How confluence scoring works
The core idea behind MoonScanner is confluence — the notion that a stock flagged by one scanner is a weak signal, but a stock flagged by multiple different scanners at once is a much stronger signal. The confluence score is how MoonScanner quantifies that.
This post explains what the score means and why the confluence bonus matters — without getting into the exact math, which shifts as the scoring model evolves.
The basics
When a stock appears in the scanner feed, MoonScanner looks at it across multiple categories — technical, options flow, insider activity, social sentiment, catalysts, and institutional signals — and combines them into a single number.
Score range: 0 to 100.
The higher the number, the more confluence across the full signal set. Technical context and options flow carry more weight than sentiment or catalyst data because they're more reliable as directional signals, but the whole point is that no single category can max out a stock's score on its own.
Signal labels
The numeric score maps to a human-readable label:
| Score | Signal |
|---|---|
| 75+ | STRONG BUY |
| 55–74 | BUY |
| 40–54 | WATCH |
| 30–39 | HOLD |
| 20–29 | NEUTRAL |
| Under 20 | SELL |
The thresholds are deliberately tuned to surface stocks before they make a big move, not after — that's the whole "pre-moon" positioning.
The confluence bonus
Here's where MoonScanner's scoring does something specific.
If a stock is showing massive insider buying but nothing else, it gets a meaningful score — but not as strong an overall score as a stock showing moderate insider activity combined with unusual options flow combined with dark pool prints. The confluence bonus rewards hits across multiple different categories, which is what "confluence" actually means.
The more categories showing strong signals at once, the bigger the bonus. A few specific pairings — like options flow aligned with insider buying ("smart money alignment"), or a technical squeeze firing while options are heavy ("momentum breakout") — carry extra weight because they've historically preceded bigger moves.
Total is capped at 100 — no stock ever scores higher than 100, no matter how many signals it lights up.
This whole mechanism is why any single scanner can't dominate the feed on its own. One massive signal still only fills its own category bucket; the rest of the score has to come from elsewhere.
Scores update in real time
Enrichment data (short interest, RSI, MACD, squeeze metrics) fills in after the initial scanner pass completes. A stock might initially score in one range based on the first wave of signals, then climb as more data arrives. That's expected behavior, not a display glitch — the score reflects current confluence as data comes in.
What triggers an alert to IRC/Discord
A stock appears in the live feed when a scanner detects something noteworthy — an unusual volume spike, a sweep, a cluster buy, and so on. The score is shown alongside each alert so you can weigh the context, but alerts fire from the scanners, not from the score itself.
Built-in throttles keep the channel readable: a single noisy scanner can't flood the feed, and the same ticker won't repeat alerts in a tight window. You won't see the same stock firing the same trigger five times in an hour.
Do Free users see scores?
No. Confluence scoring is a Pro and Elite feature. On the Free tier you see raw volume activity on the top 100 most active stocks (15-minute delayed), and the Score and Signal columns show a 🔒 placeholder. To see full confluence across all scanner categories, you need Pro or higher.
This isn't artificial lock-out for its own sake — the confluence score requires data from scanners Free users don't get (options flow, insider, sentiment, dark pool). Without those, the number would be meaningless.
Reading the score in context
The score is one data point, not a trade signal. A STRONG BUY at 78 means multiple scanners are all detecting activity on the same stock simultaneously — which is interesting, but it's still up to you to figure out why those scanners are lighting up and whether the underlying situation is worth acting on.
Important: MoonScanner is a research tool, not financial advice. The confluence score aggregates publicly available data signals; it doesn't predict outcomes. Always do your own research, and consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Questions about scoring? Drop them here.
— MoonBoss
