Bullish Harami Pattern: The Candles at Upstart's 2023 Bottom and Okta's 2026 Low

On May 3, 2023, 97.0% below its 2021 high, Upstart printed a bullish harami. Bought at that close with a stop under its low, the trade risked 2.3%. By August 1 the stock was up 490.4%.

On April 13, 2026, Okta printed one at a fresh three-month low. The risk was 4.3%. By October 1 the stock was up 224.8%.

Neither stock has traded below its harami's low since. Here is how to read a bullish harami, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What $10,000 became#

Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The bullish harami in one table#

A bullish harami is two daily candles: a long red day, then a small body that opens and closes inside the red body. Sellers ran the first day. On the second they could not push the price back down to the first day's close. Harami is Japanese for pregnant: the small body sits inside the big one.

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

Only the bodies have to fit. Day 2's shadows can poke outside: Upstart's second day traded down to 11.93, under the red day's low of 12.01.

Day 2's colour does not matter. Both second days below were green. Upstart's was so small it was a doji, so the terminal also names it a bullish harami cross.

The position rule matters most. A bullish harami comes after a decline. After a rally, the mirror image (a long green day with a small body inside it) is a bearish harami.

Bullish harami and its look-alikes#

The bullish engulfing is the harami turned inside out: there the second body covers the first. Add a green third day that closes above the first day's open, and a harami becomes a three inside up.

Example 1: Upstart (UPST) at its 2023 bottom, May 3, 2023#

Open UPST in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (May 4): closed at 12.46, +2.0%. Its low of 12.01 is the lowest Upstart has traded since.
• Two sessions later (May 5): 13.24, the first close above the pattern's high of 13.02.
• Ten sessions later (May 17): 21.39, +75.2%.
• Jul 31: 68.69, +462.6%.
• Aug 1: 72.09, +490.4%. That is 213.9 times the 0.28 risked on each share.
• The low of 11.93 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 Upstart closed at 21.37, 75.0% above the harami's close.

A tenth of the run to Jul 31 was one gap: Upstart opened 39.4% higher on May 10, the session after its May 9 earnings report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 1,785 shares, about $21,795. At the Aug 1, 2023 close those shares were up $106,886.

Example 2: Okta (OKTA) at its 2026 low, Apr 13, 2026#

Open OKTA in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Apr 14): closed at 64.09, −2.1%. Its low of 63.44 is the lowest Okta has traded since.
• Three sessions later (Apr 16): 72.01, the first close above the pattern's high of 68.50.
• Ten sessions later (Apr 27): 76.14, +16.3%.
• Jul 9: 148.84, +127.4%.
• Oct 1: 212.63, +224.8%. That is 52.6 times the 2.80 risked on each share.
• The low of 62.66 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 Okta closed at 189.68, 189.8% above the harami's close.

Two earnings gaps did about a third of the run to Oct 1: Okta opened 13.5% higher on May 29 and 23.6% higher on Aug 27, each the session after an earnings report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 178 shares, about $11,652. At the Oct 1, 2026 close those shares were up $26,196.

Where a bullish harami counts: key levels#

A bullish harami on a level is a test of that level. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the haramis that close back above one of these:

Upstart's and Okta's haramis both came at fresh three-month lows, on none of these levels. To see haramis like these, turn Only at a key level off.

Both stocks were in Stage 4, Stan Weinstein's declining stage: the stock trades below a falling 30-week average. These haramis marked the end of a downtrend, not a pullback inside an uptrend.

How to trade a bullish harami#

1. Find the low. A bullish harami comes after a decline. Look for it at a prior low, a rising average or a fresh multi-month low, like Upstart's in 2023 and Okta's in 2026.
2. Check the bodies. A long red body, then a small body inside it. Upstart's 0.09 body sat inside a 0.78 red one, and Okta's 2.16 inside 5.48.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders buy day 2's close. Others wait for a close above the pattern's high, usually day 1's. Upstart gave that close two sessions later and Okta three.
4. Put the stop under the low. Under the lower of the two lows (Okta's was day 1's, Upstart's day 2's), or under the lowest low of the test if price went lower earlier in it. The terminal calls this "the low, test included".
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on Okta: 500 ÷ (65.46 − 62.66) = 178 shares.

Find bullish haramis on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example UPST or OKTA.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Bullish harami, or use the Bullish quick pick for every bullish candle on the chart.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every bullish harami on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest bullish harami. A dot marks each one 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. 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 harami is a long red day followed by a small body inside it: the selling stalled, and the second day could not reach the first day's close.
• Upstart's marked its 2023 bottom and Okta's its April 2026 low. They risked 2.3% and 4.3%, and the stocks rose 490.4% and 224.8% within six months.
• The pattern's low 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.