FINAXIONResearch
Finaxion Research · Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles · single stocks · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles work on ISRG?

Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles does not beat buy-and-hold on ISRG: -10.6 points a year over 26 years.

Total return
×17
Buy and hold
×186
CAGR
11.4%
Sharpe
0.37
Max drawdown
-51.4%
Trades
1712
Out of sample
overfit
Years
26
1×10×100×292×2001200320052007200920112013201520172019202120232025
StrategyISRG

Findings

  1. Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles does not beat buy-and-hold on ISRG: -10.6 points a year over 26 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: +3.0 points a year.
  3. Total return ×17 versus ×186 for buy-and-hold, with 1712 trades.
  4. The result does not hold out of sample: it is overfit.
  5. Maximum drawdown -51.4%.
  6. It beats in neither half of the history (split at 2013).
  7. It ranks #5 of 235 markets for this strategy by annual excess over the S&P 500.

Findings derived from the full panel. Each carries its number and its denominator; the computations are reproducible with artifact 2aad8ceec7e6.

Exactly what was tested

Long while the Heikin Ashi candle is bullish (HA close above HA open); exit on the first bearish candle.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding ISRG over the same window, with round-trip costs per asset class. “Out of sample” is walk-forward: the rule is fit on one stretch and judged on the next. A result that beats in the full sample but not out of it is overfit. Full methodology in the protocol. How we test.

Open this backtest with its trades   Trades (CSV)

Every strategy on ISRG → · Full page for Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does Heikin Ashi: follow the coloured candles work on ISRG?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 2aad8ceec7e6. https://finaxion.app/en/research/heikin-ashi/isrg

Not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.