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Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) Passes Minervini Trend Template and High Growth Momentum Screen

CLOUDFLARE INC - CLASS A (NYSE:NET) is one of the latest names to emerge from a screen that combines Mark Minervini's Trend Template with a High Growth Momentum filter. The strategy is built on a simple premise: the most explosive stock market winners usually begin as technically strong securities that are also growing earnings and revenue at an accelerating pace. The screen enforces this by demanding a full set of bullish moving average conditions, proximity to 52-week highs, high relative strength, and a High Growth Momentum rating of at least 4. Cloudflare passes those tests, and the reasons are visible in both its price chart and its recent financial results.

CLOUDFLARE INC - CLASS A stock chart

A Strict Technical Blueprint

Minervini's Trend Template is unforgiving by design. Every selected stock must trade above its 50-, 150-, and 200-day simple moving averages, and those averages need to be stacked in a specific order: the 50-day above the 150-day and 200-day, and the 150-day above the 200-day. The long-term averages also need to be rising. On top of that, the current price must be at least 30% above the 52-week low and within 25% of the 52-week high, with a relative strength reading of at least 70.

Cloudflare satisfies all of those conditions. Its price action is not merely strong, it is the kind of price structure that the strategy says tends to precede institutional accumulation. The stock is trading near the upper end of its 52-week range rather than recovering from a deep drawdown, which fits Minervini's preference for leaders rather than laggards.

How Cloudflare Measures Up

  • Current price: $306.97, above the 50-day SMA of $260.03, the 150-day SMA of $218.53, and the 200-day SMA of $216.22
  • Moving average alignment: 50-day above both the 150-day and 200-day; 150-day above the 200-day
  • Trend confirmation: all four SMAs are rising, with the 200-day moving from $215.74 to $216.22
  • 52-week low distance: price is roughly 93% above the low of $158.83
  • 52-week high distance: price is about 5.5% below the high of $324.73
  • Relative strength: 94.02, well above the 70 threshold and in the preferred 80s-90s zone

These are exactly the metrics Minervini-style traders look for before adding a stock to a watchlist. The high relative strength score is particularly important because it shows that Cloudflare is outperforming the vast majority of the market, not just moving higher in absolute terms.

The High Growth Side of the Screen

The Trend Template only addresses the technical side of the equation. The High Growth Momentum component is what separates a stock that simply looks good on a chart from one that has the fundamental fuel to sustain a move. Minervini has long argued that the biggest winners tend to show accelerating earnings and revenue before their largest price advances.

Cloudflare's recent fundamental data fits that pattern. The company has beaten earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, and the average earnings surprise has been a solid 7.3%. Revenue surprises have also been consistently positive. Perhaps more importantly, analysts have been raising next-year earnings estimates by 5.8% over the last three months, a sign that the growth narrative is strengthening rather than fading.

Supporting High Growth Metrics

  • EPS growth (TTM): 43.4%
  • EPS growth, last quarter vs. year-ago quarter: 38.1%
  • Revenue growth (TTM): 33.5%
  • Revenue growth, last quarter vs. year-ago quarter: 35.9%
  • EPS estimate beats: 4 of 4 quarters, average beat of 7.3%
  • Revenue estimate beats: 4 of 4 quarters, average beat of 2.6%
  • Next-year EPS estimate revision (3 months): +5.8%
  • Free cash flow growth (TTM): 97.4%

The combination of high growth and upward estimate revisions is important for the strategy because it points to institutional demand. When a company keeps beating expectations, large investors are forced to increase their positions, which tends to push the stock toward new highs and supports the relative strength score that the Trend Template requires.

What the Technical Report Says

At a high level, the ChartMill technical report gives Cloudflare a technical rating of 9 out of 10. That rating reflects positive short-term and long-term trends, a strong relative strength position, and a stock that is trading in the upper part of its 52-week range. The report also identifies several support levels below the current price, including a trend line near $284.99 and a broader support zone from $259.33 to $262.14.

The setup quality rating is less compelling at 5 out of 10. Recent price movement has been volatile enough that the report does not see a clean entry and exit point at the moment. This is a meaningful distinction for Minervini-style traders. A stock can have outstanding technical health while the timing of a new buy is still poor. The strategy is built around buying at a pivot point after a volatility contraction, not chasing a stock that has already moved sharply. Cloudflare is up more than 55% over the last three months, so waiting for a consolidation is a reasonable approach.

For a complete view of the trend structure, support levels, and daily and weekly charts, see the full technical analysis report for NET.

Risks and Timing Considerations

No screen removes the need for risk management. Cloudflare's strong relative strength and high growth metrics make it a legitimate Minervini candidate, but the recent advance also means the stock is extended relative to some of its moving averages. The moderate setup quality score reinforces that point. Traders who use this strategy would typically wait for a base to form and then buy on a breakout with a defined stop, rather than entering immediately at current levels.

The broader market backdrop is supportive, with the S&P 500's long-term and short-term trends both positive. That matters because Minervini's approach tends to work best when market leadership is being rewarded. Still, individual stock risk remains, and a stock that fails to hold its moving averages or falls back through a key support zone can quickly lose its Trend Template status.

Finding More Candidates

Investors who want to apply this methodology to the broader market can use this high growth momentum and trend template screen to find more stocks that combine the same technical and fundamental characteristics. The screen is designed to surface names that meet the strict Trend Template criteria while also clearing the High Growth Momentum bar, which saves a significant amount of manual chart work.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always conduct your own research and consider your risk tolerance before making investment decisions.

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