Why can a pullback short fail even when the stock has bounced into its 9 EMA?

I think the big picture is one of the main reasons. In this example, the stock was above its 9 EMA but below the 21, while QQQ and the semiconductor ETF were still extended below their declining 9 EMAs. The market and sector could keep bouncing into those levels, and the stock could follow them higher. Shorting every bounce into the 9 EMA isn't a good strategy. The 9 is the fastest EMA; a bounce can go beyond it to the 21 or even the 50. The stock was also showing relative strength, which put the odds of that short a little lower.

Source: Study the charts | 22 Jul 2026