The best indicator for Cisco (CSCO)
We backtested 20 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Cisco (CSCO) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
Donchian Midline
On the weekly chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Cisco (CSCO) over ~36.4 years — trailing buy-and-hold by 1.7% CAGR.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donchian Midline ✓ | Weekly | 22.2% | 0.88 | -62.9% | 51.9% | 81 | -1.7% |
| 2 | EMA 50/200 Cross ✓ | Daily | 22.4% | 0.86 | -45.2% | 60.0% | 20 | -1.6% |
| 3 | RSI Trend (>50) ✓ | Weekly | 21.0% | 0.84 | -62.3% | 54.1% | 85 | -2.9% |
| 4 | SMA 50/200 Cross ✓ | Daily | 21.6% | 0.83 | -53.5% | 65.0% | 20 | -2.4% |
| 5 | Donchian Breakout ✓ | Weekly | 19.8% | 0.83 | -47.7% | 65.4% | 26 | -4.1% |
| 6 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | Daily | 19.5% | 0.79 | -62.2% | 45.2% | 73 | -4.5% |
| 7 | Bollinger Breakout ✓ | Weekly | 16.1% | 0.79 | -30.6% | 62.5% | 32 | -7.7% |
| 8 | EMA 20/50 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 20.2% | 0.81 | -50.8% | 64.3% | 14 | -3.7% |
| 9 | ADX / DMI ✓ | Weekly | 16.0% | 0.74 | -44.6% | 53.2% | 62 | -7.9% |
| 10 | Rate of Change ✓ | Weekly | 16.9% | 0.72 | -67.6% | 53.6% | 110 | -7.0% |
| 11 | EMA-10 Trend ✓ | Weekly | 13.6% | 0.61 | -81.4% | 54.1% | 172 | -10.3% |
| 12 | MACD ✓ | Weekly | 11.7% | 0.57 | -65.7% | 53.9% | 76 | -12.2% |
| 13 | RSI Trend (>50) ✓ | Daily | 11.2% | 0.53 | -79.1% | 36.8% | 492 | -12.8% |
| 14 | Donchian Breakout ✓ | Daily | 9.4% | 0.5 | -71.2% | 47.6% | 147 | -14.6% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Cisco (CSCO), Donchian Midline on the weekly timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It still trailed buy-and-hold on raw return — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
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