Use 7 proven AI prompts to upgrade your stock analysis, uncover drivers behind price moves, and turn Perplexity‑style tools into your personal research desk.
7 AI Prompts That Transform How You Analyze Stocks
If you still rely on headlines, hot takes, and a few chart indicators to guide your investing, you're leaving a massive edge on the table.
Modern AI research tools like Perplexity AI can process financial data, news, and transcripts in seconds, turning what used to be hours of manual work into a few targeted prompts. Used well, AI for investing is not about replacing your judgment—it's about upgrading it.
In this guide, you'll learn 7 concrete AI prompts that can turn you from a reactive investor into a data‑driven strategist. We'll cover how to:
- Understand why a stock moved, not just that it moved
- Build automated daily intelligence on your portfolio
- Screen for new ideas using both fundamentals and technicals
- Mine earnings calls for real insight
- Get industry‑level intelligence on demand
- Create smart alerts that explain price moves in context
These examples will focus on Perplexity AI, but the prompt structures apply to most advanced AI research tools.
1. Prompt: "Explain Why This Stock Moved Today"
Most investors see that a stock is up or down and stop there. The edge comes from understanding why it moved.
Why this matters
Price is just the outcome. The cause might be:
- An earnings surprise
- Analyst upgrades or downgrades
- Regulatory news
- Industry‑wide sentiment shifts
- Macro events (rates, inflation, geopolitics)
AI stock analysis tools can scan news, filings, social sentiment summaries, and analyst commentary much faster than you can.
Example prompt
Prompt 1: Short‑term move explainer
"Act as an equity analyst. Explain the most likely reasons for today's price move in [TICKER]. Use data from the last 48 hours only. Summarize in three parts: 1) key events, 2) market reaction and sentiment, 3) what to watch next. Keep it concise and focused on evidence."
How to use the output
- Log the explanation in a simple journal or spreadsheet
- Tag it as: earnings, guidance, macro, sector, technical, or other
- Over time, you'll see patterns in what really drives the names you trade
This turns random daily swings into a structured learning loop.
2. Prompt: Daily AI Report for Your Portfolio
Instead of doom‑scrolling financial news, you can have AI build a focused daily portfolio briefing tailored to your holdings.
Why this matters
You want:
- Only the news that actually affects your positions
- A quick view of risks, catalysts, and sentiment
- To spend more time deciding, less time searching
Example prompt
Prompt 2: Portfolio morning briefing
"You are my portfolio analyst. My current holdings are: [LIST TICKERS, POSITION SIZE, COST BASIS, TIME HORIZON]. Create a daily briefing with: 1) overnight or recent news affecting each position, 2) any major sector or macro events that may impact them, 3) upcoming catalysts this week (earnings, product launches, regulatory decisions), and 4) a concise risk/attention list for today. Keep the total summary under 800 words."
Pro tip: Make it a routine
Run this every market morning and:
- Compare today's risk list to yesterday's
- Note when catalysts actually occur vs. expectations
- Adjust position sizing or hedges based on the briefing
You've just built your own lightweight AI‑powered research desk.
3. Prompt: Screen for New Ideas With Technical and Fundamental Rules
Traditional screeners force you to run separate filters for fundamentals and technicals. With good prompt engineering, you can combine both in one AI query.
Why this matters
You want ideas that:
- Fit your style (growth, value, dividend, momentum)
- Meet baseline quality checks (profitability, balance sheet strength)
- Have favorable technical setups (trend, support/resistance, volume)
Example prompt
Prompt 3: Hybrid stock screener
"Act as a stock screener for the US market. I am a [GROWTH/VALUE/INCOME] investor with a [SHORT/MEDIUM/LONG‑TERM] horizon. Find 5–10 stocks that meet these conditions: 1) fundamentals: [e.g., revenue growth > 10% YoY, positive free cash flow, net debt/EBITDA < 3], 2) technicals: [e.g., trading above 200‑day moving average, recent pullback of 5–15% from 52‑week high, rising volume]. For each stock, list: ticker, segment, key fundamental metrics, recent price action, and a one‑paragraph rationale. Do not recommend; just present data."
How to validate ideas
After AI gives you a list:
- Cross‑check numbers with your broker or data provider
- Visually inspect charts to confirm the pattern
- Read at least one recent earnings call or shareholder letter
AI is an accelerator, not a substitute for due diligence.
4. Prompt: Go Beyond Earnings Call Summaries
Most investors only see bullet‑point summaries of earnings. The real edge often lives in the tone, details, and what management avoids saying.
Advanced tools can ingest transcripts and help you extract signal quickly.
What to look for in earnings calls
- Changes in language vs. last quarter (more cautious or confident?)
- Specifics vs. vagueness on guidance
- How management frames risks and competition
- Repeated phrases that sound scripted vs. candid
Example prompts
Prompt 4A: Earnings call deep dive
"Analyze the latest earnings call transcript for [COMPANY]. Compare management's tone and messaging to the previous quarter's call. Summarize in 4 sections: 1) major positive developments, 2) emerging risks or negative signals, 3) changes in guidance or strategic priorities, 4) candid vs. scripted comments. Highlight any discrepancies between the prepared remarks and the Q&A session."
Prompt 4B: Competitive positioning from the call
"Using the latest earnings call transcript for [COMPANY], extract everything management said about competition, market share, pricing power, and new entrants. Turn this into a concise competitive analysis: who they fear, where they see opportunity, and where they might be vulnerable."
How this gives you an edge
- Spot deteriorating quality before it hits the numbers
- See when "one‑off issues" are becoming patterns
- Understand whether growth is being bought (through heavy incentives) or earned (through demand)
5. Prompt: Build Custom Industry Intelligence on Demand
Instead of guessing where an industry is headed, use AI stock analysis to synthesize thousands of data points into a structured view.
When to use this
- Before initiating a position in a new sector
- When macro conditions are shifting (rates, regulation, technology)
- When you want to stress‑test your thesis
Example prompt
Prompt 5: Industry intelligence report
"Act as an industry analyst. Create a concise intelligence report on the [INDUSTRY, e.g., US residential solar, cloud cybersecurity, semiconductor equipment]. Structure it as: 1) key growth drivers and headwinds over the next 3–5 years, 2) major sub‑segments and where value is accruing, 3) top public companies by segment with 1–2 key strengths and weaknesses each, 4) major regulatory, technological, or macro risks, 5) metrics and leading indicators a public‑markets investor should track. Limit the report to 1,200 words and avoid hype."
How to turn this into action
- Highlight which drivers directly affect your current holdings
- Note where consensus expectations seem aggressive or conservative
- Build a simple dashboard of 3–5 metrics to track quarterly
This transforms you from a stock picker into a thematic strategist.
6. Prompt: Detect Chart Patterns With Context, Not Just Shapes
Chart patterns matter—but only when combined with volume, time frame, and fundamentals. AI tools can identify potential setups and then evaluate their context.
Why this matters
Pure pattern recognition (head‑and‑shoulders, flags, wedges) without context leads to over‑trading. You want:
- Alignment between price action and fundamental story
- Awareness of macro or event risk around the setup
- A realistic sense of probabilities, not certainty
Example prompt
Prompt 6: Pattern + context analysis
"Analyze the recent price action of [TICKER] over the last 6 months. Identify any notable technical patterns (such as breakouts, consolidations, trend reversals, support/resistance levels). Then evaluate these patterns in context: 1) recent fundamental developments, 2) upcoming catalysts (earnings, product launches, regulatory events), 3) overall sector and market trend. Present 2–3 potential scenarios (bullish, base, bearish) with the key evidence for each. Do not give price targets."
Risk management angle
Use the output to:
- Define where your thesis is clearly wrong
- Size positions based on scenario probability and volatility
- Avoid chasing every pattern that looks "interesting" but has weak backing
7. Prompt: Build Smart Alerts That Explain Moves, Not Just Ping You
Standard alerts tell you when a price hits a level. Smart AI alerts can tell you why it moved, what changed, and whether it matters.
What a smart alert should include
- Trigger condition (price, volume, spread, or news keyword)
- Context of the move (sector, macro, company‑specific)
- A quick triage: ignore, monitor, or investigate
Example prompt
Prompt 7: Smart alert explainer
"Assume I have an alert that triggers whenever [TICKER] moves more than [X%] in a day or on unusual volume. When this happens, generate a short explainer that covers: 1) the most likely drivers of the move using information from the last 24–72 hours, 2) whether the move appears company‑specific, sector‑wide, or macro‑driven, 3) any new information that may change a long‑term investor's thesis. Keep the response under 300 words and be explicit about uncertainty."
How to operationalize this
You can't plug this directly into your broker, but you can:
- Note the trigger in your broker's alert system
- When it fires, paste the situation into your AI tool with the prompt above
- Record the explanation and how you responded
Over time, your decision‑making becomes more consistent and evidence‑based.
Making AI a Core Part of Your Investing Process
Simply having access to AI tools for investing won't make you a better investor. The edge comes from:
- Asking precise, structured questions
- Combining fundamentals, technicals, and macro in one view
- Building repeatable workflows instead of one‑off "cool prompts"
To get real value from Perplexity AI or any advanced research AI:
- Standardize your prompts – Save versions of the 7 prompts above and refine them as you learn.
- Create a weekly review – Ask AI to summarize your week: biggest drivers of P&L, repeated mistakes, themes to watch.
- Stay in control – Treat AI output as a starting point, not a verdict. Always verify data before acting.
Used this way, AI doesn't replace your strategy—it scales it. You move from reacting to price to proactively understanding the forces behind it.
As markets head into another uncertain year, the investors who win will be those who combine human judgment with machine‑level research speed. The question is not whether AI will change stock analysis—it already has. The real question is: will you learn to prompt it better than everyone else?