Williams %R strategy
Williams %R (percent range) shows where the close sits inside the recent high-low range, on an upside-down scale from −100 to 0. Below −80 is called “oversold” and above −20 “overbought” — a gauge of how stretched price is, not a prediction of a turn. It looks like its own indicator, but it carries exactly the same information as a tool this site already runs — so the honest thing is to say so, not to sell it twice.
How it works
- • The signal — %R = −100 × (highest high − close) ÷ (highest high − lowest low) over the lookback window — where the close sits in that range, flipped negative.
- • What it's meant to mean — how stretched recent price is within its own range; below −80 'oversold', above −20 'overbought' — a stretch gauge, not a forecast.
- • It is the Stochastic, flipped — Williams %R equals the Stochastic %K minus 100 — exactly, for any lookback. The identical oversold/overbought reading, just on a −100 to 0 scale instead of 0 to 100.
- • So it is not a second independent edge — Williams %R at −80 / −20 is the Stochastic Oscillator at 20 / 80. Running one is running the other.
On this site, Williams %R is run as the Stochastic Oscillator. See honestly how that approach performed across every famous stock and coin — costs on, no look-ahead, measured against simply buying and holding, with the losses shown.
The honest caveat
Here's the honest part most sites skip: Williams %R is not a second, independent edge — it is the Stochastic oscillator in different units (%R = %K − 100, exactly). Rather than pad the library with the same bet under a second name — and double-count it in our honest “does it beat buy & hold?” scoreboard — we hand you the Stochastic backtester. Run it and you have run Williams %R. And as a mean-reversion oscillator it fights the trend and whipsaws in choppy markets, so a strong move can run it over; like most mechanical rules, it mostly does not beat simply holding. Test it on the asset you actually care about before trusting it.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. This is an educational, analytical tool — not investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. You make all decisions and execute on your own broker. This is an educational, analytical tool, not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell or use any strategy. You make all decisions and execute on your own broker.