Hammer Candlestick Pattern: The Candle at Apple's COVID Bottom and Nvidia's 2023 Low

On March 23, 2020, the day the COVID crash hit bottom, Apple printed a hammer. Bought at that close with a stop under its low, the trade risked 5.2%. By September 1 the stock was up 139%.

On October 31, 2023, Nvidia printed one at its autumn low. The risk was 3.8%. Five months later the stock was up 133%.

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

What $10,000 became#

Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The hammer in one table#

A hammer is one daily candle with a long lower shadow, a small body near the top of the day's range and almost no upper shadow. Sellers pushed the stock well below the open, buyers took it back, and the close landed near the high.

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

The body's colour does not matter. Apple's hammer below was red (it closed under its open) and Nvidia's was green, and both marked the bottom.

The position rule matters most. A hammer comes after a decline. The same shape after a run-up is a different candle.

Same shape, different place#

Example 1: Apple (AAPL) at the COVID bottom, Mar 23, 2020#

Open AAPL in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Mar 24): closed at 61.72, up 10.0% and already above the hammer's high of 57.12.
• Ten sessions later (Apr 6): 65.62, +17.0%.
• Jun 10: 88.21, +57.3%.
• Sep 1: 134.18, +139.2%. That is 26.6 times the 2.94 risked on each share.
• The low of 53.15 was never broken. It is still Apple's lowest price since that day. On Nov 3, 2026 Apple closed at 331.90, 492% above the hammer's close.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 170 shares, about $9,535. At the Sep 1 close those shares were up $13,275.

Example 2: Nvidia (NVDA) at its October 2023 low#

Open NVDA in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Nov 1): closed at 42.33, +3.8% and above the hammer's high of 40.88.
• Ten sessions later (Nov 14): 49.66, +21.8%.
• Jan 29, 2024: 62.47, +53.2%.
• Mar 25, 2024: 95.00, +133.0%. That is 35 times the 1.55 risked on each share.
• The low of 39.23 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 Nvidia closed at 206.69, 407% above the hammer's close.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 322 shares, about $13,130. At the Mar 25, 2024 close those shares were up $17,459.

Where a hammer counts: key levels#

A hammer 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 hammers that close back above one of these:

Apple's 2020 hammer was a prior-low hammer: it undercut the October 2019 low and closed back above it. Nvidia's 2023 hammer was at a fresh three-month low, on none of these levels. To see hammers like that one, turn Only at a key level off.

Stage 2 is Stan Weinstein's advancing stage: the stock trades above a rising 30-week average.

How to trade a hammer#

1. Find the low. A hammer comes after a decline. Look for it at a prior low, a rising average or a fresh multi-month low, like Apple's in 2020 and Nvidia's in 2023.
2. Check the shape. The lower shadow is at least twice the body, with little or no upper shadow. Apple's was 3.2× and Nvidia's 3.7×.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders buy the hammer's close. Others wait for a close above its high. Apple and Nvidia both gave that close the very next session.
4. Put the stop under the low. Under the hammer's low, 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 Nvidia: 500 ÷ (40.78 − 39.23) = 322 shares.

Find hammers on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example AAPL or NVDA.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Hammer, or use the Reversals quick pick for every classic reversal candle.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every hammer on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest hammer. 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 hammer is a long lower shadow after a decline: sellers pushed the price down, and buyers took it back the same day.
• Apple's hammer marked the COVID bottom and Nvidia's marked the start of its 2023-24 run. They risked 5.2% and 3.8%, and both stocks more than doubled within six months.
• The hammer'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.