Bullish Abandoned Baby Pattern: The Doji Between Two Gaps Before PDD's 58% Rally

On September 21, 2023, the day after the Fed signalled rates would stay higher for longer, PDD gapped down below the prior day's low and printed a doji under its early-September low. The next morning it gapped back up: a bullish abandoned baby. Bought at that close with a stop under the doji's low, the trade risked 4.9%. By January 11, 2024 PDD was up 57.8%, at its highest close since March 2021.

On May 4, 2023, the day regional banks sold off on PacWest's sale talks, Charles Schwab printed the same doji between two gaps, 65 cents above its March bank-crisis low. That trade risked 7.3%. By July 20, 2023 Schwab was up 38.0%, at its highest close since before Silicon Valley Bank failed.

An abandoned baby is a selling day, a stalled day left alone below it, and a gap back up. It is rare. Here is how to read one, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the abandoned babies did#

The $10,000 and reward rows use the 120-session numbers. Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The bullish abandoned baby in one table#

A bullish abandoned baby is three daily candles. A long red day, then a doji that opens with a gap and never trades back up to that day's low, then a green day that opens with a gap and never trades back down to the doji's high.

These are the rules the VCP Scanner terminal uses to name a bullish abandoned baby on a daily chart.

Both gaps must stay open all session. Schwab's first gap was 15 cents: its doji's high of 47.60 against day 1's low of 47.75.

The bullish abandoned baby and its look-alikes#

When day 3 closes above day 1's midpoint, an abandoned baby is also a morning doji star and a morning star, and the terminal lists those names under Also. Both examples below were. The terminal names it an abandoned baby first because it is the rarer, stricter shape. Day 3 opening above the doji is also a gap up when it clears the doji's high by a tenth of an ATR.

Example 1: PDD Holdings (PDD) at a prior low, Sep 20 to 22, 2023#

Open PDD in the VCP Scanner terminal →

PDD owns Temu and Pinduoduo, and it had climbed from 66.40 in late June. Day 1 was Fed day: rates were held, with a signal that they would stay high for longer. On day 2 the S&P 500 fell 1.6%, its worst day since March, as the 10-year Treasury yield hit a 16-year high. PDD opened 2.7% lower, traded under its Sep 7 low and closed almost where it opened. On day 3 it opened 3.9% higher, above the doji's whole range.

What followed:

• Next session (Sep 25): closed at 96.69, up 0.8%.
• First close above the pattern's high (Sep 29): 98.07, five sessions later.
• Ten sessions later (Oct 6): 105.64, +10.1%, its highest close since Sep 7, 2021.
• Dec 18, 2023: 148.41, +54.7%, its highest close since Mar 17, 2021.
• Jan 11, 2024: 151.33, +57.8%, its highest close since Mar 16, 2021. That is 11.7 times the 4.72 risked on each share.
• The stop held 234 sessions, until Aug 28, 2024. On Nov 6, 2026 PDD closed at 83.03.

One 5% gap up did about a third of the climb: Nov 28, 2023, +14.9%, the morning of PDD's third-quarter report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 105 shares, about $10,073. At the Jan 11, 2024 close those shares were up $5,817.

Example 2: Charles Schwab (SCHW) at its bank-crisis low, May 3 to 5, 2023#

Open SCHW in the VCP Scanner terminal →

Schwab fell hard in March 2023 when Silicon Valley Bank failed, on worries about the paper losses in its bond holdings. On May 4, after PacWest said it was weighing a sale, regional banks sold off again and Schwab traded down to 45.65, 65 cents above its March 13 low. The next day regional banks rebounded, and Schwab opened 3.7% higher, above the doji's whole range.

What followed:

• Next session (May 8): closed at 47.63, down 3.3%.
• First close above the pattern's high (May 15): 50.94, six sessions later.
• Ten sessions later (May 19): 51.67, +4.9%.
• Jul 20, 2023: 67.94, +38.0%, its highest close since Mar 8, 2023, before Silicon Valley Bank failed. That is 5.2 times the 3.59 risked on each share.
• The stop was never hit. The lowest Schwab has traded since is 46.55. On Nov 6, 2026 it closed at 91.49, 85.8% above day 3's close.

One 5% gap up did about three-tenths of the climb: Jul 18, 2023, +10.2%, the morning of Schwab's second-quarter report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 139 shares, about $6,844. At the Jul 20, 2023 close those shares were up $2,599.

Where a bullish abandoned baby counts: key levels#

A bullish abandoned baby at a level shows buyers stepping in at support. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the patterns at one of these:

PDD's doji undercut the Sep 7 low and the pattern closed back above it, so it shows with the switch on. Schwab's sat near its March low but not under it, so it is not at a level. To see patterns like Schwab's, turn Only at a key level off.

PDD was in Stage 2, Stan Weinstein's advancing stage, where the stock trades above a rising 30-week average: the baby marked the end of a pullback. Schwab was in Stage 4, the declining stage: the baby marked a bottom.

How to trade a bullish abandoned baby#

1. Find the doji alone. After a long red day, look for a doji whose whole range sits below that day's low.
2. Wait for the gap back up. Day 3 must be green and stay above the doji's high all session.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders buy day 3's close. Others wait for a close above the pattern's high. PDD gave that close five sessions later, Schwab six.
4. Put the stop under the doji's low. The terminal draws it there. The doji is the pattern's low.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on PDD: 500 ÷ (95.93 − 91.21) = 105 shares.

Expect a shaky start sometimes: Schwab fell 3.3% the session after its baby, then took six sessions to close above the pattern.

Find the bullish abandoned baby on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example PDD or SCHW.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Bullish abandoned baby.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every one on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest one and shades its three days. A dot marks it under its low, and the selected one shows its stop on the price scale.
• The inspector lists the close, stop, risk to stop, level, volume and stage, and other names under Also. 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 bullish abandoned baby is a long red day, a doji gapped below it, and a green day gapped back above the doji. It is rare.
• PDD's at its September 2023 prior low and Schwab's at its May 2023 bank-crisis low risked 4.9% and 7.3%. PDD rose 57.8% within 120 sessions, Schwab 38.0% within 60.
• The doji's low is the stop. It defines your risk before you take the trade.

Data: VCPScanner daily market data through Nov 6, 2026, split-adjusted. The examples are for education, not recommendations.