✨ Discovery Lab is your shortcut from "this stock looks interesting" to "here are 20 others I should be looking at." Type any ticker and Discovery Lab returns a ranked list of matches based on 10 fundamental and technical factors — plus tools for finding swap candidates, rolling back the clock with Time Machine, and saving everything to a watchlist.

Who Can Use Discovery Lab

• Chaikin NextGen Investor Subscribers
• The Chaikin Trust Members

If you don't see Discovery Lab in your navigation, your current plan doesn't include it. Call our Customer Support team at 1-877-697-6783 to learn about upgrading.

🔍 What Discovery Lab Does

Discovery Lab is built around three customer questions we hear all the time:

• "What else looks like this stock?" — type a symbol and see a ranked list of similar stocks with an AI Match %.
• "What looked like that winner when it was first recommended?" — use Time Machine to roll the matching date back to any prior point.
• "My stock just turned bearish — what should I look at instead?" — open Discovery Lab and check the Potential Swaps panel for bullish alternatives in the same sector.

When a stock is rated as bearish or neutral-minus, the Discovery Lab will show a panel titled Potential Swaps – similarly sized alternatives in the same sector with a bullish rating. 

When a stock is rated as bullish, neutral-plus, or neutral, the Discovery Lab will show a panel titled Short Candidates – similarly sized alternatives in the same sector with a bearish rating. 

💡 Looking for a deeper explanation of how matches are calculated? See the Discovery Lab Match Algorithm article.

🧭 How to Open Discovery Lab

There are two ways to get to Discovery Lab, depending on what you're trying to do:

From the main navigation

Click Discovery Lab in the top navigation bar. The page opens with a default ticker symbol selected. Type a different ticker into the Search Symbol box on the left to look at anything else.

From inside a portfolio

In Discovery Lab, switch the left sidebar dropdown from Recents to My Portfolios (or Publications if you want to view a Chaikin-managed portfolio). Expand the portfolio, then click any ticker — Discovery Lab loads with that stock at the top. 

From a stock's Power Gauge Rating page — Discover button

While viewing any stock, click Discover in the action bar at the top of the page (between Add Portfolio List and Print). Discovery Lab opens with that stock pre-loaded.

From a stock's Power Gauge Rating page — Stocks Like section

Scroll down on any stock's Power Gauge Rating tab to the Stocks Like [ticker] section and click Discover All Similar. This takes you directly into Discovery Lab filtered to stocks similar to the one you were viewing.

👀 What You'll See

Every stock you open in Discovery Lab shows four panels of matches, scrolling top to bottom:

• Stocks Like [SYMBOL] — the headline list. AI-matched stocks scored across 10 fundamental and technical factors. Each card shows the company's Power Gauge Rating, price, sector, and a Match % from our algorithm.
• Notable [Sector] Stocks — same sector, similar market cap, same rating category. Useful when you want peers that are rated the same way.
• Similar Short Candidates or Potential Swaps — same sector, similar size, but opposite rating. Useful for finding short ideas or swap candidates.
• ETFs Holding [SYMBOL] — the ETFs that hold this stock, sorted by allocation. Quickly see which funds give you indirect exposure.

Also shown for the symbol selected is the company's Power Gauge Rating, current price, and sector. 

Above the Stocks Like results, use Matching Criteria (All / Technicals / Fundamentals) to weight the results, and the Filters toggle to apply built-in filters. 

Every tab lets you views the Results as: Tiles, Performance, or Checklist and re-Sort the list. 

🎯 Three Ways to Use Discovery Lab

Find stocks like one you're researching

You've heard chatter about a popular ticker and want to know what else looks like it. Let's walk through that process. 

1. Click Discovery Lab in the top navigation bar.
2. Type the symbol into the Search Symbol box (or use the global search at the top).
3. Read the matches in the Stocks Like [SYMBOL] panel — each card shows Power Gauge Rating, price, sector, and a Match %. 
   💡TIP: Click the Directional icon to the right of the Match % for a quick view of that stock's Top Factors, Recent Activity, and Chaikin Checklist. 
4. Narrow with the quick filters: Rating, Market Cap, Sector.
5. Check additional top panels for Notable Similar stocks, Short Candidates or Potential Swaps, and ETFs Holding that stock. 

💡 International tickers: When you search a non-U.S. symbol, Discovery Lab adds a Similar Geography category that highlights other stocks from the same country or region. Useful for ADRs and region-specific watchlists.

Recover from a missed opportunity (Time Machine)

One of your portfolio names is up triple digits and you weren't on board. The question isn't "should I chase it now?" — it's "what looked similar to it at the moment it was first recommended?" That's what Time Machine is built for, and it is built right into the Stocks Like results bar for any symbol. 

1. Open the portfolio that holds the winner. Note its Ref. Date — that's the date the stock was first recommended.
2. Open Discovery Lab. In the left sidebar, switch from Recents to Publications, then expand the portfolio.
3. Click the missed ticker.
4. Click the calendar icon next to Time Machine and pick the original recommendation date. 
5. Review the new Stocks Like [SYMBOL] matches — these are companies that looked similar to the winner at the moment it was first flagged. Your candidate list for the “next one.”

💡TIP: When Time Machine is on, the results bar turns purple – to turn off Time Machine (and return to the original Discovery results), click Reset. 

🔒 Time Machine is a plan-exclusive feature. Available to Chaikin Trust and NextGen Investor members. If you don't see the calendar icon next to Time Machine, your current plan doesn't include it.

Find bullish replacements for a bearish holding (Potential Swaps)

A stock in your portfolio just flipped to a bearish rating. Before you sell, surface similar but currently bullish alternatives in the same sector.

1. In Discovery Lab, switch the left sidebar to My Portfolios (or Publications) and expand the list.
2. Click the bearish ticker. The main panel reloads with it at the top.
3. Select the Potential Swaps panel — these are stocks in the same sector and similar size, but currently rated Bullish or Very Bullish.
4. Click View as List for a sortable table, or Filter in Screener to refine further.

💾 Saving What You Find

Once you've narrowed your matches, you have a few ways to keep them:

1. Click View as List at the top right of any panel to switch from card view to a sortable table.
2. Click Filter in Screener to send the matches into the Screener, where you can sort, add more filters, and slice them further.
3. In the Screener, click Add all tickers to... to save up to 1,000 tickers to a watchlist in one action. Or check specific rows and click Add selected tickers to... to save only those.

📚 For more on what the Screener can do once your Discovery Lab matches land there, see How to Use the New Chaikin Screener.

⚙️ Tips for Better Results

• Start with a stock you already know well. When you can sanity-check the matches against a name you understand, you'll get a feel for how the algorithm thinks.
• Use the quick filters early. The default match list is broad — narrowing by Rating or Sector cuts the noise fast.
• Check Notable Similar for a like-for-like read. It's the fastest way to see who else is rated the way your stock is rated right now. 
• Check Potential Swaps before you sell. It's one of the most useful tabs for turning a bearish exit into a bullish rotation. 
• Send promising matches to the Screener. Discovery Lab is built for fast browsing; the Screener is built for deep filtering. They work best together.
• Save anything you'll act on. Use Add tickers to Watchlist at the Screener step so your candidate list is one click away when you come back.

A few ideas to try

• "Next one" hunt: Pick a strong performer from one of your publications. Open it in Discovery Lab, turn on Time Machine, and roll the date back to its Ref. Date. See what looked similar at that point.
• Sector substitution: Have a holding you're worried about? Open it in Discovery Lab from your portfolio and review the Potential Swaps panel.
• International peers: Search a non-U.S. ticker to see Similar Geography matches — quick way to find ADR alternatives.
• Bearish hunting: Search any Bullish stock and scroll to Similar Short Candidates for ideas in the same sector with weakening profiles.
• ETF exposure check: Search any single stock and look at the ETFs Holding [SYMBOL] panel to see which funds give you indirect exposure.

❓ Still Have Questions?

Need help getting started with Discovery Lab, or curious about Time Machine and your plan?

📞 Call us at 1-877-697-6783 or reach out through Support — we're happy to walk you through it.