Spinning Top Candlestick Pattern: The Candle at Amazon's 2022 Rally Top and Palo Alto Networks' 2026 Low

On August 16, 2022, the day the S&P 500 closed at the top of its summer rally, Amazon printed a spinning top at a prior high. Sold at that close with a stop above its high, the trade risked 1.2%. By November 9, 2022, the day Amazon became the first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value, the stock was down 40.5%.

On February 24, 2026, a week after its quarterly results, Palo Alto Networks printed one at its lowest price since April 2024. Bought at that close with a stop under its low, the trade risked 1.5%. By August 13, 2026 the stock was up 179.5%, at a record close.

Same candle, opposite moves. A spinning top says the day pulled both ways and settled near where it started, and the next closes say who won. Palo Alto Networks has not traded below its spinning top's low since. Here is how to read a spinning top, where the stop goes, and how to find the next one.

What the spinning top did#

A spinning top at a high is a sell signal for holders and an entry for short sellers. One at a low is a buy for the bounce.

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

The spinning top in one table#

A spinning top is one daily candle with a small body near the middle of its range and a shadow on each side. Buyers pushed price above the open, sellers pushed it below, and the close landed not far from where the day began.

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

The colour does not matter. Amazon's closed 87 cents above its open and Palo Alto Networks' 1.26 below it.

A body of 10% of the range or less makes the candle a doji instead. A wide doji with long shadows both ways is a long-legged doji.

Same shape, different place#

When one shadow is long and the other short, the candle is a hammer at a low or a shooting star at a high, and the terminal names those first. When the small body sits inside the long body before it, the pair is a harami, and the terminal names that first too. Amazon's and Palo Alto Networks' spinning tops had no other name.

Example 1: Amazon (AMZN) at its 2022 rally top, Aug 16, 2022#

Open AMZN in the VCP Scanner terminal →

The prior high was a warning on its own: Amazon set it on Apr 28, 2022, the day before a 14.1% drop. The spinning top came on the day the S&P 500 closed at 4,305.20, the top of a 17.4% rally from its June low.

What followed:

• Next session (Aug 17): closed at 142.10, down 1.9%.
• First close below the top's low (Aug 19): 138.23, three sessions after the spinning top.
• Ten sessions later (Aug 30): 128.73, −11.1%.
• Nov 9, 2022: 86.14, −40.5%, its lowest close since Mar 16, 2020, on the day Amazon became the first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value. That is 32.8 times the 1.79 risked on each share.
• Dec 28, 2022: 81.82, −43.5%, its lowest close since Mar 8, 2019.
• The high of 146.57 held for 314 sessions, until Nov 14, 2023.

One gap did about a fifth of the fall: Amazon opened 11.8% lower on Oct 28, 2022, after its third-quarter report.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized a short at 279 shares, about $40,394. A tight stop makes a big position. At the Dec 28, 2022 close the short was up $17,566.

Example 2: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at its February 2026 low, Feb 24, 2026#

Open PANW in the VCP Scanner terminal →

The spinning top came a week after Palo Alto Networks reported on Feb 17. The quarter beat estimates, but the profit outlook fell short, and the stock opened 8.5% lower on Feb 18. Four sessions later, sellers could not hold the new low.

What followed:

• Next session (Feb 25): closed at 144.84, up 2.2%. Its low of 140.30 is the lowest PANW has traded since.
• First close above the top's high (Feb 26): 149.40, two sessions after the spinning top.
• Ten sessions later (Mar 10): 165.58, +16.9%.
• May 18, 2026: 247.55, +74.7%, a record close.
• Aug 13, 2026: 396.00, +179.5%, another record close. That is 121.1 times the 2.10 risked on each share.
• The low of 139.57 was never broken. On Nov 6, 2026 PANW closed at 313.84, 121.5% above the spinning top's close.

The run came without a single gap up of 5% or more. The one 5% gap along the way, on Mar 27, went down.

With $500 at risk, the stop sized the trade at 238 shares, about $33,717. At the Aug 13, 2026 close those shares were up $60,531.

Where a spinning top counts: key levels#

A spinning top on a level is a test of that level, from either side. In the terminal, the Only at a key level switch is on by default. For a spinning top it keeps the ones at any of these:

Amazon's was a prior-high spinning top: it traded above the Apr 28 high and closed back below it, so it shows with the default switch. Palo Alto Networks' closed below every recent low instead of back above one, so it sits on none of these levels. To see ones like it, turn Only at a key level off.

Both were in Stage 4, Stan Weinstein's declining stage. Amazon's marked the top of a rally inside a decline. Palo Alto Networks' marked the end of its decline.

How to trade a spinning top#

1. Find the place. A spinning top means little in the middle of a range, where they are common. Look for it at a prior high or a fresh multi-month high after a rally, or at a prior low or a multi-month low after a decline, like Amazon's in August 2022 and Palo Alto Networks' in February 2026.
2. Check the shape. A small body with a shadow on each side at least as long as the body. Amazon's body was 19% of its range and Palo Alto Networks' 16%.
3. Wait for the close past it. At a high, sell the first close below the spinning top's low. At a low, buy the first close above its high. Palo Alto Networks gave that close two sessions later, Amazon three. Some traders take the spinning top's own close instead, an entry closer to the stop, as in the table above.
4. Put the stop on the other side. Above the spinning top's high when you sell, under its low when you buy. The terminal draws no stop for a spinning top, so set it yourself from its high or low.
5. Size from the stop. Shares = money at risk ÷ (entry − stop). With $500 at risk on PANW: 500 ÷ (141.67 − 139.57) = 238 shares.

Find spinning tops on any chart in VCP Scanner#

• Open a stock in the terminal, for example AMZN or PANW.
• Open Candles in the chart toolbar and tick Spinning top under Neutral.
• Only at a key level is on by default. Turn it off to see every spinning top on the chart.
• The chart jumps to the latest spinning top. A dot marks each one under its low.
• The inspector lists the close, level, volume and stage. When the spinning top is the bar's only name it shows no stop, because it points neither way. 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 spinning top is a small body with shadows both ways: the day pulled in both directions and neither side won.
• Amazon's marked its August 2022 rally top and Palo Alto Networks' its February 2026 low. They risked 1.2% and 1.5%. Amazon fell 40.5% within 60 sessions, and Palo Alto Networks rose 179.5% within 120.
• The next close past the candle decides the direction, and its other end 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.