Hanging Man Candlestick Pattern: The Candles at Goldman Sachs' 2026 Record High and Roblox's 2025 Top

On July 15, 2026, the day after Goldman Sachs jumped 9.0% on its earnings report, Goldman printed a hanging man at its record high. Sold at that close with a stop above its high, the trade risked 0.2%. By October 23 the stock was down 24.0%.

On September 29, 2025, Roblox printed one at a rebound high, 5.7% under its July record. The risk was 0.3%. By March 12, 2026 the stock was down 60.2%.

Neither stock has traded above its hanging man's high since. Here is how to read a hanging man, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the fall cost#

A hanging man is a sell signal for holders and an entry for short sellers.

Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart. Goldman's 120-session window is still open: Nov 3, 2026 was the 78th session after its hanging man.

The reward per $1 is that large because the risk is that small. A hanging man's body sits at the top of its range, so its high, the stop, is only a few cents to a few dollars above the close.

The hanging man in one table#

A hanging man is one daily candle with a small body at the top and a long lower shadow, after a rally. Sellers pushed the price far below the open during the day. Buyers took it back by the close, but the stock had shown how far it could fall in a single session.

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

Colour doesn't matter. Goldman's and Roblox's hanging men were both green: each closed a little above its open.

The position rule is the whole difference from a hammer. The shape is the same. After a decline it is a hammer and reads bullish. After a rally it is a hanging man and reads bearish.

Same shape, different place#

At a top, the same warning with the long shadow on the other side is the shooting star. When the body all but disappears, the terminal also names the bar a doji: Goldman's 3.65 body on a 36.59 range made it both.

Example 1: Goldman Sachs (GS) at its 2026 record high, Jul 15, 2026#

Open GS in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Jul 16): traded up to 1,152.45, 1.54 under the stop, then closed at 1,095.46, −4.9% and below the hanging man's low of 1,117.40.
• Ten sessions later (Jul 29): 980.75, −14.9%.
• Oct 8: 882.59, −23.4%.
• Oct 23: 875.68, −24.0%. That is 144 times the 1.92 risked on each share.
• The high of 1,153.99 was never taken out. The highest price since is the 1,152.45 of Jul 16. On Nov 3, 2026 Goldman closed at 896.09, 22.2% below the hanging man's close.

The fall had no gap of 5% or more.

A 0.2% stop makes a huge position: with $500 at risk, the stop sized a short at 260 shares, about $299,538. At the Oct 23 close the short was up $71,861. That is more than most accounts can hold, so cap the position size as well as the risk.

Example 2: Roblox (RBLX) at its 2025 top, Sep 29, 2025#

Open RBLX in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Sep 30): closed at 138.52, −2.1%.
• Two sessions later (Oct 1): 134.07, the first close below the hanging man's low of 137.70.
• Ten sessions later (Oct 13): 128.24, −9.4%.
• Oct 15: reached 141.95, 5 cents under the stop.
• Dec 23: 80.99, −42.8%.
• Mar 12, 2026: 56.30, −60.2%. That is 194 times the 0.44 risked on each share.
• The high of 142.00 was never taken out. On Nov 3, 2026 Roblox closed at 45.45, 67.9% below the hanging man's close.

About a fifth of the fall came in two gaps of about 6%: on Oct 3, 2025, and on Oct 30, 2025, its earnings day.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized a short at 1,136 shares, about $160,812. At the Mar 12, 2026 close the short was up $96,855.

Where a hanging man counts: key levels#

A hanging man on a level is a test of that level from below. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default and keeps the hanging men that close back below one of these:

Goldman's set a record, so there was no earlier high to poke. Roblox's stayed under its July record and sat on none of these levels. To see hanging men like these, turn Only at a key level off.

Both stocks were in Stage 2, Stan Weinstein's advancing stage: the stock trades above a rising 30-week average. A hanging man in Stage 2 marks a top inside an uptrend, a place to take profits or tighten a stop as much as a place to short.

How to trade a hanging man#

1. Find the high. A hanging man comes after a rally. Look for it at a prior high, a failed breakout's pivot, a falling average or a fresh record, like Goldman's the day after its earnings jump.
2. Check the shape. The lower shadow must be at least twice the body and half of the range, and the upper shadow small. Goldman's lower shadow was 8.5× its body, Roblox's 3.5×.
3. Choose your entry. Holders sell or tighten their stop at the hanging man's close, and some short sellers enter there. Others wait for a close below its low, but that gives up the tight stop: from Goldman's Jul 16 close the same stop was 5.3% away, and from Roblox's Oct 1 close 5.9%.
4. Put the stop above the high. Just above the hanging man's high, or above the highest high of the test if price went higher earlier in it. The terminal calls this "the high, test included". The stop is tight, and both stocks came back near it: Goldman to within 1.54 the next day, Roblox to within 5 cents on Oct 15.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (stop − entry). With $500 at risk on Roblox: 500 ÷ (142.00 − 141.56) = 1,136 shares, about $160,812. Check the position's value too, and cap it at what your account can hold.

Find hanging men on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example GS or RBLX.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Hanging man, 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 hanging man on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest hanging man. A dot marks each one above its high, 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 hanging man is a hammer's shape after a rally: a small body at the top of a long lower shadow, the day sellers showed how far the stock could fall.
• Goldman's marked its July 2026 record high and Roblox's its September 2025 top. They risked 0.2% and 0.3%, and the stocks fell 24.0% and 60.2%.
• The high is the stop, and it is tight. It defines your risk before you take the trade, and the position size decides what that risk costs.

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