Bearish Marubozu Candlestick Pattern: The Candles Before Nvidia's 2022 Slide and Lululemon's 2024 Drop

On December 1, 2021, the day the first U.S. Omicron case was confirmed, Nvidia opened higher, sold off all day and closed six cents above its low: a bearish marubozu, 5.8% under its record close. Sold at that close with a stop above its high, the trade risked 5.9%. By May 24, 2022 the stock was down 48.6%.

On May 15, 2024, Lululemon printed one at its falling 21-day average. The risk was 2.2%. By August 5, the day of the global sell-off, the stock was down 32.7%.

Nvidia stayed under its candle's high for 372 sessions and Lululemon for 142. Here is how to read a bearish marubozu, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the fall cost#

A bearish marubozu is a sell signal for holders and an entry for short sellers.

Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The bearish marubozu in one table#

A bearish marubozu is one long red candle with almost no shadows. It opens near the day's high and closes near the day's low: sellers held the price down all session. It is the bullish marubozu turned upside down.

These are the rules the VCP Scanner terminal uses to name a bearish marubozu on a daily chart.

Nvidia's body was 93% of its range, with a 7-cent upper shadow and a 6-cent lower one. Lululemon's was 92%, with a 3-cent upper shadow.

The position rule is the difference from most candles. A shooting star or a bearish engulfing has to come after a rally. A marubozu doesn't, so where it forms is your call: the terminal's key-level switch keeps the ones at a level.

Bearish marubozu and its look-alikes#

The second day of a bearish kicker can also be a marubozu, and so can each day of three black crows. The terminal shows every name it finds on a bar, so one day can carry two.

Example 1: Nvidia (NVDA) near its 2021 top, Dec 1, 2021#

Open NVDA in the VCP Scanner terminal →

The day before, Fed Chair Jerome Powell had said the Fed would consider ending its bond buying sooner. On Dec 1 stocks rallied in the morning, then reversed when the first U.S. case of the Omicron variant was confirmed; the Nasdaq closed down 1.8%. Nvidia fell from the open to the close.

What followed:

• Next session (Dec 2): closed at 32.13, +2.2%, after a high of 32.48, 81 cents under the stop. It is the closest Nvidia came to the stop in the fall.
• Dec 3: 30.69, the first close below the marubozu's low of 31.38.
• Ten sessions later (Dec 15): 30.46, −3.1%.
• Dec 13 and Jan 13, 2022: two more bearish marubozus, down 6.8% and 5.1%. They are the other two dots in the chart.
• Jan 27, 2022: 21.94, −30.2%, its lowest close since October 2021.
• May 24, 2022: 16.15, −48.6%, its lowest close since May 2021. That is 8.3 times the 1.85 risked on each share.
• The high of 33.29 held for 372 sessions, until May 25, 2023, when Nvidia jumped 24% on its AI-chip forecast.

Its one 5% gap in the fall came on Feb 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine: Nvidia opened 6.1% lower, then closed the day 6.1% higher.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the short at 270 shares, about $8,489. At the May 24, 2022 close those shares were up $4,128.

Example 2: Lululemon (LULU) at its falling 21-day average, May 15, 2024#

Open LULU in the VCP Scanner terminal →

Lululemon had fallen 15.8% on Mar 22, 2024, when its outlook came in lighter than expected. In May it bounced up to its falling 21-day average. This candle opened three cents under the day's high, just under the average, and sold off. The terminal names it an outside day too: its range covered the day before.

What followed:

• Next session (May 16): closed at 338.28, −2.5%, on another bearish marubozu, the first close below the candle's low of 346.24. It is the dot just right of the candle.
• May 22: −7.2%, after Lululemon said its chief product officer was leaving.
• Ten sessions later (May 30): 302.90, −12.7%.
• Jun 6: a 9.3% gap up the day after its earnings, to a high of 337.76, still 16.77 under the stop.
• Aug 5: 233.40, −32.7%, its lowest close since May 2020, on the day of the global sell-off. That is 14.8 times the 7.68 risked on each share.
• The high of 354.53 held for 142 sessions, until Dec 6, 2024, when Lululemon gapped up 9.3% after its earnings.

There was not one 5% gap down on the way to Aug 5; the only 5% gap, on Jun 6, went the other way.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the short at 65 shares, about $22,545. At the Aug 5 close those shares were up $7,374.

Where a bearish marubozu counts: key levels#

A bearish marubozu at a level is sellers defending it. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the ones that close back below one of these:

Lululemon's came at the 21-day EMA from below: it rallied up to its falling 21-day average and closed well under it. It shows with the switch on, and the inspector reads "at the 21-day EMA from below". Nvidia's came at none of these levels. To see ones like it, turn Only at a key level off.

Nvidia was in Stage 2, Stan Weinstein's advancing stage, so its marubozu came near the top of an uptrend. Lululemon was in Stage 4, the declining stage, so its marubozu ended a bounce inside a downtrend.

How to trade a bearish marubozu#

1. Pick the place. A marubozu counts anywhere, so the place is your filter. Look for it at a level, near a top or at the end of a bounce in a downtrend, like Lululemon's at its falling 21-day average.
2. Check the bar. It is red, its body is at least 90% of its range, and its range is at least one 14-day ATR. Nvidia's body was 93% of its range and Lululemon's 92%.
3. Choose your entry. Holders sell or tighten their stop at the close, and some short sellers enter there. Others wait for a close below its low. Lululemon gave that close the next session and Nvidia two sessions later.
4. Put the stop above the high. The high sits a whole range above the close, so the stop is wider than a shooting star's on the same stock. Nvidia's risk was 5.9% and Lululemon's 2.2%.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (stop − entry). With $500 at risk on Lululemon: 500 ÷ (354.53 − 346.85) = 65 shares.

Find bearish marubozu candles on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example NVDA or LULU.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Bearish marubozu, or use the Bearish quick pick for every bearish name.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every bearish marubozu on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest bearish marubozu. A dot marks each one above its high, and the selected one shows its stop on the price scale.
• The inspector lists the date, close, stop, risk to stop, level, volume and stage. Walk through the others with the ← and → keys.
• Mark the ones you care about with the drawing tools. The arrows in the charts above are the Arrow Marker (Alt+A): click where the arrow starts, then click the candle.

Candles are free, on daily, weekly and monthly charts.

Bottom line#

• A bearish marubozu is one long red candle with almost no shadows: sellers held the price down from the open to the close.
• Nvidia's came near its 2021 top and Lululemon's at its falling 21-day average in 2024. They risked 5.9% and 2.2%, and the stocks fell 48.6% and 32.7% within 120 sessions.
• The candle's high is the stop. It defines your risk before you take the trade.

Data: VCPScanner daily market data through Nov 3, 2026, split-adjusted. The examples are for education, not recommendations.