are super-strong stocks; the second leg is often large. Apply ordinary patience and you get shaken out too early. |
| 1–3% (or more) per day | A true Power Move travels at 1–3%+ a day — the slope is steep. A slow grind doesn't qualify. |
| 50–100% first move | Minervini notes the first leg often runs 50–100%. Magnitude and speed together define the "flagpole." |
| Don't choke off too quickly | Don't set stops and targets too tight, or normal intraday noise will choke you out. Give a strong stock room to breathe. |
The Power Play's Visual Structure
Reading Consolidation Quality: Tight Closes & Volume Dry-Up
You can't judge a Power Play consolidation by "did it pull back" alone — you read its texture. When Minervini walks through Clearwater Paper, Adeptus Health and AnaptysBio, he circles the same tell over and over: Tight Closes — weekly (or daily) closes that sit very near one another and hold in the upper part of the range. It says sellers can't push price down, and the floating supply is being locked up.
- 📉 Weekly volume dry-up → active selling at the highs is fading; the pattern is healthy.
- ▭ Tight Closes → narrow, clustered closes holding high in the range — the core sign of tightness.
- 📈 Volume expanding during the consolidation → heavy churning up high (a sign of distribution); these consolidations have a lower success rate and are a warning.
Note: price and volume can only infer supply and demand — they don't directly confirm institutional intent, which individual investors cannot see. After entry, the failure of the pattern remains your stop.
✅ A valid Power Play consolidation
- Explosive leg on huge volume, steep slope (1–3%+/day)
- Correction ≤ 20%
- Volume declines week over week
- Tight Closes; closes hold in the upper half of the range
- Fundamental catalyst still intact (EPS outlook not cut)
⛔ An invalid high-level consolidation (trap)
- Ordinary volume on the move, shallow slope
- Correction beyond 25% (too deep, supply is heavy)
- Volume stays elevated (distribution)
- Closes keep sinking to the lower half of the range
- Catalyst has faded or negative news has appeared
How to Re-Enter: Add Only After the Breakout of the Prior High
The Power Play is not an "early entry" pattern. The stock has already run a long way, so the real questions are two: do you take profit, or keep holding? And if you decide to add, the discipline is singular — act only after the stock breaks the prior high of the consolidation (the pivot) on volume; never jump in mid-consolidation. Every entry Minervini cites is built on a confirmed breakout, in two forms:
(1) Pivot breakout of the tight area (prior high = standard buy point)
Treat the upper edge of the tight consolidation (the prior high) as the pivot (E-04) and buy the volume-backed breakout — the most intuitive, highest-confirmation entry. Volume on the breakout day should expand (ideally ≥ 1.5× the 50-day average); place the stop just below the lower edge of the tight area (1–2%). Representative case: Acacia Communications (dry-up in the consolidation, expansion on the breakout, +85% in 20 days).
(2) Follow-up Buy Point (second entry on the pullback)
If you miss the breakout, there's often a second chance: the stock pulls back toward the breakout level or a moving average and turns up again — a disciplined "follow-up" entry. Vapotherm and Gentium are both annotated with a Follow-up Buy Point. It gives you a rule-based way back in instead of blindly chasing the high — but still after the breakout, not before.
Squat & Reversal Recovery: Reading the Moment of Breakout
The Squat is the very tool covered in M-01 — price briefly "squatting" in a very narrow, low-volume range. What differs here is where it shows up and how you use it: M-01 emphasizes its add-to-position meaning mid-trend in a Stage 2 uptrend; here we highlight that it shows up most often right at the breakout of the pivot — what Minervini labels on his charts as Breakout Attempt – Squat: the stock tries to break out but "squats" first, looking like it might fail. Same behavior, different location — no contradiction.
Wherever it occurs, if the stock then recovers on expanding volume within a few days, Minervini calls it a Reversal Recovery, named by how many days it takes to recover: Next-Day / 2-Day / 3-Day / 4-Day Reversal Recovery, often preceded by a 1-day shakeout. A Squat that recovers with the right price/volume structure is frequently an excellent entry or add point — because it just washed out the weak holders first.
| Term | Minervini's definition | Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | A brief, very narrow, low-volume squat — most often right at the pivot (Breakout Attempt – Squat), but possible mid-trend too | Vroom, Sungy Mobile, LinkedIn |
| 1-Day Shakeout | The single-day shakeout that often accompanies the squat, flushing weak hands | BioDelivery, YY, IPG |
| Reversal Recovery | Recovers the pivot within N days (Next-Day / 2 / 3 / 4-Day) → entry signal | Micron 2012, Sungy (Next-Day), IPG (3-Day), YY (4/8-Day) |
Minervini uses the Micron Technology 2012 chart to show Tennis Ball Action, Natural Reaction, the Squat and a 2-Day Reversal Recovery all at once — the direct extension of M-01's "Tennis Ball vs. Egg." A stock that "bounces back" quickly after being pushed down (a Reversal Recovery) is tennis-ball character in action.
Power Play, Primary Base & CANSLIM
Minervini stresses that the strongest Power Plays follow a Primary Base (M-04). The Kite Pharma and Adeptus Health charts spell it out: Primary Base → sharp advance → Power Play consolidation → Buy Point. The combination satisfies three conditions at once — no overhead supply, a brand-new growth story, and institutions just beginning to step in.
Back in the CANSLIM framework, the Power Play maps to "S (Supply and Demand)" hitting an extreme:
- Supply is minimal: after doubling in 8 weeks, weak hands have largely turned over on the way up, and base holders won't sell into a shallow consolidation — the float is scarce.
- Demand is still present: dry-up consolidation means buyers are simply pausing; once it breaks out, demand returns fast and drives the second leg.
- A/D rating: a healthy Power Play consolidation usually still carries an IBD A/D of A or B — one external confirmation.
Chasing during the Power Move instead of waiting for the consolidation to mature. In the explosive leg the stock gaps day after day, your stop distance is compressed, and reward/risk is terrible. The right move: log the name when you see a Power Play form, then wait for the tight consolidation to show Tight Closes and dry-up volume before entering on the breakout of the prior high. Also stay alert — when the Base Count (M-06) has reached the 4th or 5th base, a Power-Play-like volume surge is often a Climax Run (distribution), not healthy acceleration.
Managing the Position After a Power Play
If you've held from a lower level and ridden the whole Power Play, your management shifts:
- Don't take profits during the Power Move: unless the topping signs of M-06 appear (especially a Climax Run), let the profit run (echoing "hold longer than normal").
- Raise the stop to the consolidation low: the low of the tight consolidation becomes your new stop, replacing the original entry stop.
- Consider adding on the breakout: if your cost is low enough, the consolidation breakout is an add point where reward/risk is still reasonable.
The moment a stock doubles, most people instinctively think "it's run too far, I should sell." Minervini's research shows that for genuine super-performers this instinct is usually wrong. +100% isn't a "too far" signal — it's confirmation of trend strength. The question is never "how much has it gone up," but "is the fundamental story still intact, is the pattern still tight, and has it reached a Climax yet."
- □ The prior Power Move is 100%+ in under 8 weeks, with a steep slope (1–3%+/day)
- □ Consolidation depth ≤ 20% (cancel the watch if it exceeds 25%)
- □ Volume declines week over week (dry-up)
- □ Tight Closes appear; closes hold in the upper half of the range
- □ Entry is after the prior-high breakout: pivot breakout, or the post-breakout Follow-up
- □ Fundamentals not deteriorating: latest EPS still accelerating, outlook not cut
- □ The general market is still in a Confirmed Uptrend
- □ Breakout-day volume expands to ≥ 150% of the 50-day average
- □ Stop placed just below the consolidation low (1–2%)
- □ Base Count not yet at 4–5 (avoid buying a late-stage, climactic fake acceleration)
Power Play FAQ
What is a Power Play?
A Power Play is Mark Minervini's re-entry pattern for super-strong stocks: the stock first rises 100% or more in less than 8 weeks, then forms a tight consolidation that corrects no more than 20%, and the entry comes only after a volume-backed breakout above the prior high.
Where is the Power Play buy point?
The standard buy point is after the stock breaks above the prior high of the tight consolidation on volume. If you miss that move, the second entry is the Follow-up Buy Point, when the stock pulls back after the breakout and turns up again.
Is a Power Play the same as a High Tight Flag?
Yes. The terms point to the same high-tight flag structure: a fast, high-volume flagpole followed by a shallow, tight, low-volume flag. This article uses Minervini's term, Power Play.
When should a Power Play be removed from the watchlist?
Cancel or downgrade the setup if the consolidation corrects more than 25%, volume expands instead of drying up, closes keep falling into the lower half of the range, or the stock is in a late-stage base count where the move may be a Climax Run.
Stage Three: Position Management & Selling (M Series)
M-01 Tennis Ball vs. Egg｜ M-02 Confirmations & Violations｜ M-03 Failure Reset & Re-entry｜ M-04 Primary Base｜ M-05 Power Play (this article)｜ M-06 Sell Signals & Topping Signs｜ M-07 Risk Management & Position Sizing
- Confirm the flagpole: +100% in < 8 weeks, steep slope, huge volume
- Confirm the flag: ≤20% correction, weekly volume dry-up, Tight Closes
- Add only after the prior-high breakout (pivot breakout or the Follow-up); stop below the tight-area low
- Chasing the explosive leg instead of waiting for the consolidation
- Overlooking where the Squat appears — it shows up most often at the pivot (Breakout Attempt–Squat) and needs a Reversal Recovery to confirm
- Forcing an entry when the correction is too deep (>25%); supply isn't absorbed
- The market isn't in a Confirmed Uptrend; a single strong stock often proves fleeting
- Base Count already at 4–5; Power-Play-like surges are usually Climax Runs
- Artificial volume from short squeezes, earnings days or index rebalancing — not a natural pattern
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