Piercing Line Candlestick Pattern: The Candles at Micron's 2025 Tariff Low and Super Micro's 2026 Bottom

On April 7, 2025, at the low of the tariff crash, Micron printed a piercing line. Bought at that close with a stop under its low, the trade risked 10.0%. By September 18 the stock was up 147.0%. On November 3, 2026 it closed 1,150.7% above that close.

On March 23, 2026, 82.4% below its 2024 record high, Super Micro printed one. The risk was 9.7%. Ten weeks later the stock was up 132.5%.

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

What $10,000 became#

Prices are split-adjusted, as on the chart.

The tariff low: four piercing lines in one day#

Micron was not alone. On Apr 7, 2025, AppLovin, Lam Research and Nvidia printed piercing lines too, and none of their lows has been broken since.

The piercing line in one table#

A piercing line is two daily candles: a long red day, then a green day that opens below the red close and closes above the middle of the red body. Sellers ran the first day and opened the second one lower. Buyers took back more than half of the first day by the close.

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

The midpoint is the line that matters. Super Micro's day 2 closed at 21.58, just above the 21.53 midpoint of its red day. A close below the midpoint is not a piercing line, and a close at or above day 1's open makes it a bullish engulfing.

The position rule matters too. A piercing line comes after a decline. At the top of a rally, the mirror image is a dark cloud cover.

Piercing line and its look-alikes#

The bullish engulfing is a piercing line that went all the way: its green day closes at or above the red open. The bullish harami is the quiet version: its second day stays inside the red body.

Example 1: Micron (MU) at the 2025 tariff low, Apr 7, 2025#

Open MU in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Apr 8): closed at 65.54, −4.1%. Its low of 63.52 is the lowest Micron has traded since.
• Two sessions later (Apr 9): 77.87, the first close above the pattern's high of 72.46.
• Ten sessions later (Apr 22): 70.21, +2.7%.
• Jun 24: 127.91, +87.1%.
• Sep 18: 168.89, +147.0%. That is 14.7 times the 6.83 risked on each share.
• The low of 61.54 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 Micron closed at 855.10, 1,150.7% above the piercing line's close.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 73 shares, about $4,991. At the Sep 18, 2025 close those shares were up $7,338.

Example 2: Super Micro Computer (SMCI) at its 2026 bottom, Mar 23, 2026#

Open SMCI in the VCP Scanner terminal →

What followed:

• Next session (Mar 24): closed at 22.23, +3.0%.
• Two sessions later (Mar 25): 24.05, the first close above the pattern's high of 23.10.
• Ten sessions later (Apr 7): 22.67, +5.1%. The lowest price since, 20.71, came on Mar 30.
• Apr 21: 28.43, +31.7%.
• Jun 2: 50.17, +132.5%. That is 13.6 times the 2.10 risked on each share.
• The low of 19.48 was never broken. On Nov 3, 2026 Super Micro closed at 31.39, 45.5% above the piercing line's close.

About an eighth of the run was one gap: Super Micro opened 13.0% higher on May 6, the session after its May 5 earnings report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 238 shares, about $5,136. At the Jun 2, 2026 close those shares were up $6,804.

Where a piercing line counts: key levels#

A piercing line 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 piercing lines that close back above one of these:

Micron's and Super Micro's came at fresh multi-month lows, on none of these levels. To see piercing lines 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 piercing lines marked the end of a downtrend.

How to trade a piercing line#

1. Find the low. A piercing line comes after a decline. Look for it at a prior low, a rising average or a fresh multi-month low, like Micron's at the 2025 tariff low and Super Micro's in March 2026.
2. Check the close. Day 2 must close above day 1's midpoint. Micron's closed at 68.37 over a 67.69 midpoint, and Super Micro's at 21.58 over 21.53.
3. Choose your entry. Some traders buy day 2's close. Others wait for a close above the pattern's high. Micron and Super Micro both gave that close two sessions later.
4. Put the stop under the low. Under the lower of the two lows (day 2's in both examples), or under the lowest low of the test if price went lower earlier in it. The terminal calls this "the low, test included". The long red day makes this a wide stop: 10.0% and 9.7% here.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on Super Micro: 500 ÷ (21.58 − 19.48) = 238 shares.

Find piercing lines on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example MU, SMCI or NVDA.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Piercing line, 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 piercing line on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest piercing line. 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 piercing line is a long red day answered by a green day that takes back more than half of it, after a decline.
• Micron's marked the April 2025 tariff low and Super Micro's its March 2026 bottom. They risked 10.0% and 9.7%, and the stocks rose 147.0% and 132.5% 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.