A bullish engulfing pattern occurs after a price move lower and indicates higher prices to come. The first candle, in the two-candle pattern, is a down candle. The second candle is a larger up candle, with a real body that fully engulfs the smaller down candle.

These two patterns are opposites. A bullish engulfing pattern occurs after a price move lower and indicates higher prices to come. The first candle, in the two-candle pattern, is a down candle. The second candle is a larger up candle, with a real body that fully engulfs the smaller down candle.

Limitations of Using a Bearish Engulfing Pattern

Engulfing patterns are most useful following a clean upward price move as the pattern clearly shows the shift in momentum to the downside. If the price action is choppy, even if the price is rising overall, the significance of the engulfing pattern is diminished since it is a fairly common signal.

The engulfing or second candle may also be huge. This can leave a trader with a very large stop loss if they opt to trade the pattern. The potential reward from the trade may not justify the risk.

Establishing the potential reward can also be difficult with engulfing patterns, as candlesticks don’t provide a price target. Instead, traders will need to use other methods, such as indicators or trend analysis, for selecting a price target or determining when to get out of a profitable trade.