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Double top

Two peaks at roughly the same price separated by a trough, completed only when price closes below that trough.

Double top and double bottomAn M shape with two equal peaks beside a W shape with two equal lows, each crossed by a neckline.Double toppeak 1peak 2necklinebreakDouble bottomlow 1low 2necklinebreakThe dashed neckline is the level traders watch for a break.
Double top and double bottom. Two peaks at roughly the same height with a dip between them make an M; two lows at roughly the same level make a W. The dashed line drawn through the middle is the neckline, and traders watch for price to close through it.

The shape says buyers tried twice at the same price and failed twice. The trough between the peaks is the neckline; the pattern is not considered valid until price closes beneath it. The conventional target is the height of the pattern projected down from the break, a measured-move.

Volume traditionally falls on the second peak relative to the first, which is read as weaker participation. That is a nice story and sometimes true, but it is not a reliable filter on its own.

The complication is equal-highs: the same picture is also a pool of stop orders above the peaks, and a spike through them followed by a collapse is a very common outcome. That version traps breakout buyers rather than short sellers, so both sides of the pattern can hurt.

Related: double-bottom, triple-top, neckline, equal-highs, measured-move

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