This is one of our favorite bottom-up scans: Follow The Flow. In this note, we simply create a universe of stocks that experienced the most unusual options activity — either bullish or bearish… but NOT both.
We utilize options experts, both internally and through our partnership with The TradeXchange. Then, we dig through the level 2 details and do all the work upfront for our clients. Our goal is to isolate only those options market splashes that represent levered and high-conviction, directional bets.
We also weed out hedging activity and ensure there are no offsetting trades that either neutralize or cap the risk on these unusual options trades. What remains is a list of stocks that large financial institutions are putting big money behind… and they’re doing so for one reason only: because they think the stock is about to move in their direction and make them a pretty penny.
One of the most important things I've come to understand about markets, and life, is that you have to worry about yourself first, you have to take care of your family first, and then you can go out and help others.
If your own house isn't in order, not only are you not able to help other people, but you may actually do more harm to them than good.
Depending on where you are in your life, that perspective may change. But in the market, as an investor, there are no exceptions!
You're only in it for numero uno.
Just to be clear, if you're in the market for ANY other reason other than to make a profit for yourself, then you are unbelievably confused.
This is what happens when you ignore price just because you're too weak to overcome your ego:
Since every commodity on earth has been going up in price EXCEPT for gold and silver, perhaps that's just further information that gold and silver are NOT commodities after all, but actually just a couple of shitty currencies.
Our Hall of Famers list is composed of the 100 largest US-based stocks.
These stocks range from the mega-cap growth behemoths like Apple and Microsoft--with market caps in excess of $2T--to some of the new-age large-cap disruptors such as Moderna, Square, and Snap.
It’s got all the big names and more.
It doesn’t include ADRs or any stock not domiciled in the US. But don’t worry; we’re developing a separate universe for that, and we’ll be sharing it with you soon.
So, The Hall of Famers is easy.
We simply take our list of 100 names and then apply our technical filters in a way that the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.
Let’s dive right in and check out what these big boys are up to.
From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley
Whether we’re talking about stocks, commodities, currencies, or even the bond market, things have been a total mess. It’s no secret, and you’re probably tired of hearing it by now.
Trust me, we’re just as tired of seeing it.
So, as these choppy conditions test our patience and discipline, why not use this opportunity to take a step back and examine where we’ve come from, where we are now, and where we’re likely headed.
In today’s post, we’re going to do just that by revisiting and analyzing some of our favorite breadth indicators and discussing what some of them are suggesting for commodities over the long run.
Let’s dig into it!
First, we need to understand that a breadth thrust isn’t a singular event. It’s a process that builds upon itself as a new bull cycle unfolds.
These thrusts in participation don’t all just happen overnight. Instead, they develop over shorter time frames at first and eventually culminate with a broad expansion in new longer-term highs.
From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Ian Culley @Ianculley
I was talking to the team earlier this week and mentioned that I was having a hard time writing. Grant and Ian were quick to remind me that it's probably because "nothing new is happening!"
They were right. Until now...
We finally got a major resolution in what we consider one of the most important charts in the world these days.
I'm talking about the US 10-year yield reclaiming that critical 1.40% level this week. And this begs the question as to what a rising rate environment might mean for investor portfolios.
Well, one thing we know for sure is we want to stay away from bonds... unless we're shorting them.
But how do we want to position ourselves in the stock market if yields are breaking out?
It's simple really. Some stocks do better with rising/higher rates, while others thrive in markets characterized by low growth and low yields. If this is the beginning of a fresh move higher for yields, then we want to be focused on buying the stocks that are likely to benefit the most.
From the desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza and Grant Hawkridge @granthawkridge
Considering the selling pressure in recent weeks, we were very excited to take a look at our breadth indicators today to see if we finally saw some downside expansion worth pointing out. Spoiler alert: There was nothing there.
Being as we're in a sideways market, we're always on the lookout for a change in character in internals that might suggest some resolutions are finally on the horizon. And since bears have been driving stocks lower since early this month, our focus is on new short-term lows.
With the S&P experiencing some volatility and revisiting its 50-day moving average this week, did we finally get that "fall day?"
Key Takeaway: Optimism has begun to cool as sentiment relieves the excesses of early summer. Yet, we are a far cry from a complete unwind that cyclical damage suggests is necessary. As investors become more risk-averse, we are looking for evidence that pessimism has become widespread and excessive (more II bears than bulls, NAAIM Exposure Index reading below 30, ETF outflows close to or below zero on a 4-week basis, and a daily close in the VIX greater than 30). Though there is certainly an increased level of caution and concern among market participants, we haven’t seen a degree of fear or pessimism in any of our indicators that point to the warranted rebalance. For now, risks remain elevated as sentiment swings toward pessimism.
"I like an $IWM November 200/205/235/240 Iron Condor for an approximately $1.80 credit. This means I’ll be short the 205 puts and 235 calls, while protected by the 200 puts and the 240 calls. This is a defined risk trade where the most I can lose is the maximum possible value of the spread (distance between short and long strikes — $5.00) minus the credit we receive at initiation ($1.80) which equals $3.20."
To learn more about the trade and the thinking behind it, click below to watch a replay of the Live Stream.
